Technology through AI and robotics can prove to do wonders for the country's growth prospects.

- Rohit Dashrathi

Director, Rucha Yantra LLP

Can you share your views on the USD 5 trillion economy target by 2025 and what are the opportunities for players like you in this transformation growth journey of India?

Well, when the Prime Minster announced the target to make India a USD 5 trillion economy, the size of the Indian economy was around $2.5 trillion. Seeing our GDP growth, it seemed difficult to reach this target by 2025 & the pandemic has further dampened the growth. But despite this setback we should look on the brighter side and be positive about the future. We should work on a new strategy for an economic recovery and try to make up for the losses.

I am positive that even amidst the pandemic there lies opportunity & players like Rucha Yantra can support the country' growth - predominantly, in my view, by developing indigenous quality substitutes for current global players & monopolised businesses in the space of SPM and robotic capital equipment in B2B and B2C space. I think there is a lot of scope in the development of drones, mobile robots for material handling, agriculture, medicine, warehousing /special purpose machines like hi-tech welding machines, IOT. Moreover, work can also be extended in B2C spaces like Robovacs.

What role is robotics playing in the growth journey of India?

Technology through artificial intelligence and robotics can prove to do wonders for the country's growth prospects. India still lags behind when it comes to robotics automation because the Indian market is not completely standardized. Robotics will create golden opportunities for entrepreneurs and start-up culture booming in India & expand horizons of development. Currently robotics is being vastly used in manufacturing and pharma sectors. The Covid-19 pandemic has especially helped in realising the scope of robotics as it was extensively used in medical fields for distribution & cleaning purposes. IOT has the capacity to increase efficiency by generating real productivity data.

India is currently on a good level but still has a long way to go. It is time that we start treating robotics as the near future alternative.

What is your take on the initiatives taken to boost domestic manufacturing?

I think this is a great initiative by the government as it will benefit the start-up culture, especially in the early stages. On an average, start-ups would never see any real money for the first five years -when they need it the most. In such cases, scheme like tax exemption under Start-up India help greatly. As a result of the Make in India campaign, Robotics companies in India are springing up at an astonishing rate. Even from mobile apps to services to capital equipment, Make in India being is being promoted on all levels. Consumers are now preferring Indian products & services, even at a little more cost than usual.

While the opportunities seem to be abundant, the challenges are grappling the manufacturing sector.

The manufacturing industry seems like a mine of opportunities, but it is true that it comes with its own challenges. Forecasting demand for tools, shortage of semiconductors and availability of raw material are the challenges that we have to go through every now and then. Moreover, it is no surprise that Covid has seriously impacted manufacturing from every corner. It is tough, even, with adequate planning to address the unpredictable & rapid variables of the outbreak. Really speaking, there is no ideal way on how to do deal with these problems as very little is left in our hands. Mostly, it affects our delivery period and distributes the overall economics. The only thing we can do is try to plan better, foreseeing the risks from quarter to quarter.

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