ACMA convention sees captains of industry urge pursuit of high-quality production and innovation

The Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India’s (ACMA) 56^th annual session and national conference opened today in New Delhi, attended by the who’s who of the Indian automotive industry including CEOs of component suppliers, vehicle manufacturers and industry at large.

As is known, the Indian component industry contributes 25.6% to the country’s manufacturing GDP and 3.8% to national GDP, and provides direct employment to 1.5 million people. Last year, the component industry saw its exports rise to US$ 11.2 billion and achieve an overall turnover of US$ 38.5 billon.

Meanwhile, the Automotive Mission Plan (AMP 2026) has set a target of a turnover of US$ 223 billion by 2026 for the auto component sector backed with strong exports ranging between US$ 80 -100 billion. To achieve these numbers, captains of industry, who spoke at ACMA’s annual convention, exhorted all players to improve production quality at all costs and urged everyone to innovate.

In his welcome address, Arvind Balaji, president, ACMA and joint MD, Lucas-TVS, said, “India has all the ingredients to be among the leaders of the global automotive industry. The component industry has improved quality significantly, but not at par with global quality levels. Indian component makers have to move from being manufacturing partners to co-development partners.”

Like other industries, the government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign has enthused the automotive industry too and the focus on ease of doing business, implementation of GST and other reforms augur well for the component manufacturing industry. ACMA president Arvind Balaji said, “The entire industry is really delighted at the passing of the GST Bill. The government needs to be congratulated for it. Indian component makers have to move from being manufacturing partners to co-development partners.”

ACMA has adopted ‘Make Quality & Technology in India’ as its theme and the apex industry body’s aim has been to focus on strengthening the Indian component industry’s capabilities for new product development, improving quality standards, evolving technology to meet meeting the evolving emission and safety standards, upgrading people skills to support domestic and global expansion of OEMs, building auto-electronics manufacturing capabilities, embracing digital technology in manufacturing to transform productivity. All of this would also enabling Industry and India to become an attractive destination for investments.

Vinod Dasari, president, SIAM, and managing director of Ashok Leyland, said, “The term 'jugaad' is belittling Indian innovation, while Dr Naushad Forbes, president, CII, and co-chairman, Forbes Marshall, lauded the industry by saying, “I feel that the auto component industry is the leading industry of this country.”

Guenter Butschek, CEO and MD of Tata Motors, who said that the company is set to streamline its component supply chain to improve quality and performance, said: “We have to play close attention to safety norms and policy changes to contribute to market development effectively.” Addressing the component industry, he said: “There’s no room for lack of transparency, there’s lots of room for communication. Quality and Innovation are the cornerstones of success in today's business environment.

Rattan Kapur, vice-president, ACMA and CMD of Mark Exhaust Systems, said: “The worst is behind us. There will be an additional 1.5 million jobs in the Indian component industry by 2020.”

Government assures industry of full support

In his address, chief guest Anant Geete, Union Minister for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, said the government will support the auto industry in every aspect. “The auto sector is very important in creating new jobs and is a great contributor to India's overall growth story. We have to accept new technologies in order to evolve and be at par with the world. With new technologies, we also need to ensure quality assurance. Maintaining strict quality standards is very crucial for the survival of industry players. The government will take all important steps to promote the automotive industry. We are promoting hybrids, EVs and granting due subsidies to promote these environment-friendly vehicles. The government is worried about pollution issues that we are facing but all concerned ministries are acting together for the betterment of the industry. The government ministries and the automotive industry must work as a single team. Industry concerns are also the concerns of the government bodies, and we shall work together to address these concerns.” 

In the Special Plenary Session, chief guest Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, said the government is actively working on the vehicle scrappage scheme. He said that a new new end-of-life vehicle policy is in a draft stage and has been presented to the finance minister, Arun Jaitley. The policy proposes scrappage of 10-year-old diesel cars and 15-year-old petrol cars. He added that there are various incentives offered in stages by state governments and overall such a policy will lead to a 22% growth in the Indian auto industry’s manufacturing operations.

He said that a scrappage policy will lead to benefits both to the country and to people through employment generation. For India, which currently imports scrap metal, the metal obtained through the vehicle scrappage scheme will help reduce foreign exchange outflow.

The minister also revealed that Rs 800,000 crore has been earmarked to set up 27 industrial clusters for increasing exports and decreasing logistic costs. 

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