It’s Time For Industry 4.0

Context: Adopting Industry 4.0 technologies would make MSMEs more efficient and competitive.

About Industry 4.0

• It integrates ‘data’ with manufacturing and Information Technology.
• Additive manufacturing, Internet of Things, Cyber-Physical Systems, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality and data analytics are some of the technologies associated with Industry 4.0.
• Advantages: Helps towards making data-driven decisions, Reduce the cost of electronics (Eg. Cloud), Real-time analytics etc.

Significance of MSMEs (Backbone of Indian economy):

• MSMEs form more than 95% of the industries in India, produce more than 45% of the total manufacturing output and employ more than 40% of the workforce.
• According to the Economic Survey 2020-21, over six crore MSMEs employ more than 11 crore people and contribute roughly 30% to the GDP and half of the country’s export.
• MSMEs are also ancillaries to larger enterprises, leading to a seamless supply chain integration. As a result, making MSMEs more efficient will be advantageous for the whole economy.

Challenges faced by MSMEs in adopting Industry 4.0 technologies

• Lack of awareness regarding Industry 4.0 and its benefits: They consider such technologies disruptive and has the potential to demolish their existing system
• Need for major financial investments to adopt Industry 4.0: Investing in the right set of technologies will need experts and consultants as well.
• Non-flexible work culture of MSMEs: For any new technology to be adopted, an organisation requires a positive organisational culture and the support of people, which is not the case with MSMEs.
• Missing frameworks and state support: Frameworks and steps that can assist MSMEs in adopting Industry 4.0 technologies have been missing.

Way forward

• MSMEs should develop their own vision of Industry 4.0 technologies that they want to adopt and identify the relevant tools and practices they need for such a tailored vision.
• Proper sensitisation of the Government of India, higher education institutions, practitioners, entrepreneurs, industrial associations, trade unions, venture capitalists, consultants and research agencies would help to speed up the adoption of Industry 4.0 tools.