We need to change our current perception of quality standard and to look at globally accepted quality standards.
VV Kamath, National Sales Director, Fronius_____________________________________________
Fronius is one of the technology leaders in welding technology. Here, VV Kamath, National Sales Director, Fronius, shares his views on the ‘Make in India’ inititiative and the issues that need to be addressed.
Initiative will boost moralWhile talking about the ’Make in India’ Mr Kamath expressed his confidence and said the initiative will boost the morale of the engineering sector and will help create job opportunities. He said, “India is having the largest number of young engineers and the government initiative will help these engineers to get a future with employment and entrepreneurship. Some initiatives only pay for a short while but the ‘Make in India’ initiative can bring investment and set up industries that will last for time to come, as a major initiative which can benefit the country on a long-term.”
Fronius provides new technologyMr Kamath feels, Make in India is one of the finest initiatives taken at the right time by the present government. India is slowly becoming a manufacturing hub for the world due to engineering capabilities and qualified engineers and the resources. In the engineering industry, a lot of new materials are being used and developed which are light in weight and have high strength. Welding of some new materials is not possible with the conventional welding technologies. Fronius provides support with the latest welding technologies to weld new materials available in the market.
Change of perspective Mr Kamath suggests a change in the mindset of the people. He says, “Through Make in India we look at domestic and also export market. Make in India can succeed only if we change our attitude. Commitment towards the deliverable within the given time frame will be very important. We must also provide innovation and quality. We need to change our current perception of quality standard and to look at globally accepted quality standards.”
Engineering graduates drawn to IT industrySome issues will continue to perturb the industry when it comes to ‘Make in India’. These issues include problems like the consistency in availability of quality man power. There are several such issues namely, lack of modern technologies for manufacturing, lack of awareness about the latest trends in their specific industry. The IT industry is dominating the minds of the young as it offers attractive salary packages, which has drawn engineers to the IT industry. There is a need for skill development of engineers and operators. The country needs to be more investor friendly along with a availability of finance.
Revive other branches of engineeringMr Kamath rightly points out, “There is a lack of skilled operators in India. This calls for development of educational facilities in Tier I and Tier 2 cities to have a variety of skills required in trade. Today, 90 per cent of engineering colleges are offering courses related to Information technology while core subjects like civil, mechanical and electrical engineering seem to be less opted for. Core engineering subjects need to be revived to get quality engineers for serving the engineering and infrastructure industries. Without the skilled operators and qualified engineers, ‘Make in India’ will remain a mere dream.”
Fronius collaborating with the education sectorFronius has developed, state-of-the-art welding technology and gives technical know how to make new possibilities in welding. Fronius has set up a technology centre at its Pune facility to develop applications with new and challenging materials and this service is offered free of cost to benefit the customer. It has developed several applications for aerospace, automotive, power and engineering sectors.”
