SixSense Raises $8.5 Mn Funding to Power AI-Driven Semiconductor Manufacturing

SixSense, a pioneer in AI for semiconductor manufacturing, announced a new round of funding led by Peak XV’s Surge (formerly Sequoia India & SEA), with participation from Alpha Intelligence Capital, Febe, and others.

Founded by engineers Akanksha Jagwani and Avni Agarwal, SixSense is tackling one of the semiconductor industry’s biggest challenges: turning raw production data from defect images to equipment signals into real-time intelligence that helps factories prevent quality issues, improve throughput, and produce more good chips from the same line.

With this new funding, SixSense will:

• Expand into chipmaking hubs across Malaysia, Taiwan, and the U.S.
• Partner with more AI-first inspection equipment makers to deliver deeper on-the-ground AI integration
• Invest in next-gen R&D — moving from isolated inspection tools to line-level intelligence, where multiple machines talk to each other through AI to improve factory-wide decisions in real time

As demand surges from AI, 5G, IoT, and electric vehicles, chipmakers are racing to build smaller, more complex chips — with far less room for error. “Making a single chip is one of the most demanding feats in modern manufacturing — it happens in cleanrooms thousands of times cleaner than hospital operating rooms and relies on precise coordination across hundreds of machines and thousands of ultra-sensitive steps,” said Akanksha Jagwani, Co-founder and CEO of SixSense. “Imagine trying to build a skyscraper out of microscopic Lego blocks, where a tiny shift in one brick — invisible to the eye — can collapse the whole structure. That’s what chip factories face every day.” Spotting early signs of failure before they spiral into costly defects or delays is a big challenge and that’s where AI becomes essential."

SixSense AI gives engineers the early warnings they need to fix problems. Their platform analyzes massive volumes of production data to detect, classify, and predict failure patterns — helping factories shift from reactive inspection to proactive control.

With SixSense, manufacturers can:

• Catch rare, small, and critical defects that humans often miss. 
• Avoid over-rejecting good chips — improving usable output (i.e., yield)
• Predict process drifts before they cause bigger failures

“Unlike traditional AI tools, SixSense is hardware-agnostic, explainable, and built for engineers — not data scientists,” said Avni Agarwal, Co-founder and CTO. “Process engineers can fine-tune models using their own fab data, deploy them in under two days, and trust the results — all without writing a single line of code. That’s what makes the platform both powerful and practical.”

SixSense already powers inspection lines at leading semiconductor manufacturers such as GlobalFoundries and JCET. Their customers have processed 100 million chips through the SixSense system and typically seen benefits such as : 30% faster production cycles 1%–2% higher yield by recovering chips that would’ve been wrongly rejected
Up to 20% fewer errors and >90% less manual effort

The platform is well integrated with major inspection equipment vendors that collectively cover over 60% of the market.

“We started with one step in the process — defect review — and quickly realized customers needed more,” said Akanksha. “Now we’re building the intelligence layer for the entire production line. It’s the foundation every modern fab will need.”

About SixSense: SixSense is an AI-powered platform transforming semiconductor manufacturing by turning raw production data into real-time factory intelligence that helps factories prevent quality issues, improve throughput, and produce more good chips. Founded by engineers Akanksha Jagwani and Avni Agarwal, the company helps chipmakers detect defects early, improve yield, and prevent costly production issues across increasingly complex fabrication lines. Unlike traditional AI tools, SixSense is hardware-agnostic, explainable, and built for process engineers - enabling quick deployment without coding. Backed by Peak XV’s Surge, Alpha Intelligence Capital, and Febe, SixSense is building the intelligence layer every modern fab needs from single inspection points to AI-driven line-level control.

India Reinstated the ALMM Mandate for Solar Products & Manufacturers To Protect Domestic Industry from China's Dumping

The Indian government has reinstated the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) mandate effective from April 1, 2024. This means that only solar products and manufacturers that are included on the MNRE- approved ALMM List-I are eligible for use in government-backed projects, including government projects, government-assisted projects, projects under government schemes and programmes, open access projects, and net-metering projects installed in the country

The ALMM was initially introduced to protect consumer interests and ensure energy security by verifying the reliability of solar product manufacturers. The policy also protect the domestic industry from the dumping of Chinese products.

The ALMM consists of two lists:

1. List-I: Specifies models and manufacturers of Solar PV Modules.
2. List-II: Specifies models and manufacturers of Solar PV Cells.

As per the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), only models and manufacturers included in List-I are eligible for use in government-related solar projects. The mandate had been put in abeyance for the financial year 2023-24, but with the recent update, it will be back in force for projects commissioned from April 2024 onwards.

This move is seen as a positive step for domestic solar OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and is expected to support the growth of the local solar manufacturing industry.

However, there are certain exemptions to the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) mandate. Here are some key points regarding the exemptions:

• Projects commissioned by the end of March 2024 are exempt from the requirement of procuring solar PV modules from the ALMM list.
• The mandate will be relaxed for solar projects in advanced stages of construction or if the order for modules has been placed before March 31, 2024.
• The ALMM will not apply to projects set up under open access solar or as captive by private parties.
• There is also an exemption from factory inspection in case of enlistment of additional models in ALMM which are similar to those already enlisted by the applicant but having lower wattage.

These exemptions are designed to provide flexibility and support the ongoing development of solar projects while transitioning to the ALMM system.

The ALMM order was previously put on hold for the financial year 2023-24 due to insufficient domestic module manufacturing capacity. However, with the updated mandate, projects commissioned by March 31, 2024, will be exempted from the requirement of procuring solar PV modules from the ALMM.

It's important for stakeholders in the solar energy sector to be aware of these updates to ensure compliance and eligibility for government projects. For the most current list of approved models and manufacturers, you can refer to the MNRE website.

By Adding Cloud Communication in Welding Process, IIT KGP with TCS Develop Novel Industry 4.0 Tech for Manufacturing Sector

IIT Kharagpur has developed novel Industry 4.0 technology for remotely controlled factory operations and real-time quality correction during industrial production, jointly with TCS to set a new trend in India’s advanced manufacturing sector.

At the time of pandemic when staffing has restrictions due to the hygiene and social distancing norms, cloud infrastructure, remote and real-time operations systems hold the key to maintain effective industrial operations. But the benefits of controlled operations have a bigger impact especially in the context of Atma Nirbhar Bharat in delivering quality output at low costs. The present innovation upgraded the industrial process of friction stir welding to a multi-sensory system of Industry 4.0. It has not only set the course for remotely controlled operations in the Indian industrial sector but has also enabled real-time quality check and correction during the production process. This will make possible for industrial houses to achieve standardized quality goals throughout the production process and reduce rejection hence lowering the cost of production.

Emphasizing on the need for such technologies to achieve the ‘Make in India’ goal, the Director Prof. Virendra K Tewari remarked, “While we are aiming to boost indigenous production and exports, our primary goal should be the quality output with minimum disruptions. Be it consumers in India or abroad, these are the two basic needs our industrial sector, which we must address for procuring orders in large volumes. At IIT Kharagpur’s Centre of Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing Technology, we have set our target to bring to the forefront indigenously developed industry 4.0 technologies to support our industrial sector to achieve this goal.”

The innovative technology developed by Prof. Surjya K Pal, Professor in-charge at the Centre of Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing Technology in association with TCS will acquire real-time information about the welding process through multiple sensors and enable online control of weld quality by means of cloud-based communication with the friction stir welding machine. 

Welding is at the heart of any industrial operations. If we can improve the weld quality in real-time during batch production we can reduce rejections in post production sample checks,” opined Prof. Pal. Explaining the new technology, he said, “Our multiple sensor process involves various signal processing and machine learning techniques to predict the ultimate tensile strength of the weld joint is fabricated. This technology is connected with a vast experimental knowledge base to conform to a standard system and prediction of the weld joint strength. Any defect identified during the monitoring procedure is corrected in real-time by sending modified parameters to the machine thus ensuring standardized quality of the process.

The concept of this technology can further be evolved for real-time control of other industrial processes and such work will be carried at the Centre with other industrial partners soon, affirmed Prof. Pal.

The Industry partner TCS views such an innovation has helped to give a direction as an enabler of technology based transformations in the country, especially in overcoming challenges called out by the pandemic. “The remote friction stir welding machine quality control via multi-sensor fusion developed by Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Advanced Manufacturing Technology at IIT Kharagpur is a case in point,” said K Ananth Krishnan, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. According to him, “The Embedded Systems & Robotics, IoT and ICME platform teams from TCS Research and Innovation are working closely with IIT Kharagpur’s CoE towards AI-driven prediction/control of weld strength using a scalable and robust platform. Academic partnerships are an important part of TCS Research and TCS Co Innovation Network (TCS CoIN) in creating real world solutions with scientific rigour.”

QAD Tomorrow Thought Stream Introduces the Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise

QAD Inc. (Nasdaq: QADA) (Nasdaq: QADB), a leading provider of flexible, cloud-based enterprise software and services for global manufacturing companies, held QAD Tomorrow, a one-hour global thought stream that introduced the Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise, QAD's vision for manufacturing companies that are built to survive and thrive in the face of disruption. The company also announced the availability of the Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise Maturity Model Diagnostic tool, which provides a method for manufacturers to gauge their preparedness to cope with disruption.

"Being prepared for the uncertain and the unforeseen, and ready to implement a rapid response to disruption, are critical for survival in today's highly competitive and challenging world." said QAD CEO Anton Chilton. "Recent events have had a huge impact worldwide and underline the need to be ready to face these challenges however and whenever they manifest themselves. The ability to adapt in near real-time to these types of events is critical to a business's success and even its survival. QAD engineers agile solutions that help manufacturers do exactly that. We call these companies Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprises."

QAD Tomorrow streamed globally September 22. The hour-long thought stream focused on the disruption in manufacturing and the imperative for manufacturers to digitally transform their businesses. Participants heard from QAD CEO Anton Chilton, CMO Carter Lloyds, CTO Tony Winter, and Michael Eckhardt from the Chasm Institute discussing the current trends disrupting industries worldwide and how manufacturers must be prepared to leverage disruption for competitive advantage.

"It was great to see registrations from 7 countries in South Asia," said QAD Managing Director South Asia, Jan Biezepol. "It's proof that South Asia manufacturing companies recognize the need to increase their ability to adapt to disruption. This region has been resilient while facing global business disruptors including natural disasters, geopolitical disruption and now a pandemic. Our market leaders push towards becoming really fast, agile, and effective companies, and I am glad to share how QAD can help them do so."



The Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise

QAD Tomorrow introduced the vision of the Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise. Chilton discussed how Industry 4.0 and the increasing importance of digital transformation can help manufacturers adapt in response to internal and external disruptions, changes in customer preference and government regulations.

QAD's Adaptive Applications portfolio of manufacturing solutions, including enterprise resource planning (ERP), demand and supply chain planning (DSCP), global trade and transportation execution (GTTE), and enterprise quality management systems (EQMS) is designed to help manufacturers become Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprises. Adaptive solutions can be modified, changed, extended, and adapted, as a company changes its business strategy in response to changes in the business climate.

The Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise Maturity Model Diagnostic

QAD Tomorrow also debuted the Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise Maturity Model Diagnostic, a complimentary diagnostic tool designed to help manufacturing companies gauge their ability to recognize and adapt to disruption. The Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise Maturity Model Diagnostic tool helps companies identify their business's strengths and potential weaknesses in the context of business disruption. It places companies in one of four stages along what QAD calls the Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise Maturity Model. Each stage, Disjointed Enterprise, Functional Enterprise, Effective Enterprise, and Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise, describes certain characteristics related to a company's ability to cope with disruption.

The results of the Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise Maturity Model Diagnostic can help manufacturing companies begin to answer the following questions:

• What does my company need to do to prepare for and manage disruption?

• How does my company compare to an ideal Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise?

• What does my company need to do to become an Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise?



About QAD – Enabling the Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise



QAD Inc. is a leading provider of adaptive, cloud-based enterprise software and services for global manufacturing companies. Global manufacturers face ever-increasing disruption caused by technology-driven innovation and changing consumer preferences. To survive and thrive, manufacturers must be able to innovate and change business models at unprecedented rates of speed. QAD calls these companies Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprises. QAD solutions help customers in the automotive, life sciences, consumer products, food and beverage, high tech and industrial manufacturing industries rapidly adapt to change and innovate for competitive advantage.

Meesho and Klub team up to Boost Local Manufacturing through Financing Partnership

Fintech startup, Klub has partnered with India’s social e-commerce giant, Meesho to support the local economy. This partnership aims to provide financing options for MSMEs on Meesho’s platform to enable domestic sourcing and manufacturing in the current COVID-19 economy.

Emphasizing on the honourable Prime Minister's call for self-reliance and lending support to Indian industries, the financing partnership of Klub and Meesho will provide end-to-end solutions to suppliers on the Meesho platform to raise capital for the growth of their businesses. Additionally, thisVocal for Localcollaboration will ensure flexible financing for select Meesho suppliers to source input material through domestic manufacturing units, and in turn, expand their business.

Commenting on the financing partnership, Anurakt Jain, Co-founder and CEO , Klub, said, “ As an embedded financing partner for Meesho, we look forward to combining our expertise and unique financial solutions with Meesho’s reach to provide some relief to small businesses. Klub’s goal is to enable local brands to reach their growth potential by offering flexible financing solutions." Founded by Anurakt Jain and Ishita Verma, and backed by Surge, Sequoia Capital India’s rapid scale-up program, Klub is actively building a platform to offer much-needed capital to local entrepreneurs in the Indian market.

Founded by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, Meesho currently has close to 4 million women entrepreneurs and 50,000 suppliers on its platform, who have in turn created more than 100,000 jobs in Tier 2 and 3 cities. "We are very excited to come together with Klub with a shared vision of converting business dreams to reality despite the challenges of the current economic situation," highlighted Vidit Aatrey, CEO, Meesho. The brand aims to encourage more local entrepreneurs to start up their businesses and eventually bolster the Indian economy by providing capital assurance through this partnership.

At a time when Indian MSMEs are reeling from the COVID-19 credit impact and are seeking alternative options for financing and growth, this partnership between the two home-grown startups further enables local manufacturing in the country.

About Klub

Klub is a fintech platform that provides skin-in-the-game growth capital to loved consumer brands through Revenue Based Financing (RBF). Klub is backed by marquee investors including Surge, Sequoia Capital India’s rapid scale-up program, EMVC Fintech Fund, and many prominent angels.

About Meesho

Meesho, founded by IIT-Delhi graduates Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal in 2015, is India’s largest social commerce platform that enables anyone to start an online business without investment.  It facilitates an innovative three-way marketplace enabling resellers, small and medium businesses (SMBs), and micro-entrepreneurs across India to connect with potential buyers using social media.

Cobots Maker Universal Robots Ties with Phillips Machine Tools India to Provide the Best CNC Machine Tool Automation Solutions to Indian Manufacturers

In an effort to boost productivity and help manufacturers emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever, pioneer and leading collaborative manufacturer Universal Robots (UR) joins hands with Phillips Machine Tools India, part of Phillips Corporation, the world's largest Haas factory outlet. Together, they are all set to offer machine shops a safe, user-friendly solution to optimize uptime and enable significant advantages to manufacturers in India. This is an extension of the existing partnership between the two companies in the USA, which was first announced in August 2019.

Universal Robots joins hands with Phillips Corporation - the largest global distributor of best-selling Haas CNC machines, to help Indian manufacturers boost productivity

Cobots are niche robotic arms which are quick to deploy, have a low footprint, and easy to program, even for those who are first time robot users. They overcome common barriers to automation faced by manufacturers in India, allowing them to implement Industry 4.0 technology. Traditionally, manufacturers face significant difficulties in the loading and unloading of CNC machines, which happens to be one the most popular applications of collaborative robots. Thus, the distributor agreement between Universal Robots India and Phillips Machine Tools India will ensure the rapid deployment of cobots with Haas CNC machines to help manufacturers staffing issues and stay competitive in this time of uncertainty. It will further offer affordable solutions to new and existing manufacturers and drive them to push the envelope by adopting flexible automation and increase overall productivity.

"Universal Robots India is pleased to partner with Phillips Machine Tools India, a Haas Factory Outlet, in bringing our solutions to the Automated Machine Tending marketplace in India. With Phillips' extensive installed base and service network pan India, Universal Robots and Phillips India will bring the benefits of democratized & flexible automation to MSMEs, SMEs & OEMs as India emerges from the pandemic with a leaner but more productive & efficient manufacturing sector," shares Pradeep David, General Manager, South Asia, Universal Robots.

Universal Robots has already sold over 44,000 cobots across the globe, with more than 1,000 UR cobots for tending Haas CNC machines. Phillips Corporation has an installed base of more than 19,000 Haas CNC machines around the world. More than 60 different Haas models can be automated with Universal Robots' cobot arms. This partnership between the world's largest distributor of the leading CNC brand and the top collaborative robot brand offers a slew of advantage for India's manufacturers, combining a Haas-UR solution offered with Phillips' manufacturing expertise and application know-how to help businesses boost productivity and also prepare for the possibility of any future disruptions.

"Today, more than ever before, it's all about the competitive edge. We at Phillips Machine Tools India offer innovative, affordable solutions that create an unbeatable competitive advantage for Indian manufacturing. Phillips Automation through Universal Robots offers Cobots: collaborative robots that provide cost-effective, flexible, and safe automation solutions for a wide range of CNC machine tending tasks. With over 10,000+ CNC machines and 10 technical centres spread across India we combine our machine tool expertise and automation experience to help our customers increase their machine productivity through simple, reliable automation, the Phillips way," says Terrence Miranda, Managing Director, Phillips Machine Tools India.

The companies see tremendous potential in both, retrofitting existing installations with UR cobots, and also for getting through the door to new customers, offering turn-key solutions. After all, there is no hardwiring or complex coding involved in getting a Universal Robot to communicate with a Haas machine since UR has solutions like the VersaBuilt software that facilitates two-way communication between the UR cobot and the CNC. This means UR cobots can easily execute any machining program stored on the Haas CNC directly through the cobot's own teach pendant, maintaining all Haas safety interlock features. The partnership, thus, endeavors to take manufacturing in India to a whole new level, especially empowering those who are new to automation with a solution that enables Make in India with skyrocketed efficiency and quality.

Watch UR cobots tend a wide range of Haas CNC machines here.

About Universal Robots
Universal Robots was founded in 2005 to make robot technology accessible to all by developing small, user-friendly, reasonably priced, flexible industrial robots that are safe to work with. Since the first collaborative robot (cobot) was launched in 2008, the company has experienced considerable growth with the user-friendly cobot now sold worldwide. The company, which is a part of Teradyne Inc., is headquartered in Odense, Denmark, and has subsidiaries and regional offices in the United States, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, Poland, Turkey, China, India, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Mexico.

For more information, please visit www.universal-robots.com or read our blog at www.blog.universal-robots.com/in

About Phillips Corporation
Phillips Corporation is a family-owned global manufacturing services company, partnering with customers to create legendary value by providing unparalleled expertise, innovative thinking, and solutions for those who shape the future. They partner with customers to improve competencies for applying manufacturing technology - resulting in leaps in productivity, great prosperity, and enduring competitive advantage.

Phillips Corporation globally is the World's Largest Haas Factory Outlet, combining the convenience and security of a local distributor with the strengths of an international organization.

~ Newsvoir

India Emerging as Electrical Vehicle Manufacturing Hub in 5 Yrs, Hopes Gadkari

India will be a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles in five years, Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said and urged players to grab opportunities amid changed circumstances in the wake of the COVID pandemic.

The road transport minister stated that global businesses are looking at possibilities outside China.

Addressing a webinar on 'India's Electric Vehicle Roadmap post-COVID-19', Gadkari assured the electric vehicles sector of all the support in view of disruptions caused by the coronavirus crisis.

According to a road ministry statement, Gadkari "expressed confidence that in the next five years, India will become a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles", and said the government is trying to extend "best possible concessions" to this sector.

The minister said the government has lowered the GST on electrical vehicles to 12 per cent.

Gadkari said he was aware of the issues facing the EV sector, but was also sure that things would change as sales volume rises.

On the present trend in the global market, he said, "The world is no more interested in doing business with China, which is a very good opportunity for Indian industry to pick up the shift in business."

Gadkari further said that with petroleum fuel being available in limited quantity, the world has to look for alternate and cheap sources of power, and added that electric and bio fuels stand a good chance for adoption.

He also said that ensuing vehicle scrapping policy will give a fillip to the auto manufacturing sector.

The minister cited the London model of public transport, where private and public investment is working well, the statement said. He said similar approach will be beneficial in India for both the poor commuters and the civic administration.

He also talked about plans like working on a pilot project for developing an electric highway on the upcoming Delhi-Mumbai Green Corridor.

Gadkari expressed full confidence in the capabilities of the auto sector, and said, with consistency and self confidence in this economic crisis, it can gather good market opportunities.

He also called upon the industry to go in for indigenisation and support Prime Minister's ‘AtmNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.' PTI NAM

IAMAI Launches Helpdesk to Assist Investors in Electronics Manufacturing

Industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) on Wednesday said it has launched a helpdesk for mobile and its component manufacturers seeking to relocate their production bases in India.

Its reach-out programme will seek to amplify the policy packages to help create a buzz around India as the preferred destination for investment through Indian and international agencies such as Invest India and others.

The announcement comes on the heels of three major schemes being launched by the Indian government - Production-Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI), Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS) and Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme - to boost the electronics manufacturing sector.

These policies echo the maxim 'vocal for local' as espoused by the Prime Minister for a stronger and more self-reliant Indian economy, IAMAI said in a statement.

Electronics import accounts for almost 11 per cent of total imports in India, and is valuated at Rs 4 trillion as on October 2019.

A vibrant domestic electronics manufacturing sector can not only help India reduce import dependency and become self-reliant, but has the potential of emerging as a major export revenue earner for the country, it said.

IAMAI extends its full co-operation to the government in this endeavour and the helpdesk is an effort to compliment the initiative, it said.

"The government agencies are not well-equipped to hand-hold individual firm, promote incentives overseas; and manufacturing investments are very difficult to relocate on account of time and effort.

"Therefore, considerable additional efforts are required to build trust and convince global manufacturing firms to actually take the call to invest in a new location," IAMAI said.

The IAMAI helpdesk seeks to address these issues via a two-pronged approach.

The industry body said it will leverage its international partners for the helpdesk to vigorously promote the enabling policies that the Government of India has announced in overseas markets such as East Asia, Europe, and the US with a view to establish India as a preferred destination of investment in electronics manufacturing.

IAMAI noted that some investors perceive India to be a difficult market for investments on account of variations in language, the two-tiered federal structure, compliance, and obligations under federal laws, taxation, and customs clearances.

The association understands that global firms will require a deeper level of handholding through various issues in the course of their relocation - from the initiation of the investment decision to the actual settlement at a location of their choice and convenience, it added.

"Investment in manufacturing is based on transparency and robustness of policies which the government has provided in case of electronics manufacturing. On the other hand, there is a need for on-ground support and hand-holding leading to trust-building with individual firms, which IAMAI seeks to enable via the helpdesk," IAMAI President Subho Ray said. PTI SR

Promotion of Domestic Manufacturing of Medical Devices Approved by Cabinet

The government on Saturday approved a production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for promoting domestic manufacturing of medical devices, with financial implications of Rs 3,420 crore.

The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi also approved another promotion of medical device parks scheme worth Rs 400 crore for financing common infrastructure facilities in four medical device parks, an official statement said.

The expenditure to be incurred for the said schemes will be for the next five years i.e. from 2020-21 to 2024-25, it added.

"The Union cabinet has approved a scheme on promotion of medical device parks for financing common infrastructure facilities in four medical device parks with financial implications of Rs 400 crore, and approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for promoting domestic manufacturing of medical devices with financial implications of Rs 3,420 crore," it said.

Under the sub-scheme for promotion of medical device parks, common infrastructure facilities would be created in four medical device parks, which is expected to reduce manufacturing cost of medical devices in the country.

"The PLI scheme for promoting domestic manufacturing of medical devices would boost domestic manufacturing and attract large investments in the medical device sector, particularly in the identified target segments. It will lead to expected incremental production of Rs 68,437 crore over a period of five years," the statement said.

The medical device sector suffers from a cost of manufacturing disability of around 12 per cent to 15 per cent, vis-a-vis competing economies, among other factors, on account of lack of adequate infrastructure, domestic supply chain and logistics, high cost of finance, inadequate availability of quality power, limited design capabilities and low focus on research and development activities (R&D) and skill development, etc.

There is, thus, a need for a mechanism to compensate for the manufacturing disability, it said.

It further said that the schemes have potential to generate an additional employment of 33,750 jobs over a period of five years and reduce import of target segments of medical devices. PTI ABI

Incentives worth Rs 48,000 Cr Approved to Boost Electronics Manufacturing

The Union Cabinet has cleared three schemes involving a total incentive of around Rs 48,000 crore to boost electronics manufacturing in the country, Telecom and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday.

The government is expecting to generate manufacturing revenue potential of Rs 10 lakh crore and create direct and indirect jobs for 20 lakh people by 2025 through these schemes, he said.

Besides this, the Cabinet in its meeting held on Friday also approved incentives for medical devices to reduce dependency on import of electronic products for medical care in the country.

"Two long-term policy decisions have been taken to make India a big hub of manufacturing. First in case of electronics, second in case of pharma and also medical devices. Cabinet has approved production linked-incentive for electronics companies. We will give Rs 40,995 crore in the coming five years for production linked-incentive," Prasad said.

Under the scheme, electronic manufacturing companies will get an incentive of 4 to 6 per cent on incremental sales (over base year) of goods manufactured in India and covered under target segments, to eligible companies over a period of next 5 years.

Industry body India Cellular and Electronics Association said that the PLI scheme is of global scale which not only spur manufacturing but more importantly exports of mobile handsets at a global scale.

"The National Policy for Electronics 2019 envisions India to reach a mobile phone production of USD 190 billion by 2025, of which USD 110 billion would be exported. PLI is the policy intervention to support the ambition to build the electronics sector, where the main focus remains on manufacturing of mobile phones and components," ICEA Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said.

The Cabinet approved scheme for promotion of manufacturing of electronics components and semiconductors with a budget outlay of Rs 3,285 crore spread over a period of 8 years.

It also approved revised version for electronics manufacturing clusters with a total incentive outlay of Rs 3,762.25 crore spread over a period of 8 years with an objective to create 10 lakh direct and indirect jobs under the scheme.

"Because of these three schemes, we hope to generate manufacturing revenue potential of Rs 10 lakh crore by 2025 and generate direct and indirect jobs for 20 lakh people," Prasad said.

The government estimates that PLI scheme, domestic value addition for mobile phones is expected to rise to 35-40 per cent by 2025 from the current level of 20-25 per cent and generate additional 8 lakh jobs, both direct and indirect.

"This incentive is linked to production and investment in India. We also make 3-4 Indian companies also champion companies," Prasad said.

The government estimates that push for manufacturing of electronics components and electronic chips with create around 6 lakh direct and indirect jobs.

"If India has to progress in the field of electronics then it should also become a centre for component manufacturing for electronics, telecommunications, consumer electronic, medical electronics, strategic electronics etc. This is investment in the downstream value chain. We will give 25 per cent incentive on capital expenditure," Prasad said.

The EMC 2.0 scheme will provide financial assistance upto 50 per cent of the project cost subject to a ceiling of Rs 70 crore per 100 acres of land for setting up of Electronics Manufacturing Cluster projects.

"Electronic manufacturing clusters will be spread in an area of 200 acres across India and 100 acres in North East part of the country. Whoever will make investment of Rs 300 crore under this scheme will be given incentives," Prasad said.

The minister said that the production of mobile phones in the country has gone up 8 times in last 4 years from around Rs 18,900 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 1.7 lakh crore in 2018-19 and the domestic demand is almost completely being met out of domestic production.

"It is extremely critical to keep it (implementation of schemes) simple. Quick disbursement of money on the basis of one or at-most two parameters and ensure annual signoff with no retrospective claims on industry on incentives disbursed," MAIT President Nitin Kunkolienker said.

Europe Leads the Way in AI in Manufacturing Operations Adoption - Report

Over half of European manufacturers are implementing AI use cases in the sector with Germany a frontrunner on 69% AI adoption versus US at 28% and China at 11%

A new report from the Capgemini Research Institute highlights that the European market is leading in terms of implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in manufacturing operations. 51% of top global manufacturers in Europe are implementing at least one AI use case. The research also analyzed 22 AI use cases in operations and found that manufacturers can focus on three use cases to kickstart their AI journey: intelligent maintenance, product quality control, and demand planning.

Capgemini’s report entitled ‘Scaling AI in manufacturing operations: A practitioners’ perspective’ analyzed AI implementation among the top 75 global organizations in each of four manufacturing segments: Industrial Manufacturing, Automotive, Consumer Products and Aerospace & Defense. The study found that AI holds tremendous potential for industries in terms of reduced operating costs, improved productivity, and enhanced quality. Top global manufacturers in Germany (69%), France (47%) and the UK (33%) are the front-runners in terms of deploying AI in manufacturing operations, according to the research.

Key points from the report include:

AI is being utilized and making a difference across the operation value chain

Leading organizations are using AI across manufacturing operations to significant benefit. Examples include food company Danone which has succeeded in reducing forecast errors by 20% and lost sales by 30% through using machine learning to predict demand variability. Meanwhile, tire manufacturer Bridgestone has introduced a new assembly system based around automated quality control, resulting in over 15% improvement in uniformity of product.



Manufacturers tend to focus on three main use cases to kickstart their AI journey

According to the report, manufacturers start their AI in operations journey with three use cases (out of 22 unique ones identified in the study) as they possess an optimum combination of several characteristics that make them an ideal starting point. These characteristics include: clear business value, relative ease of implementation, availability of data and AI skills, among others. Executives interviewed by Capgemini commented that product quality control, intelligent maintenance, and demand planning are areas where AI can be most easily implemented and deliver the best return-on-investment. For instance, General Motors piloted a system to spot signs of robotic failures before they occur. This helps GM avoid costs of unplanned outages which can be as high as $20,000 per minute of downtime. While there is consensus on which use cases are best to get started with AI in operations, the study also points out the challenge of scaling beyond the first deployments and then systematically harvest the potential of AI beyond those initial use cases.

“As implementation of AI in manufacturing operations matures, we will see large enterprises transitioning from pilots to broader deployment,” said Pascal Brosset, Chief Technology Officer for Digital Manufacturing at Capgemini. “Quite rightly, organizations are initially focusing their efforts on use-cases that deliver the fastest, most-tangible return on investment: notably in automated quality inspection and intelligent maintenance.

“The executives we interviewed were clear that these are functions which can deliver considerable cost savings, improve the accuracy of manufacturing and eliminate waste. However, the leaders do not solely focus on these use cases but, in parallel with their deployment, prepare for the future by reinvesting part of the savings into building a scalable data/AI infrastructure and developing the supporting skills.” He further added.



The report concludes by outlining recommendations to scale AI in manufacturing operations (see the figure below):

To read the full report, click here.

Report methodology

Capgemini conducted extensive secondary research on the AI initiatives being tested and implemented by 300 global manufacturers – the top 75 global organizations in four manufacturing segments (Automotive, Industrial Manufacturing, Consumer Products, and Aerospace & Defence) by their annual global revenue in each of the four sectors listed above.

Capgemini also interviewed over 30 senior executives from the manufacturing sector, belonging to the following industries: Industrial Manufacturing, Automotive Consumer products, and, Aerospace & defense. 

These executives belonged to four distinct profiles:

1. Department/function head in one or more manufacturing plant(s) e.g., maintenance, production, quality


2. Plant leadership (plant manager/director)


3. Director/VP Operations (corporate / multi-country responsibility)


4. AI Heads/ Heads of Innovation/ Chief Digital Officers 

US-based QAD Prepares for 5G Connected Factories to Transform Indian Manufacturing

US-based manufacturing software company QAD (NASDAQ: QADA, QADB) recently released QAD Adaptive ERP, part of its QAD Adaptive Applications software suite, as it prepares for a future with 5G-connected factories.

QAD is a leading provider of flexible, cloud-based enterprise software and services for global manufacturing companies across the automotive, life sciences, consumer products, food and beverage, high technology and industrial manufacturing industries. QAD’s Adaptive Applications portfolio is headlined by QAD Adaptive ERP and features secure and flexible enterprise and supply chain solutions built for global manufacturing companies. It has done business in India since 2005 and employs 250 people in its Mumbai office.

QAD Adaptive ERP is built on the QAD Enterprise Platform, which enables companies to prepare for and better address industry change by updating and extending the software to meet current business needs. Manufacturing companies, suppliers and customers have become increasingly interconnected and data-driven over a common network, a trend that is expected to be accelerated with the adoption of 5G technology. QAD Adaptive ERP allows users to react quickly to new trends and leverage them for competitive advantage.

Commenting on the same, Tony Winter, Chief Technology Officer, QAD stated “5G should allow companies to access larger amounts of data more quickly from smart products. The technology is still evolving, but eventually it will be stable and reliable enough for industrial uses. QAD's adaptive solutions are prepared for smart manufacturing featuring machines connected through a network of IoT-capable devices.”

[caption id="attachment_134091" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Debajit Roy, Country Director QAD[/caption]

Commenting on the same Mr. Debajit Roy, India Country Head said “The Indian manufacturing industry is set to undergo an important transformation with the arrival of 5G.Therefore, we have a focused business approach to help Indian customers leverage technology disruption.”

About QAD – The Effective Enterprise

QAD Inc. (NASDAQ: QADA) (NASDAQ: QADB) is a leading provider of flexible, cloud-based enterprise software and services for global manufacturing companies. QAD Adaptive ERP for manufacturing supports operational requirements in the areas of financials, customer management, supply chain, manufacturing, service and support, analytics, business process management and integration. QAD's portfolio includes related solutions for quality management software, supply chain management software, transportation management software and B2B interoperability. Since 1979, QAD solutions have enabled customers in the automotive, consumer products, food and beverage, high tech, industrial manufacturing and life sciences industries to better align operations with their strategic goals to become Effective Enterprises.

In a Boost to Co.s like Apple, Govt may Permit 100% FDI in Contract Manufacturing: Sources

The government is working on a proposal to allow 100% FDI in contract manufacturing with a view to attract overseas investments, said a PTI release citing sources. Contract Manufacturing or Private Label Manufacturing refer to Production of goods by one company, under the label or brand of another.

According to the existing foreign investment policy, 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) is permitted in the manufacturing sector under the automatic route. A manufacturer is also allowed to sell products manufactured in India through wholesale and retail channels, including through e-commerce, without government's approval.

"The current policy does not talk about contract manufacturing and it is not clearly defined in the policy. Big technology companies across the world are going for this, so there is a need for a clarification on the matter which government is considering positively," they said.

The commerce and industry ministry is working on a proposal that would be finalized soon and sent for Union Cabinet's approval.

Commenting on the proposal, Rajat Wahi, Partner, Deloitte India, said the move if approved by the government will give a boost to the manufacturing sector.

"It is a welcome proposal for technology based companies like Apple," he said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech in July had proposed relaxation in the FDI norms for certain sectors such as aviation, AVGC (animation, visual effects, gaming and comics), insurance, and single brand retail with a view to attract more overseas investment.

FDI in India dipped 1% to USD 44.36 billion in 2018-19. Last year, the government had relaxed FDI rules for several sectors, including single brand retail, non- banking financial companies and construction.

Foreign investments are considered crucial for India, which needs billions of dollars for overhauling its infrastructure sector such as ports, airports and highways to boost growth.

FDI helps in improving the country's balance of payments situation and strengthen the rupee value against other global currencies, especially the US dollar. PTI RR MKJ

World's largest Automation firm Rockwell Automation to Help Indian Manufacturers

On the concluding day of the Rockwell Automation 2019 TechEd India, the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information announced its plans to help partner manufacturers in India equip their workforce better in working with changing technologies and bridge Industry 4.0 skill gaps by offering e-learning, instructor-led courses, certificate programs, and training workstations.

Speaking at the premier industrial technology training and education platform TechEd India, Dilip Sawhney, Managing Director, Rockwell Automation India said, “India Inc. is witnessing a shift towards smart factory shop floors designed to boost productivity, improve quality, and optimise costs to help companies stay competitive. However, we are also staring at a huge skills gap in the country’s workforce when it comes to operating Industry 4.0 technologies. This must be addressed at both the corporate and government policy levels to accelerate India’s digital transformation and achieve our collective vision of becoming a $5 Trillion economy by 2024."

[caption id="attachment_132856" align="aligncenter" width="700"] ilip Sawhney, Managing Director, Rockwell Automation India at TechED 2019 Mumbai[/caption]

At what has emerged as the leading technical education and user conferences in the manufacturing industry more than 300 attendees participated in a unique two-day learning and networking experience with over 70 sessions, including thought-provoking keynote presentations, expert-led technical sessions, interactive hands-on labs, and demonstrations to learn about the latest techniques and technologies to optimize production data and build secure networks to transform their business.

The event began with an informative keynote presentation by Joe Bartolomeo, Vice President Enterprise Accounts & Software Sales, Rockwell Automation that highlighted the importance of investing in smart manufacturing and production to remain competitive on a global scale. He explained that with a growing consumer market demanding more choice, manufacturers needed to embrace new technologies to address changing requirements. Industrial IoT is estimated to have an economic impact of 4.6 trillion dollars by 2025 as new technologies including analytics, mobility, app platforms and the cloud, help securely connect plant information with enterprise systems.

“In addition to investing in the right technology & systems, businesses also need to invest in people right now to build the workforce of tomorrow. To make the Industry 4.0 enabled Connected Enterprise a reality, we first need to start creating a pipeline of skilled problem solvers, builders, makers, and innovators. It is towards this goal that Rockwell Automation will continue to partner with industry and academic institutions in India and across the region,” emphasised Bartolomeo.

Designed for end users, systems integrators, distributors, partners and machine builders, TechEd 2019 India created opportunities for participants to learn from industry experts and hear how their peers are solving manufacturing and production challenges. The sessions focused on data analytics and on the convergence of IT/OT to achieve smart manufacturing by capturing industrial data. The event also provided attendees with the latest innovations in mobility and virtualization, information management and analytics, as well as safety and security.

Rockwell Automation TechEd is one of the most renowned technology educational events in the manufacturing arena, boasting of industry’s only multi-day format. It focuses on the latest technologies and cutting-edge solutions offered by Rockwell Automation & Its PartnerNetwork™. #RATechEd help customers embark on their journey towards smart manufacturing through digital transformation and achieve enhanced productivity, competitiveness and sustainability.
About Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information, makes its customers more productive and the world more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., Rockwell Automation employs approximately 23,000 people serving customers in more than 80 countries.

~ Business Wire India

J&K - Asia's largest Helmet maker Steelbird offers to Set Up Plant

Asia's largest helmet manufacturer Steelbird Hi-tech India on Tuesday offered to set up a manufacturing plant in Jammu & Kashmir, a day after article 35A granting special status to the state was revoked by the government.

This will help the Kashmir Valley kickstart a new industrial revolution and employment for the citizens, said Steelbird in a statement welcoming the government's move.

"It is a much awaited move by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to overrule Article 370 . This fantastic move ensures that the Valley enters the Indian mainstream and becomes a part of our nation's collective growth," said Steelbird Helmets Chairman Subhash Kapur.

Until now, most of the manufacturing activity in J&K has remained restricted to the state's inherent capacities in agriculture and handicraft, it added.

"We think it will kickstart with the companies tying up with established local players to build the ecosystem. This is how most cities and states grow and we see it as a great opportunity for localites first," said Steelbird Helmets MD Rajeev Kapur.

"We plan to come up with manufacturing facility in accordance to the upcoming investor summit in the month of October. We hope the decisions will allow the businesses to operate freely under the same rules in the Valley," he added.

Steelbird already has invested Rs 150 crore in the manufacturing plants at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh and is now planning to enhance the production capacity to 44,500 helmets a day.

It intends to replicate the same success story for the Valley as well, the statement added. PTI KRH

Use of Robots has Doubled in Global Manufacturing

The use of robots in US manufacturing has more than tripled over the two decades, and has doubled in the rest of the world, replacing certain categories of worker, according to a report published Monday.

As of 2017, automation in the United States had risen to 1.8 robots for every 1,000 workers from just 0.5 recorded 22 years earlier, according to research by the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis.

The report found the highest prevalence of robots in the auto sector, with France in the lead, followed by the United States and Germany.

Automation has eroded the number of intermediate "middle-skill" occupations, while the share of high-skill and low-skill positions has grown, it said.

France leads the way in employing robots to build cars auto, using 148 robots for every 1,000 workers, compared to 136 in the United States, while Italy and Germany each use about 120, the study found.

In all manufacturing industries, the study found Germany and Italy are ahead of the United States in adopting the use of robot technology.

"France, and the average of the countries Spain, the UK and Sweden were ahead of the US in the late 1990s and early 2000s but in the last decade it seems the US has overtaken these countries," the report found.

In India, Companies are expected to use automation in the workplace to increase from the current 14% to 27% in three years, higher than the global and APAC average, says a a survey by Willis Towers Watson. However, a previous report in 2017 by industry analyst firm HFS had revealed that artificial intelligence and automation could cost a whopping 7,50,000 jobs in the next 5 years, in India.

In November, Panasonic announced that the it is looking to launch two of its latest assisted robotic products in India by this year. This includes a robot that can carry luggage and the other one is assisted-walking robot which the company wants to launch in hospitals before selling to the consumer market. For its robotics products, Panasonic will initially target hospitals in India and then eventually take these for B2C (business to consumer) market sales in the country.

It may also be recalled that in last October technology firm ABB had announced that its is investing US$150 million n Shanghai, China for building the world’s most advanced, automated and flexible robotics factory - a cutting-edge center where robots make robots. The new Kangqiao manufacturing center, near ABB’s expansive China robotics campus, will combine the company’s connected digital technologies, including ABB Ability™ solutions, state-of-the-art collaborative robotics and innovative artificial intelligence research to create the most sophisticated and environmentally sustainable “factory of the future.” It is expected to begin operating by the end of 2020.

Govt-Owned NRDC Invites Applications from Startups for Seed/Angel Funding

The National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), a non-departmental government body in India, has invited proposals for Seed/Angel funding from manufacturing startups in the country. The Scheme supports innovations that have the potential to build and shape the development of technology-driven entrepreneurs.

Established with an aim to transfer technology from the public sector to the private sector, NRDC is an enterprise of Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India.

NRDC proposes to participate in the equity share capital of startup and early-stage growth focused on innovative companies. It proposes to invest in innovative entrepreneurs at the crucial stage where the ventures are just getting off the ground. It is a high stake investing, which can result in unexpected returns.

Through this scheme, the Corporation would select startup and early stage companies and provide a part of the capital required, as Seed/Angel funding to innovators, who prima-facie have the potential to develop significant technical and commercial entities.

For an equity in the startup/company, NRDC will provide funding ranging from Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 30 lakhs.

Eligibility

Entrepreneurs must have their incubatee companies based in Incubators in any Central/State Government supported institutions. The incubatee company must have been in existence for at least six months, prior to submitting a fund request for angel funding. Further, the organization structure of such Incubators must be a non-profit organization, such as, Registered Society or Section 25/Section 8 Company.

New start-up and early-stage growth focused innovative companies (mainly engaged in development and commercialization of new products or new application of existing products or new technologies or processes) based Incubators in any State / Central Government supported institutions are eligible. The Startup should be incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956.

The last date for the application's submission has been extended to December 15, 2018.

Applications will be evaluated for their scientific, technological, commercial, managerial and financial merits.

More Info - https://www.nrdcindia.com/english/images/tenders/ASF2018-2.pdf

Via - BiospectrumIndia

B2B Commerce Company Moglix Launches GST Technology for the Manufacturing Sector

Leading B2B commerce startup Moglix, today announced the launch of its GST (Good and Services Tax) technology for the manufacturing sector. In its endeavor to boost the manufacturing sector, Moglix aims to empower SME to large suppliers and buyers through its GST technology (business.moglix.com) to file indirect taxes seamlessly, while maintaining a close vigil on the 100% reconcilability of the entire value chain. Recently, Moglix partnered with a couple of GSP applicants to demonstrate its GST technology to the GSTN (Goods and Services Tax Network) panel for taxpayers and businesses to achieve 100% compliance.

Moglix has been working with 200+ large enterprises and 40,000+ SMEs on their supply chain and B2B commerce, powering them with its integrated digital supply chain technology. Its technology is uniquely placed to gear them up for the GST compliance challenge looming large from the next financial year. With an increased focus of GOI on indirect tax collection and leakage, this is going to be an “adapt or perish” choice for everyone in the ecosystem.

“Taxation and compliance has been a long-standing pain point in the ecosystem where easy and simple technology will help Indian industry scale up significantly, to compete in the global arena”, said Rahul Garg, Founder and CEO, Moglix.

GST, labelled as one of the foremost indirect tax reforms in the country since Independence, has inched one step closer to becoming a reality from 1st Apr’17. While the mechanism of implementation is still being fine-tuned, there is an equivocal agreement on its positive ramification across the board, especially in the manufacturing sector. Indian manufacturing is a large sector ($300B) accounting for 17% of the country’s GDP and is a very complex domain from an indirect taxation perspective. Today, the sector is plagued with myriads of taxations like SVAT, CST, Excise, CENVAT etc., and GST is going to be a welcome change with significant improvement on ease of doing business.

Rahul added, “We believe that GST shall fundamentally redefine the B2B commerce in the country, which in the past has been plagued by the multitude of state and central compliances. Moglix aims to enable a large section of manufacturing sector to smoothly migrate to the new regime. We dream of supply chain where we will achieve 100% reconciliation of goods, services, Information, payments and taxation, with highest standards of quality, cost and delivery”.

GST shall impact manufacturers in multiple ways; first and foremost, it creates a single/central technology infrastructure for indirect taxation for manufacturers. Second, it enables a 100% reconciliation of the tax flow across the entire value chain in a time bound manner. Third, the tax ERP of every organization will now be maintained centrally inside the GSTN system. These changes shall enable India to get rid of tax leakages in any shape or form in the future and give rise to a true white-economy.

Mr. Atul Jain, VP Procurement, Lumax Group (which has INR 2,500+ CR in revenues) said, “Dealing with thousands of vendors, their invoices, payments, logistics used to be a challenge for us as it called for significant management bandwidth. We started using business.moglix a few months back and it has turned out to be a fresh change for procurement, logistics, finance and IT managers to address all these issues. To our delight, the platform also takes care of GST compliance for our buyers/suppliers which is going to be a massive exercise for enterprises running in offline mode”.