Speaking at the CII Smart Manufacturing Summit 2025 in New Delhi on December 15, Neeraj Huddar of NITI Aayog emphasized that it is important to scale up advanced manufacturing and frontier technologies so that manufacturing contributes 25% to GDP by 2047, which is necessary to achieve the vision of a developed India. Without major changes, India risks a $5.1 trillion decline in economic output under current trends.
Huddar called for focused intervention in key sectors such as engineering, consumer products, life sciences, electronics and chemicals to boost value addition and productivity.
MSDE Secretary Debashree Mukherjee described the next five years as crucial for smart manufacturing leadership, and stressed on the shift to digital models of MSME clusters. He highlighted the PM SETU scheme, a ₹60,000 crore (about $7.2 billion) initiative over five years, under which industry-led skilling will be undertaken through upgraded ITIs, centers of excellence, hub-and-spoke models, expanded apprenticeships, hyperlocal planning and AI-driven skill mapping.
Industry leaders highlight the impact of emerging technologies: Dilip Sawhney of Rockwell Automation said CAD/CAM, 3D printing, smart sensors, blockchain, generative AI and machine vision are transforming sectors from textiles to electronics. Bharat Fritz Werner’s Ravi Raghavan said medium-sized companies with skilled talent can achieve quick gains through scalable digital moves.
Challenges include low R&D intensity (e.g., in automotive suppliers) and data readiness for AI, especially among MSMEs, where ROI concerns remain. Experts urged clear AI applications in predictive maintenance, quality, safety and energy efficiency.
In this summit, policy makers and industry people discussed to give priority to smart manufacturing for India’s competitiveness and goals of developed India.
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