R& D should be better incentivized and more tax benefits should be provided for R& D work.

Rohit Dashrathi, Founder and Director,  Yantra LLP

Incentive should also be provided to increase the collaboration between industry and academics by investing in new-age state of the art sciences like deep learning artificial intelligence, cloud computing, IoT, says Rohit Dashrathi, Founder and Director,  Yantra LLP. Excerpts from the interview…

What is your outlook for the robotics industry in 2021 in terms of growth potential and product innovations, and a brief on your road map?

I have a very positive outlook for the robotics industry in 2021. The industry's demand for automation and subsequently robotics is rising post pandemic, which paints a very encouraging picture. Based on various reports, the market for robotics is expected to cross USD 200 million by 2023, with a CAGR of 20% for construction industry alone. If we also consider other sectors, the global market can well reach somewhere near USD 4 billion within the same time frame. Being an R&D driven organization, our team is always focussed on developing technologically advanced products. Currently we are working on three variants which are really innovative.

- Aerial Robotics: This is an entirely new line which can be used for surveys of construction sites, mapping & reconstruction of archeologically important venues or even agricultural use like fertilizer/pesticide spraying.

- Material Movement & Logistics AMRs for heavy load carriage in construction industry

- Autonomous Driverless Vehicles

As far as the road map for Yantra is considered, I would say we want to become the best of what we currently are. We have made a strong portfolio in AGVs/AMRs till now. So, investing good time and money in technology and software development for the same is our first priority. Having said that, extending the portfolio to warehousing bots, service bots for commercial and household cleaning and delivery for healthcare are definitely on the cards. We are also looking forward to venture into aerial robotics by next year (mid 2021).

What are the major anticipated challenges, and your suggestions to iron out those?

A pioneer always has to face challenges as it is always difficult to accept something new. Concept selling is the most difficult task. Moreover, due to the higher costs of robotic products available in the market, it is a bit difficult to generate the positive approach towards robotics & automation for smaller industries. But my 'mantra' in life is to be patient & keep working. That is exactly what we are doing at Yantra.

What policy or regulatory support do you expect?

Aerial robots commonly known as drones have great applications in agriculture and improve the efficiency 3x than the traditional farming approach. India is focusing heavily on agricultural products for better yields. Given good results and better efficiencies, government will pay better heed on this technology.

Brief us on the wish list from the forthcoming budget?

As far as the upcoming budget is considered, I feel R&D should be better incentivized. More tax benefits should be provided for R&D work and products resulting out of the same, keeping in mind the initiatives like 'Startup India' and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'. The main reason for not being able to promote Indian robotic products is cost effectiveness. Despite making these products indigenously in India, the input costs are higher due to imported tech items like sensors, motors, controllers & other parts. Hence, competing with foreign players on homeland also becomes an issue. Reduction of import duties & GST on the same can help price the products better.

As per studies, the overall expenditure on R&D is 0.5% of the GDP. I sincerely hope that this gets extended to at least 3%. Incentive should also be provided to increase the collaboration between industry and academics by investing in new-age state of the art sciences like deep learning artificial intelligence, cloud computing, IoT.

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