Inaugurating the EEPC India Centre, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has devoted major focus on innovation and technology for development of Indian engineering sector.
“The aim is to increase India’s share of Hi Tech and value added products exports in the global markets, which is currently pegged at around 6-8 per cent”.
To mark the occasion, Teaotia released a Compendium of Technology Upgradation by Government of India.
She said the centre shall also attempt gathering global market intelligence for technological development that would also help the Indian Government in framing appropriate policies for research and development in India. EEPC India envisages to collaborate with leading technology providers of the world.
The Commerce Secretary asked EEPC India to effectively implement strategies for narrowing the gap between technology development and its commercialization and promotion in the international markets. This would help a wider segment of MSMEs which could be benefited and their risks associated with investments in new technologies could be minimized.
The centre envisages a knowledge grid and shall provide access to expertise available with leading R&D Labs in India. The centre would also have arrangements with different R&D Labs and Institutions to provide experts with relevant engineering fields to connect with Video Conferencing facilities, and connect with engineering clusters in Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi/NCR, Kolkata, Jallandhar, Ahmedabad
Coinciding with the launch of the technology centre, a seminar on ‘Manufacturing high end technology products – Opportunities and challenges for Indian MSMEs’, was organised, presided over by the Commerce Secretary.
Addressing the seminar, Chairman of the EEPC India T S Bhasin said the most vital aspect of EEPC Technology Centre is that it would attempt to bridge the gap in country’s technological capabilities as India aspires to become a global manufacturing hub.
Through this initiative, the beneficiaries of the innovation and technological developments in the country would be brought closer to the prospective international markets.
“Today, Indian industry is highly dependent on the imports of sophisticated technologies such as Machine Tools, Capital Goods and other sophisticated instruments. The majority of Indian engineering enterprises are struggling at intermediate/medium level of Technological Capabilities. Indian manufacturers cannot just rely on lowering their costs in a bid to climb up the value chain. They need to invest in R&D, development of new products and services and skill training and development,” Bhasin said.
He said the SMEs are critical to Indian engineering exports and urged the Commerce Ministry to keep extending the support to the manufacturer and trader exporters in terms of technology and policies.