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t is rightly said that the illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn. We are smack in between the era of constant change and a perpetually uneven economic situation, globally.

Then again, it is a matter of perception and more importantly, about adaptability, how you perceive it and react to realities, having the potential to disrupt businesses. It is good to be aware of the fact that a tide of change is sweeping across the manufacturing landscape

and the sea of change continues to bring waves of disruption. You cannot run from developments of this magnitude. The only question is, will you get hammered by these monster waves, or ride them to explore newer opportunities?

Change is the process by which the future invades our lives, but then again, it is about the ways in which we adapt – or fail to adapt – to the future. Easier said than done, really! Taking note of this and being sensitive and aware of the cautious business climate prevailing, MFG, Fast Forward, this very special edition along with the 14th Anniversary of your magazine is all about being a true companion in good and tough times. This edition is crafted with one single aim — how can we be a true guide to our readers in equipping and enabling them to be FUTURE READY?

Successfully coping with rapid change will require most of us to adopt a new stance towards the future, a new sensitive awareness of the role it plays in the present. But as a Chinese proverb rightly emotes: “To prophesy is extremely difficult – especially with respect to the future.” This means that every statement about the future ought, by right, to be accompanied by a string of qualifiers – ifs, ands, buts. The inability to speak with precision and certainty about the future, however, is no excuse for silence.

In dealing with the future, at least for the purpose at hand, it is more important to be imaginative and insightful rather than to be one hundred per cent ’right‘. In our lifetime, the boundaries have burst, the ‘successful business models’ are no more safe, the traditional moulds of manufacturing practices are no more the ‘most productive’, but even with these prevailing realities, can we ever say that the future has prematurely arrived?…Never!

In this new era of manufacturing, new ideas are put to work much more quickly than before. The time between the original concept and its practical use has been radically reduced. But if it takes less time to bring a new idea to the marketplace, it also takes less time for it to sweep through society. Thus, the interval application and diffusion – has likewise been sliced and the pace of diffusion is rising with astonishing speed.

The stepped-up pace of invention, exploitation and diffusion, in turn, accelerates the whole cycle still further. For new machines or techniques are not merely a product, but a source of fresh creative ideas. Each new machine or technique, in a sense, changes all the existing machines and techniques by permitting us to put them together into new combinations. The number of possible combinations rises exponentially as the number of new machines or techniques rises arithmetically.

Here’s an Anniversary treat for you! Relish it and be FUTURE READY… see you there!

IFAST & FLEXIBLE – BE FUTURE READY

Archana [email protected]

EDITORIAL

CONTENTSM

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PROSPECTS & POSSIBILITIESEnvisioning India’s Industrial Prowess

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FUTURE TRENDSInnovation Democratised…Manufacturing Goes Personal

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46 INCLUSIVE GROWTHA Challenging Opportunity

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‘People From Tier II & III Cities Are The Real Crafters Of India’s Growth Story’Krishnamurthi Venkataramanan, Director & President – Engineering & Construction Projects, Larsen & Toubro

‘It Is Time India Should Emerge As A Space Power’Dr G Madhavan Nair, Former Chairman, ISRO

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‘You Have To Earn The Right To Exist’Carl Bass, President and CEO, Autodesk Inc.

84‘You Should Be Self-motivated To Inspire Other Team Members’Ramesh Chandak, MD & CEO, KEC International and President, IEEMA86‘Localisation Is Key To Our Business Growth’Daizo Ito, President, Panasonic India

92‘You Don’t Do Lean, You Become Lean’Peter Walsh, Founder President, Lean Enterprise, Australia

94‘A Company’s Best Strategy Should Focus On Things That Other Companies Cannot Replicate’Sheena Iyengar, ST Lee Professor of Business, Columbia Business School96‘Small Companies Fail When They Copy Big Companies’ Processes & Strategies’Nirmalya Kumar, Director, Aditya Birla India Centre at the London Business School100‘Success Can Only Be Achieved Through Repeated Failure’Paul Sloane, An acclaimed author & speaker on creative problem-solving and lateral leadership102

MODULAR FABRICATION FACILITY, HAZIRA, L&TExhibiting Process & Projects Competency

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TATA MOTORS PIMPRI PLANTPassion Driven Production

SUZLONDecoding The Green Champion’s Success

SONA KOYO STEERING SYSTEMSSteering Best Management Practices To Achieve Excellence

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13 EDITORIALFast & Flexible – Be Future Ready

CONTENTSDHRUVMarking The Dawn Of Advanced Light Helicopters

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TERRAFUGIA’S FLYING CARBringing Transition In Mobility

CHANDRAYAAN-1Making Mission Moon Possible

DEEP SEA MININGExploring The Riches Of The Ocean

MAKING OF PSLVDecoding Indian Rocket Science

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CLASSIC STRIPESGraphics Add Style & Persona To The Auto Sector

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AZURE POWERUsing Solar Energy To Power India

VISVIVATreading On A Sustainable Route To Develop Alternative Fuel

GREEN HYDROCREATIVESCapitalising On The Hydrogen Potential

REVERSE LOGISTICS COMPANYEnabling Waste To Reduce Waste

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201 PRODUCT INDEXAlphabetical Listing Of Products Presented In The Issue

212 ADVERTISERS’ LISTAdvertisers’ List In Chronological Order

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40 SEARCH - THE INDUSTRIAL SOURCEBOOK | J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 2

MFG 2020 – PROSPECTS & POSSIBILITIES

ver since the beginning of the millennium, India has witnessed a high GDP growth. This has been accompanied

by a 10-fold increase in trade since 1990-91, a 60-fold improvement in foreign exchange reserves and a quantum jump in FDI inflow. In fact, estimates suggest that around 2015 onwards, India is expected to outperform BRIC nations up to 2050. As of now, India is seen as a service powerhouse with services contributing to over 50 per cent of the GDP. With manufacturing contributing to only 15 per cent of the GDP, for India to have this sustained growth momentum, manufacturing would need to contribute around 25 per cent of GDP by 2020. This is not to say that manufacturing in India is nascent. Manufacturing has indeed contributed reasonably to India’s economy. It contributes to around 79 per cent of FDI, 53 per cent of exports & 12 per cent of the workforce.

INDIA’S MANUFACTURING GROWTH TRAJECTORYThe manufacturing growth trends could be grouped in five periods since independence: 1950-65: During this period,

significant investments were made by the government in manufacturing capital formation. This period saw growth in industries such as iron, steel & textiles. The GDP growth in this period was around six per cent.

1965-80: This was the era of licencing and import substitution. During this era, several MNCs exited India.

1980-90: Apart from the delicencing of few sectors, there was also the emergence of private companies. Maruti started its operations, which, in a way, signified the emergence of modern manufacturing.

1990-2000: This was the watershed decade, which saw broad reforms, reduced licencing, more competition, technology access, imported inputs,

higher share of private sector in fixed investment, increased threat from China and reduction of licencing.

With the reforms set in over a decade, the period from 2000 onwards has seen the removal of the most import controls, resurgence of key industries, Indian identity for Indian companies (acquiring companies abroad), creation of design, development skills and outsourcing boom.

COMPETITIVENESS OF INDIAN MANUFACTURINGGoing forward, manufacturing is set to grow at a rapid pace of 12-14 per cent over the next decade. Some of the factors that would contribute to its growth include:Labour Cost Owing to the young population

joining the workforce, the labour cost advantage is likely to continue.

Savings due to lower labour cost

Envisioning INDIA’S

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Industrial Prowess

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While the services sector has made tremendous contributions towards the growth of the Indian economy, manufacturing in India has been taking giant strides. Strongly backed by factors like low cost & skilled labour, effective use of capital and raw material, Indian manufacturing sector has all the might to become the global super power in the near future.



can account for between 25-90 per cent of the cost advantage.

Skilled Labour India has one of the largest pools of

English speaking, high quality and skilled manpower. The country produces three million graduates and 7 lakh post-graduates every year.

India is among the world’s youngest nations with a median age of 25 years as compared to 43 in Japan and 36 in the US. It is estimated that by about 2025, India will have 25 per cent of the world’s total workforce and 20 million people will enter India’s urban workforce each year.

India is the largest filer of patents among the developing economies over the last few years.

Effective Use of Capital It is possible to set up a

manufacturing facility in India, at about 60-80 per cent of the cost in a developed market.

It offers the opportunity to reduce the capital cost of complex machinery and replace it with labour.

It replaces integrated plants that make all the components by outsourcing key components to low-cost producers that exist in India’s diversified manufacturing industry.

Raw Material India is one of the richest sources of

minerals like iron ore and bauxite.According to a report from

IMaCs, India has the following cost advantages: Production design and process

engineering cost savings to the extent of 80 per cent vis-à-vis plants in developed markets due to the low-cost, high-quality engineering talent in India.

Savings to the extent of 30-60 per cent vis-à-vis plants in developed markets due to local fabrication and labour intensiveness.

Many manufacturing units in India follow a three-shift seven-day week unlike a two-shift five-day week in high-cost locations.

PHARMA MANUFACTURINGPharma is one of the sectors that has been significantly capitalised by Indian manufacturing so far. This is seen in the custom manufacturing outsourcing (CMO) market that has recorded a growth rate of approximately 43 per cent — thrice that of the global market rate during 2007-10.

Some of the key milestones for Indian pharma are: It is the third largest market in

terms of volume and has a substantial share of global production

It has world-class process chemistry

& formulation development It has world-class manufacturing

infrastructure serving global requirements

It is one of the largest producers of measles, DPT (diphtheria, pertusis and tetanus) and BCG (bacille calmetteguérin) vaccines in the world. It produces about 40-70 per cent of the WHO demand for DPT & BCG, and almost 90 per cent of the demand for measles.

FROM COST ARBITRAGE TO VALUEIndian manufacturing is transitioning from a factor cost advantage to an investment and innovation-driven model. Examples of this are: General Motors (GM) India to

become an outsourced vendor of car engines made at the newly opened Maharashtra plant. The firm also would ship the parts to GM’s joint ventures in China.

Through a partnership between Suzuki and Nissan, Indian subsidiary Maruti Suzuki manufactures the Pixo model compact car for sale in Europe. It is likely to start making vehicles for Volkswagen.

Pfizer India is increasing sourcing activity from India with an average annual growth of 35-50 per cent in drug product-formulat ion outsourcing.One can observe an echo in this

trend when considering the Indian pharma sector. The sector has developed drugs ‘faster and cheaper’ from chemistry research to clinical trials to manufacturing. The sources of advantage are a cheaper skilled talent base — chemists, MDs, nurses, quality control personnel and the ability to expedite recruiting for trials due to a large naïve patient. Going forward, we see a change taking place such as move to more complex manufacturing to produce injectables, targeted and cutting-edge clinical trials including adaptive and proof of concept trials, sophisticated biology-based research platforms. In the long term, Indian

Facts highlighting India’s manufacturing prowess India is the world’s second largest small car market; it exports more cars than

China It is one of the only three countries that makes its own supercomputers It has the largest FDA approved plants in pharma outside the US It has the largest number of Deming Prize winners outside Japan It is the world’s largest diamond cutting and polishing centre and the second

largest jewellery market It has the lowest cost producers in several areas such as iron, steel and

aluminium Around 100 Fortune 500 companies have their R&D base in India It tops developing countries (China excluded) in the production of textiles,

chemical products, basic metals, general machinery & equipment and electrical machinery

India’s value-added manufacturing has grown by over 10 per cent, as compared to 3.4 per cent for the industrialised countries.



drug manufacturers are likely to start manufacturing biologics (recombinant proteins) and offer cutting-edge disruptive R&D platforms such as pharmacogenetics and cheminformatics thus shifting the advantage from cost arbitrage to innovation & value.

With rising disposable incomes and middle-class population, India provides demand pool and room for innovation. In 2005, five per cent of the population constituted middle class. By 2025, this is expected to grow to more than 40 per cent of the population. Further, per capital GDP was $500 in 2000 and is expected to grow to $1,500 by 2015. The increase in income and the number of people falling in the middle bracket would create a significantly large domestic market.

Companies are creating innovation ecosystems to reach out to next billion customers. From product modification to product innovation, MNCs are embracing the new ‘Made in India… value for money’ paradigm to have mass appeal. Microsoft India has taken initiatives like language interface packs in 12 Indian languages. And Windows Live includes e-mail, instant messenger, online storage, photo gallery and social networking in seven Indian languages. LG has launched low-priced TV range ‘Cineplus’ and ‘Sampoorna’ for rural markets. GE developed an

ECG machine, MAC 400, to serve the rural market. This is portable and costs about US$1,000. Following Tata Nano, global automakers giants such as GM, Nissan, etc., have announced entry into the small car segment.

NATIONAL MANUFACTURING POLICYThe recent National Manufacturing Policy on manufacturing emphasises on making India a manufacturing powerhouse. The National Manufacturing and Investment Zones (NMIZs) are expected to reap the benefits of co-sitting, networking and greater efficiency through the use of common infrastructure and support services. The NMIZs would be an area that would be specifically delineated for the establishment of manufacturing facilities for domestic and export-led production, along with associated services and infrastructure. It will be a combination of production units, public utilities, logistics, environmental protection mechanisms, residential areas and administrative services. It would have a processing area where the manufacturing facilities, along with associated logistics and other services and required infrastructure will be located, and a non-processing area, to include residential, commercial and other social & institutional infrastructure. The internal infrastructure of the NMIZs will

be built and managed by a developer, or a group of co-developers. The external linkages will be provided by the Central Government and the concerned State Government. The users of external as well as internal infrastructure will pay for its use, except to the extent that the government supports the service through budgetary resources. NMIZs are likely to have high-class infrastructure and provide a competitive environment conducive for setting up businesses. They would thus provide a boost to manufacturing, augment exports and generate employment. The emphasis is oriented towards creating scale and minimising disruptions in the supply chain. The National Manufacturing Policy would bolster manufacturing growth. But the key question is would it provide Indian manufacturing the competitive advantage?

THE NEED OF THE HOURIndian manufacturing would need to develop an ecosystem of innovation platform around a product. Microprocessors gave rise to all software. Additionally, we need to figure a way of nurturing the industries being developed. Does our primary and secondary education provide this?

The ‘pull-do not push’ principle finds direct linkages with customers. This includes JIT, agile product development and prototype-based developed. Scope, not scale, would be the next factor. Economies of scope is about being able to leverage different kinds of products & services using common components, not wasting technologies or people, nor having redundancies but meeting the needs of different customers and segments effectively. Also, flexibility not efficiency alone would be key. We cannot remain preoccupied with efficiency, but rather think about our ability to change adapt and lead to reach to the next billion customers.

Suneel Aiyar, Associate Director – Consulting

(Supply Chain), PwC India

Drivers of competitiveness for Indian pharma Manufacturing costs in India are approximately 35-40 per cent of those in the

US due to low installation and manufacturing costs India’s available talent pool of trained chemists, which is around six times that

of the US and works at approximately one-tenth of US manpower costs In 2009, India had more than 120 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-

approved plants and approximately 84 UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)-approved plants, with capabilities to manufacture products with exceptional quality standards

Indian fi rms produce about 60,000 generic brands across 60 therapeutic categories. India is the third largest player in the world. Indian fi rms manufacture approximately 500 different active pharmaceutical ingredients

The approval time for a manufacturing facility has been reduced in 2008 to about two weeks from about three months previously

The Government of India has set zero duty for technology upgrades and has also set up NIPERs as centres of excellence for pharmaceutical education and research.


MFG 2020 – INCLUSIVE GROWTH

eforms undertaken in the early 1990s made India one of the world’s fastest growing economies. The boom of the IT industry

and improved agricultural production created an atmosphere of optimism, which led to the coining of phrases, such as ‘Incredible India’, ‘India Shining’, and ‘India 2020’ around the end of the millennium.

The Indian growth story has been one of high gross domestic product (GDP) growth, but primarily driven by growth in the services sector. Not all sectors of the economy have grown at the same pace. Growth that is not inclusive affects the society, the economy, and the polity. A lack of inclusive growth can result in real or perceived inequities, which has its own social ramifications. Inclusive growth promotes economic growth partly by

broadening the base for domestic demand and partly by increasing the

number of people with a stake in reforms and in

a stable government.Inclusive growth thus seeks to

broaden the flow of benefits of globalisation. However, for achieving inclusive growth, it is essential that the diffusion of opportunities be supported with good governance and accountability.

In the last few years, inclusive growth has been at the forefront of studies sponsored by multilateral aid agencies, such as the United Nations, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and several NGOs. Successive governments have initiated several projects, such as Jawahar Rozgar Yojna, Integrated Rural Development Programme, Rural Housing Scheme and Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana to promote inclusive growth. However, for inclusive growth to happen in a country with the scale and size of India, private sector involvement is equally important. The private sector has started contributing with initiatives, such as the ICICI

Foundation having been set up with the sole purpose of promoting inclusive growth. The government and private sector can play complementary roles in driving inclusive growth. There is a need for the public and private sectors in India to have a unified approach towards how they can extend, innovate and collaborate in new ways to drive inclusive growth.

THE IMPERATIVE NOWThe focus of the government in recent years has shifted from promoting ‘Incredible India’ to building ‘Inclusive India’. Inclusive growth needs to be achieved to reduce poverty & other socioeconomic disparities and also to sustain economic growth. In recognition of this, the Planning Commission had made inclusive growth an explicit goal in the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12). The draft of the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) lists 12 strategy challenges, which continue the focus on inclusive growth. These include enhancing the capacity for growth, generation of employment, development of infrastructure, improved access to quality education, better healthcare, rural transformation and sustained agricultural growth.

R

OpportunityA Challenging

The task of building an ‘inclusive India’ for its 1.2 billion population is so large and complex that it cannot be

accomplished by either the government or by the private sector working in isolation. For this, it is imperative for

the country to focus on inclusive growth by identifying key opportunities in governance, education, energy and resources, telecom and technology, infrastructure, healthcare, fi nancial inclusion, and business model innovation. Efforts to build ‘inclusive India’ in the past have met with limited success. In order to execute better the public and the private sector needs to work in tandem and leverage on each other’s strengths to drive inclusive growth.



Around 58 per cent of workers in India are involved in the agricultural sector. Despite this, the contribution of agricultural and allied sectors in the GDP is only around 14 per cent. Hence, for the removal of poverty, it is imperative that the rural farm and non-farm sectors be promoted.

An estimated 86% of the Indian workforce is engaged in the unorganised sector. However, the quality of employment remains a problem. Workers in this sector have virtually no social security. A report by World Bank suggests that, inclusive growth approach takes a longer term perspective as the focus is on generating productive employment rather than on direct redistribution of income as a means of improving financial well-being of the excluded groups. With the world’s second largest population and widespread urban and rural poverty, India faces the challenge of bridging the growing gap between the haves and the have-nots. It is imperative to focus on inclusive growth now as it is interrelated with several key challenges facing the government, such as poverty reduction, increase in quantity and quality of employment, agricultural development, social sector development, reduction in regional disparities and environmental protection.

Demographic dividend occurs when the proportion of working class population is larger than the depended non-working class population. As a result, fewer resources go into meeting the needs of the dependent groups and more resources are released for investment in economic growth and human development. There is evidence that demographic dividend has played a major role in the transition of several economies from developing to developed.

A new report by the Rand Corporation has pointed out that demographic dividends are estimated

to have contributed one-fourth to two-fifths of East Asian per capita GDP growth in the late 20th century. India currently has the opportunity to reap this dividend. However, demographic dividend only provides a short window of opportunity and does not guarantee automatic growth and development unless efforts are made to take advantage of it. India’s failure to take advantage of this opportunity could have a damaging effect on its future prospects and lead to a spiralling rise in poverty, unemployment and social inequalities in the country. On the other hand, the same demographic dividend provides India an opportunity which could see it turn into a developed nation if backed by favourable policies, good planning and efficient implementation.

THE OPPORTUNITYThe objectives of an inclusive

growth agenda is to reduce poverty, improve quality of life and ensure that all segments of society benefit from the economic growth of the country. A number of macro and micro level interventions have shown to be conducive for promoting inclusive growth. At the macro level, recommendations such as improving fiscal discipline, trade liberalisation, openness to foreign direct investment (FDI), privatisation, deregulation, tax reforms, labour market flexibility, providing social safety nets,

reorientation of public expenditure and legal & political reforms can be useful in guiding policy discussions for promoting rapid and inclusive growth in developing countries. At the micro level, reducing income and non-income related inequality, improving public infrastructure, healthcare, education, access to markets, accountability, women’s empowerment, role played by civil society organisations and good governance can accelerate poverty reduction.

A sustainable nine per cent or higher growth rate will be possible only if urban and rural India integrate in economic opportunities and quality of life. This implies that the key levers for achieving inclusive growth are increasing the availability, accessibility, quality, and affordability of various products and services so that all segments of population have equitable social and

economic opportunities. To achieve this, the government and the private sector need to work jointly, while abiding by the fundamental principles of a democratic society.

Within this context, the responsibility of the government is to create a favourable and stable macroeconomic environment that fosters private sector participation without leading to market distortions such as monopolies or windfall profits to a few select firms. To create such an environment,

the government needs to create and implement laws that are equitable, facilitate the procurement of natural & scarce resources and provide economic incentives that encourage the private sector to promote inclusive growth by serving unserved or underserved market segments.

Additionally, in sectors of national importance (such as defence) or those that promote social welfare (such as social protection and pro-poor employment), the government can supplement private sector participation

100%90%80%70%60%50%40%30%20%10%0%

Workforce (%) GDP (%)

Services Industries Agriculture

Source: Census 2011 (population); VMW Analytics Service data (State-wise GDP)

Figure 1: Workforce and GDP contribution by sector

25%

17%

58%

55%

30%

15%



GOVERNANCEGood governance is at the core of improving the delivery of essential publicly provided services. It provides the mechanism for linking inclusion, decision making and accountability.

Problems in infrastructure, critical for building an inclusive India, can often be traced back to poor governance. Red tape, lack of accountability and corruption has plagued India since independence. The government has launched a large number of initiatives over the years in order to achieve the objective of rapid growth coupled with poverty alleviation and inclusiveness. Many of these initiatives have failed to achieve their goals because of poor design, insufficient accountability and corruption at various levels. Without effective implementation, even substantial government expenditure results in limited success.

As of October 2010, of the 559 projects undertaken by the government for infrastructure development, 14 were ahead of schedule, 117 were on schedule, 293 are delayed and for the balance 135 projects, no dates had been fixed for commissioning. Realising that accountability and transparency are critical elements of good governance, the Right to Information Act (RTI)

was enacted in 2005. RTI empowers people to get information from the government and thus constitutes a big step towards transparency and accountability. However, the RTI itself suffers from poor monitoring of its implementation. Government officials are often reluctant to share information while common people have low levels of awareness regarding RTI provisions. It has been found that there is often unnecessary delay in the execution of RTI applications due to lack of motivation on the part of government officials. Unsurprisingly, it has been observed that in India, in order to fix the processes, appropriate changes first need to be effected at institutional levels to fix the institutions that design the processes.

Good governance depends on processes and incentives to not only design good policies, but more importantly on institutions to implement these policies efficiently and with efficient utilisation of resources. Transparency and accountability in

the delivery of public services can be implemented through involvement of local self governments, community and civil society groups. Although governance is largely the mandate of a democratically elected government, private sector expertise can be leveraged as has been done in the case of the Unique Identification Number (UID) project, wherein the Central Government is implementing the project under the leadership of Nandan Nilekani, whose career was largely in the private sector. Utilising the knowledge and expertise of private sector leaders in other governance mechanisms, such as the Planning Commission, public distribution system, and rural employment can help deliver better governance at both, the central and the state levels. Private sector can play a bigger role in implementing these initiatives in the e-governance space. For instance, Mindtree, a Bengaluru-based IT company, is working on developing and maintaining applications for rollout of the UID programme.

through effectively managed public sector undertakings or welfare projects. On its part, to promote inclusive growth, the private sector must utilise its expertise and access to technology, capital and human resources in building innovative business models that help increase a company’s top line and profitability while ensuring that benefits accrue to a larger population base. Contrary to popular belief, the profit motive of private companies and social good that is envisaged by inclusive growth is not necessarily at odds with each other.

There are numerous instances, both in India and abroad, where companies have developed business models that profitably serve customers at the bottom

of the pyramid. The Indian middle class will continue to expand significantly in the coming years provided the current level of economic growth is sustained. In recognition of this, a number of products and services, such as the Tata Nano and flights operated by low-cost carriers have been introduced in recent years. As the income growth across India has continued, the character of consumption has also changed. A lesser proportion of the total spending is being used by the middle class on basic necessities, such as food and clothing and there is increased expenditure on items, such as mobile phones, consumer electronics and entertainment.

Widespread adoption of mobile phones and television sets and

increasing penetration of the Internet, opens up new markets for ads and promotions. For corporations around the world, the Indian middle class thus presents a huge and rapidly growing business opportunity. However, rapid growth resulting from economic liberalisation initiated in 1992 has also widened the gap between the haves and the have-nots. In order to reduce this gap and bring those currently in the periphery into the growth story, the government and private sector need to implement initiatives across eight broad dimensions – governance, education, energy and resources, telecom and technology, infrastructure, healthcare, financial inclusion, and business model innovation.

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Although India currently has around 480 universities and 22,000 colleges, in the next 10 years, India will need 700 new universities and 35,000 new colleges. The population of India, cutting across regions, languages and socioeconomic status, has begun to appreciate the value of education in a global economy and demonstrated an increased willingness to pay for quality education.

However, a lot remains to be done. The primary education sector in India is marked by variations – the Seventh All India Education Survey published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training in 2006 found that although 80 per cent of children in the 5-14 age range were enrolled into schools, the rate dropped to less than 50 per cent for secondary schools. Nearly 15 per cent of government schools are single-teacher schools. In states such as Bihar and Rajasthan, girls were only half as likely to be enrolled in secondary schools as boys. However, in states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the secondary education enrolment rates are pro-female.

The government has passed the Right to Education Act, which makes education a fundamental right for all children in the age group of 6-14, but for the goal of complete literacy to be achieved, greater investment is needed in the physical and intellectual infrastructure. The mid-day meal scheme enacted by many state governments, with support from various NGOs and private sector companies, addresses a fundamental problem that has plagued the education sector – increasing student attendance and decreasing dropout rates. However, other problems continue to persist. Reports of teacher absenteeism, gender inequality in enrolment and inadequate infrastructure, such as crowded classrooms are not uncommon. For example, the Right to Education Act mandates a maximum pupil-to-teacher ratio of 30:1, but according to the National University of Education Planning and Administration, over 12 per cent of the nation’s schools had a pupil-to-teacher ratio of 60 or more in 2010. Correcting

this imbalance requires investing in teacher training institutes, increasing the number of full-time teachers through better incentives, and, in the interim, bridging the gap through innovative models, such as para-teachers or contract teachers for short durations.

Majority of Indian private education revenues accrue from formal education institutions. The private sector has a presence across the formal education spectrum ranging from preschools to higher education institutions. While private

education is considered superior to public education in terms of its quality, it is also more expensive and largely restricted to urban and semi-urban areas. At the tertiary level, of the ~600 universities in India, less than one-fifth are in the private sector. However, it is estimated that over 800 new universities will be added in India in the coming decade.

The private sector can play a significant role in establishing new universities given its access to capital and physical infrastructure, provided that the regulatory regime for setting up and operating universities is reformed to enable faster approvals and accreditations. Infosys, for example, has set up a facility in Mysore, which is capable of training 13,500 employees at a time in a residential programme, which lasts around four months.

Shiv Nadar, Chairman, HCL Technologies, has set up a university, which aims to provide multidisciplinary and world class higher education. It can accommodate 4,000 students upon completion of the first phase of campus development. In the US, which has a number of the top universities in the world, every state has a body designed to promote collaboration between higher education institutions. Some of the top institutes, such as Harvard, MIT and Stanford are all private institutes.

In addition to increased private sector participation in formal education, there exists significant potential at the tertiary level in the form of setting up additional vocational training courses and institutes. India faces a shortage of skilled labour in sunrise sectors, such as retail, construction and hospitality.

The government can provide physical infrastructure in terms of classrooms, equipment, etc. and the private sector can create training material, train teachers, determine certification criteria and recruit certified students. Such an arrangement can reduce industry training costs and provide industries with a larger pool of skilled, productive and employable resources.

EDUCATIONBetter education is often an important means to fi nd better jobs, increased income and thus ensure an enhanced quality of life. Meeting the challenges of universal education in pursuit of inclusive growth will require a concerted effort from both the government and the industry.



India’s generation capacity and effective utilisation is currently inadequate. The energy sector suffers due to very high distribution losses and theft. Lack of competition in many critical segments of the industry, especially distribution, results in inefficiencies as the existing monopolies of state owned distribution continue to underperform. This results in unreliable power supply, which hampers agriculture and industry and also penalises households while causing large welfare losses. Rural electrification is an important tool to bring about inclusive growth by making electricity available to farmers and in rural areas.

Electricity supply is thus one of the crucial inputs in the context of inclusion. Reforms such as strengthening of regulations, improving distribution, opening bulk supply to competition and revision of tariffs to more economic levels are essential to realise inclusive growth. Providing incentives to private sector companies to set up new plants or factories in backward regions can catalyse the development there. However, it is essential for the government to ensure that the rights of any tribal inhabitants, forest dwellers and locals are safeguarded when these projects are implemented. The government can include clauses to guarantee reservation of jobs for locals in the contract that it signs with the private companies. It can also include conditions in the contract for promotion of ancillary and downstream industries, which would lead to further creation of jobs and development of public infrastructure in the region thereby promoting inclusive growth.

Resource endowments are not a constraint for most of the poor Indian states as they are richly endowed with mineral and forest resources. The states of MP, Bihar and Orissa have substantial coal and iron ore deposits, while Rajasthan has substantial zinc, phosphorite and copper deposits. In the North-East, Assam has petroleum and natural gas.

Jharkhand alone has 33 per cent of the country’s mineral reserves. It might seem paradoxical that a high level of mineral presence is often correlated with weaker economic performance, lower growth rates and inferior development outcomes. This resource curse can often be seen in regions that are dependent on resources extracted from a narrow geographic base and these regions often perform poorly across a range of development indicators.

Lessons from successful mining regions in countries such as Australia and Norway have shown that in order to avoid this resource curse, India needs to implement reforms, which pursue a broad-based growth strategy backed by strong institutions while also focussing on sequencing of the reforms and developments. Mining in isolation is unlikely to generate broad-based growth and development. The mining success stories are in economies where mineral extraction has spurred or complemented development in other sectors of the economy. But this can only occur if there is an investment-friendly climate that promotes links with upstream or downstream industries or creates investment opportunities in other sectors. These, in turn, aid in generating jobs and fuelling growth that spread the benefits of mining.

Strong institutions are needed to prevent the capturing of benefits by a select few and promote investment. Institutions are also necessary to address the many and varied environmental and social costs of mineral extraction that can impede growth. Also, the sequencing of these reforms is crucial as similar developments can produce positive or negative outcomes depending on whether strong governing institutions are present. With institutional strengthening and proper sequencing, these reforms provide an opportunity

for increasing inclusion in the lagging states using a mineral intensive growth strategy.

Finally, the private sector can significantly

contribute in initiatives that address the issues of green and sustainable energy. For example, the Berkeley-India Joint Leadership on Energy and the Environment is a partnership between the government, private sector and educational institutions of the US and India to assist both the countries in adopting pathways and approaches for reducing greenhouse gases emissions while pursuing sustainable economic development.

ENERGY AND RESOURCESEconomic growth and higher incomes have led to an accelerating demand for energy and natural resources in India. A well-planned energy development and utilisation road map backed by effective execution and programme management can enable India to bridge the energy gap and enable inclusive growth without compromising on the environment.

Electricity supply is one of the crucial inputs in the context of inclusion. Reforms such as strengthening of regulations, improving distribution, opening bulk supply to competition

and revision of tariffs to more economic levels are essential to realise inclusive growth.



The technology and telecom sectors in India have experienced tremendous success. The past decade has seen an explosion in the growth of communications connectivity and the technology industry in India. As of March 2011, India has a teledensity of 70 per cent (urban teledensity exceeds 150 per cent, whereas rural teledensity is ~33 per cent) and the IT industry contributes to ~6 per cent of the GDP. The outsourcing industry is expected to grow to US$225 billion over the next decade. With over 25 lakh people employed directly and indirectly by the IT industry, it is one of the largest job creators in the Indian economy. A large untapped domestic market, a critical mass of technology-savvy professionals and a robust ecosystem with proven innovations tailored for the Indian market are all unique assets that can be leveraged on to drive inclusive growth in the country.

There are over 800 million wireless subscribers in India today and the country has one of the lowest tariffs in the world. Rural communities can now access up-to-date information at affordable prices facilitated through initiatives such as ITC’s E-Choupal, which improves the earning capability of and minimises risk for small farmers by providing them with relevant and timely information related to weather, crop prices, best practices, etc., through a mobile phone. Similar models can help workers in other industries that dominate the rural economy, such as fisheries, handicrafts and textiles.

The ub iqu i tous mobile phone can also serve as an Internet access device and be used to deliver other basic services, such as land administration records, mobile coupons for accessing public distribution systems, etc. Such initiatives would help social benefits reach the intended beneficiaries and reduce systemic corruption. Further, a mobile phone can also provide access to information and expertise and minimise the impact of

geographical distance or location. With the roll out of 3G and the declining prices

of handsets with increasing features, ever larger number of people will have the ability to access and consume richer information. Capabilities of 3G such as online video streaming, video calling and faster downloads can be utilised to provide value-added services such as remote education.

In an effort to provide telecom services at affordable prices, multiple measures, such as mobile number portability, bringing more number of mobile operators to infuse competitiveness, setting up of Telecom Centres of Excellence and the Coordination Centre in PPP models have been taken over the last few years. To further give impetus to the telecom infrastructure in India, the PPP initiatives need to jointly address capability building for creating market-ready talent pool, continuous technology adaptation to meet India-specific economic and social development needs, faster deployment of services, and effectively bridging the rural-urban digital divide.

On the technology front, the Indian technology sector has provided jobs, increased incomes and improved the livelihoods of thousands. Although the country was initially attractive due to its low-cost, high-quality talent, this cost arbitrage has since been diminishing due to wage pressures and the sector witnessing high employee turnover. The Indian technology sector is now increasingly competing with other outsourcing/offshoring destination countries such as Vietnam and Philippines, especially in relatively low-skill services, such as voice-based call centres and data entry operations. Some of the lost advantages can be regained by leveraging on high-speed wireless Internet accessibility to setup rural

or semi-urban BPOs. In addition to lowering costs, providing jobs and increasing incomes in the tier II & III cities, such a move will also help stem the migration from rural

areas to urban India, which is causing significant pressure on urban infrastructure and living standards. Further, the setting up of industries in tier II and III cities coupled with increased disposable income of the local population will have cascading effects and help the setting up and growth of secondary services, such as food catering and language tutorials in those cities.

TELECOM AND TECHNOLOGYProviding every citizen with access to information and harnessing technology to innovatively deliver services within the Indian context will be the key to driving inclusive growth in an increasingly digital world.

The PPP initiatives need to jointly address capability building for creating market-ready talent pool, continuous technology

adaptation to meet India-specifi c economic and social development needs, faster deployment of services, and

effectively bridging the rural-urban digital divide.



In 1980, India had a greater investment and infrastructure base than China, but today, China is ahead in physical infrastructure availability, quality and quantity. India’s population, availability of natural resources and low-cost base make it an attractive manufacturing destination. Moreover, the manufacturing sector can subsequently drive growth in jobs and incomes. However, for manufacturing to be competitive and sustainable, it requires an efficient supply chain and physical infrastructure for procurement of raw materials, storage of work-in-process and finished goods and speedy transportation to customers based on demand. According to Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, India needs to invest over US$1 trillion in infrastructure by 2017 if the country is to achieve 10 per cent annual growth rates. However, funding new infrastructure projects will address only a part of the issue. To promote inclusive growth, systemic reforms are needed to fix the institutions and the processes used to create infrastructure. Currently, the land acquisition process for public projects is bureaucratic and does not adequately address the rehabilitation and compensation mechanisms for the dispossessed; thereby leading to ill will and public protests. Equitable policies that allow for timely acquisition coupled with the ability to resolve issues amicably and within defined timelines are needed.

The key components to physical infrastructure are transportation connectivity and warehousing storage. Two per cent of India’s roads (the National Highways) carry over 40 per cent of the road transport. The poor condition of India’s roads reduces the average speed of trucks to 40 kmph as compared to 80 kmph in developed economies. The railway route network expansion has been slow at an annual growth rate of 0.3 per cent and many wagons employ obsolete technology and have not been upgraded in decades. International airports in developed countries handle ~75 takeoffs and landings per hour, whereas the Mumbai international airport can handle ~35 takeoffs and landings

per hour. Over 90 per cent of the warehousing capacity is in the unorganised sector. Most warehouses are merely covered storage spaces with low capacities, outdated technologies and lack facilities, such as cold storage, vertical space utilisation and advanced warehouse management systems. Improving transportation connectivity requires investments in both, urban as well as rural infrastructure.

While ports and airports connect India to the rest of the

world, the roads and railways are the backbone for connecting various parts of India, specifically rural India to urban India. Funding can be obtained through a number of means – government investment, PPPs and private investments. India has still not fully exploited the potential of insurance and pension funds in the infrastructure sector. In addition to funding, a proper monitoring mechanism is needed to monitor projects so that they do not overrun budgets and schedules, leakages are minimised and that the assets created are of international standards. Innovative models such as the use of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) to create road networks and expand railway networks while simultaneously creating jobs can be used to speed up the pace of infrastructure asset creation.

Globally, countries such as Malaysia have formulated policies that encourage private sector investment in infrastructure and in recent years, the private sector investment in infrastructure has exceeded that of the public sector. Many highways, expressways and urban roads have been built by the private sector as toll roads. The successful completion of the Delhi Metro on budget and almost three years ahead of schedule is proof that if institutional delays are minimised and power is devolved appropriately, India has the capability to execute large infrastructure projects efficiently. Investing in warehousing facilities will benefit not only manufacturing industries, but will also serve in furthering social welfare goals. Like in many other countries, urbanisation is a growing phenomenon in India. By 2030, India is expected to have 41 per cent of its population living in cities and towns. Therefore, underinvestment in infrastructure creation, cost overruns of projects and poor quality of physical infrastructure are risks to the Indian economic growth story and to ensuring inclusive growth. While both the public & private sectors are aware of the key shortcomings present in India’s infrastructure, the approach towards addressing these shortcomings need to be more formalised.

INFRASTRUCTUREInvestment in infrastructure drives the growth of a country’s economy. Articulating systematised reforms across the infrastructure development life cycle – from conceptualising to the planning stage to creating processes for infrastructure development and fi nal execution – can help achieve the much anticipated results in India’s infrastructure development story.



India has world class hospitals, highly qualified medical personnel and is gradually emerging as a preferred destination for medical tourism for citizens of the developed world. However, the actual delivery of healthcare services is inadequate for a large section of the local population. India compares poorly to other developing countries on parameters, such as hospital bed density, physician density, number of doctors graduating every year from Indian universities and public expenditure on healthcare. Also, the low penetration of health insurance implies that a serious illness or hospitalisation causes significant economic hardship to many sections of society, especially the urban poor and the rural population. In the context of healthcare, inclusive growth implies that healthcare resources are allocated equitably such that the benefits are shared by all segments of society.

Today, healthcare is not easily available to all sections of the Indian society. A rural person seeking healthcare has to travel ~10km, which takes an entire day due to poor physical connectivity. Such situations can have dire consequences during medical emergencies. The lack of infrastructure, poor monetary compensation and social prejudices result in doctors being reluctant to practice in rural areas and thereby further reducing healthcare availability. While it is mandated for all medical students to spend one year in rural areas as part of their internship, making healthcare universally available requires more efforts. Some private hospitals have begun by setting up healthcare facilities in tier II and III cities using business models which lower cost and consequently, allow them to operate at lower price points than those in metros. Private players are experimenting in striking a balance between project assets, location, investment amount and pricing to deliver quality healthcare in non-urban areas.

In the absence of insurance, almost three-fourths of all healthcare expenditure is borne by the consumer. Healthcare costs are rising given the demand-supply mismatch in the availability of services. To make healthcare more affordable, all stakeholders are required to collectively work towards

reducing the costs of healthcare and ensuring that individuals have the purchasing ability through increased health insurance coverage. Certain government health insurance schemes such as the Yeshaswini Scheme in Karnataka have seen success in increasing coverage and providing affordable healthcare to non-urban populations. However, there remains significant untapped potential in aspects, such as the setting up of no-frills hospitals, frugal innovation in medical

technologies, drug development and leveraging economies of scale to reduce costs. The disparity in quality of healthcare services provided at private hospitals vis-à-vis government hospitals is large. The underlying factors for such disparity are the lack of competition, poor infrastructure and lack of accountability & monitoring mechanisms. In an effort to address this effectively, the private and public sector need to partner in initiatives towards promoting awareness and use of healthcare facilities, upgrading skills for healthcare delivery professionals and increasing the use of technology in delivering healthcare services. Some states such as Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have started accrediting their public healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, labs and blood banks. This model should be implemented nationwide and the government, in association with reputed medical research institutions, should develop consistent, reliable and easily understood accreditation norms.

The private sector can also play a larger role in enabling the weaker sections to afford and access healthcare by developing micro health insurance products and rolling out cashless admission to hospitals in rural India. Given India’s population and regional variations, isolated or sporadic innovations will not ensure inclusive healthcare.

For driving sustainable healthcare development, it is important to effectively use technology across all areas of the healthcare value chain from information capture to diagnosis to recovery monitoring. It is also necessary to complement technology innovations with investments in the medical academic infrastructure in terms of quantity and quality of medical education available. Moreover, the need for the public & private sectors to work together cannot be undermined. While the government brings in the right level of planning and investments required for broad-based access to healthcare, the private sector participation in complementing efforts towards setting up of the physical infrastructure, creating awareness and ensuring access to quality healthcare facilities is equally important.

HEALTHCAREThe healthcare industry in India promises to be one of the fastest growing ones and is expected to be a US$280 billion industry by 2020. Today, healthcare is not available to all. This could be achieved through the right level of planning and making investments required for broad-based access to healthcare.



Similar to access to education and healthcare, access to finance is important for all segments of society, especially the poor and marginalised sections, as it can alleviate them from poverty. Today, the bulk of India’s population lacks access to financial products and services, such as savings accounts, loans, insurance, pension schemes, payments, etc. Banking penetration is estimated to be only about five per cent among the lower income classes, and even among the middle- and high-income classes, the penetration is about 45 per cent. Most of the population belonging to the lower income groups does not have access to formal banking and credit. This leads to a vicious cycle in which the vulnerable are forced to resort to borrowing from informal sources, such as moneylenders, at exorbitant rates of interest. This not only hampers their ability to pay back and get drawn into further debt, but also takes away a substantial portion of their already meagre earnings.

Realising the importance of financial inclusion, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has pushed for the same through policy measures. Recognising that private banks can have an important role to play in increasing banking penetration, in early July 2011, the RBI issued a circular mandating all scheduled banks to open at least 25 per cent of their new branches in rural areas. Further, the RBI has identified over 70,000 villages with populations greater than 2,000 that are currently unserved by banks. However, in addition to opening new branches in currently underserved areas, it is also imperative to address other factors that impair access to financial services.

The ability to access small amounts of capital through formal microfinance loans has enabled many people below the poverty line to start successful small enterprises and work their way out of poverty. The microfinance industry has private sector participation in India, but has had controversies recently relating to consumer protection and corporate governance issues. The Microfinance Bill, which is expected to be introduced in Parliament shortly, aims to be a

legislation that addresses the challenges of the microfinance industry in terms of a regulatory authority, client protection measures and ensuring that microfinance investors do not make excessive profits at the expense of the borrowers.

Like in many other sectors, technology can be a leveller. For example, the mobile phone can act as a smart wallet as well as a transactional medium. This can be useful in remote areas where setting up physical banking infrastructure would

not be feasible. Similarly, payments from social welfare schemes such as NREGA can be made directly to smart cards with biometric information so as to facilitate more people to have access to and use banking facilities. The private sector can play its part in reducing the barriers to adoption and addressing some of interacting factors that affect financial inclusion. Most importantly, products and services need to be tailored considering the socioeconomic fabric of non-urban India. This would imply designing new products and services.

Given the lack of a social security net, innovations such as micro insurance and micro systematic investment plans for retirement can be successful if designed and marketed properly. Other monetary aspects such as minimum balance and service charges on savings accounts will need to be tweaked appropriately so that services are affordable to the target customer segment and yet allow the financial intermediary to be profitable. Removing other barriers to adoption will also pose a challenge that needs to be addressed jointly by the private and public sector banks. Given their lack of familiarity with banks and financial intermediaries, a large majority of the currently unbanked population might be hesitant to use such services.

Campaigns to educate the population about the benefits of financial inclusion can help bring the unbanked into the formal banking system. To be effective, the private sector can pool resources and conduct campaigns jointly so that larger areas can be covered thereby driving greater penetration. Equally important will be to design simple procedures that reduce transactional costs for the customer – not everybody in rural areas will have the documentation required to open an account.

Other behavioural factors such as the lack of literacy or comfort with only a single regional language must be factored in while developing methods that make it easy for such people to access their accounts or formal banking channels.

FINANCIAL INCLUSIONA society can be considered fi nancially inclusive when all segments and strata of society have access to fi nancial services and timely & adequate sources of formal credit. However, both, public and private sector fi nancial institutions need to give a further impetus to drive fi nancial inclusion over the coming years.



Inclusive growth requires companies to innovate their business model to profitably serve the ‘bottom of the pyramid’. This entails understanding the specific needs of the various target customer segments, their preferences, purchasing power and designing suitable customer value propositions.

Several examples of innovation can already be found in the Indian context. In 2008, Godrej launched the ChotuKool – a smaller, cheaper, portable refrigerator that used significantly fewer parts than a regular refrigerator. Instead of using the conventional cooling tubes and refrigerant, the ChotuKool was designed to use a fan that ran efficiently on even erratic power supply, and was targeted at the lower income classes who typically have less food for storage than do the middle and upper classes. Similarly, the Nano, a car designed to be sold at the price point of US$2,500 was the result of Ratan

Tata’s insight into the customer psyche and needs. Seeing a family of four travelling on a scooter, he believed that a car that offered better safety, comfort and was affordable would be a compelling value proposition.

A key takeaway from all the above examples is that both the public and the private enterprises need a refreshed approach towards creating a genuine and inclusive value proposition – one that focusses on ‘getting-the-job-done’ as

against simply introducing a scaled down or cheaper version of an existing product or service. A cookie-cutter ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is unlikely to be successful in creating inclusive growth. To succeed, companies need to develop a compelling customer value proposition – provide a clear solution to a customer need – while creating value for the customer and the company. Leveraging existing resources (technology & personnel) and processes can help design new products and services at affordable price points. Further, PPPs can take the form wherein private sector brings access to products, services and capital and the public sector, given its better reach in the hinterlands, provides sales and distribution support, with the joint objective of effectively serving a broader customer base with innovative products that help meet customers’ specific needs.

BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATIONInnovation, by defi nition, is risky. However, the probability of success can be increased if companies reinvent their business models to consider inclusivity as a key factor at the design stage itself. Innovative business models that are inclusive in nature not only benefi t society as a whole, but also serve as a new and profi table revenue stream for enterprises.

IT’S TIME FOR ACTION In order to achieve inclusive growth, holistic and integrated solutions are needed to facilitate rapid and sustainable growth.. Achieving inclusive growth is not only to be seen as a priority in the Planning Commission’s five year plans, but also as an equally significant opportunity for every enterprise in the public & private sectors. Today, ‘inclusion’ for India is not a mere buzzword that individuals and enterprises talk about, but an imperative that calls for concerted action towards bringing inclusion in every aspect of how individuals, public and private enterprises as well as the government operate and envisage to grow. The government’s focus on better and more efficient delivery mechanisms to improve access to currently backward regions is crucial. It has already been observed that a majority of the low-income states have rich geographic resources. However, due to poor infrastructure, these regions are often caught in a vicious poverty circle from which they find difficult to breakout.

Private sector participation can bring access to talent, capital, processes and technology innovation needed to drive

inclusive growth. The challenge for the private sector is to incorporate inclusiveness in its corporate philosophy and to facilitate its leaders and business managers to actively participate and play their role in fostering new products, services and business models that enable a more widespread and equitable growth in the years to come. As Nandan Nilekani notes in his book Imagining India, “India now stands evenly balanced, between our reluctance to change in the face of immense challenges and the possibilities we do have if we do tackle these issues head-on. The consequences of these two choices are in extremes – in the long term, we will either become a country that greatly disappoints when compared to our potential or one that beats all expectations.”

India has a huge potential to be a role model for this century if the efforts at the inclusive growth by the government and private sector succeed. The opportunity to act is now.

This article is an excerpt from the white paper, ‘Inclusive Growth’ by

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India.

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InnovationDemocratised

M

A tide of change is sweeping across the manufacturing landscape and the sea of change continues to bring waves of disruption. You cannot run from developments of this magnitude. The only question is, will you get hammered by these monster waves, or ride them to explore newer opportunities? Here’s providing you with the surfboard to ride the waves, thereby turning disruptions into defi nite advantage.

ARCHANA TIWARI-NAYUDU

…MANUFACTURING GOES PERSONAL

ankind has always been mystified with the future; he wants to know what’s in store for him. Curiosity has always got the better

of him and if profitability is added to this curiosity, every manufacturer wants to know what the future of business is all about. Without being a prophet, but by simply connecting the dots of some of the prevailing and probable trends, it is indeed possible to map the future. Some of these trends are apparent to everybody, some, still hidden; but whatever business we are in, the consumer in each of those businesses will look incredibly different than today and will definitely have different demands. With this reality, only the flexible, lean and customer-oriented organisations will dominate and rule the future.

The future companies & products will be competing through innovation, and if your organisation is competing on price, you are in a race to the bottom. Another interesting fact that will be established is that ‘operational effectiveness is not a strategy’ and firms need to look at ways to create the ‘wow’ reactions and have their competitors wonder ‘how did you do that?’ These are the opportunities we need to look for to create the competitive separation and sustaining solutions that will allow firms to be successful today and in future. While

these trends are impactful even today and will play a more crucial role in the future, it is critical to understand that investing in technology and more importantly, ‘timely technology’ will differentiate wheat from chaff going forward.

AMBIENT INTELLIGENCE Open innovation just got nuclear. More than 60 per cent of innovations today come from the consumer. So make sure you are really keenly listening to your customers, and if you are not, ensure that at least your products are listening or ‘talking’ to your customers — this leads us to the concept-turned-reality called ‘ambient intelligence’.

Ambient intelligence refers to electronic environments that are sensitive and responsive. In the world of ambient intelligence, devices work in concert to support people carrying out their everyday life activities in a natural way. Sensors in these devices gather data. For example, Fitbit, a wireless activity tracker, tracks the wearer’s activity throughout the day, monitoring steps, stairs climbed and calories burned, and automatically syncs your data with its website. Other examples include Nike+ running shoes, Affectiva’s wearable, wireless biosensor that measures emotional arousal via skin conductance, and the SFpark app, which collects and distributes real-time information about where parking

is available so that drivers can quickly find open spaces.

PRODUCT BECOMES SERVICESo, what happens when products become services? For starters, it adds value to the user or consumer and helps companies design and manufacture products that are desired by consumers – intergenetic engineering is at the heart of it. It is gaining a lot of importance now and in future, it will become a way of life. It is all about ‘intelligent’ walls, which can heal its own cracks in concrete or bacterial that helps grow bricks. Intelligent products creating and throwing consumer-specific data helps companies know consumer behaviour, lifestyle, wish list and all other things critical for them to understand what the customers want. It is all about involving your customers in conceptualising and designing a product.

MATERIAL WORLDIn the evolution cycle, as products gain intelligence, technology, especially nanotechnology, plays a critical part in creating new age materials, and their importance in future can never be emphasised on adequately. Nanotechnology is going to evolve and create products from intelligent materials — walls that heal themselves, paints that clean themselves, swimsuits that helps you swim faster, etc. Then again, there is a major auto company,

InnovationDemocratised


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FUTURE TRENDS – MFG 2020

which is already talking about modifying seeds for plants that will genetically produce spare parts for cars, which will be perfectly biodegradable… so it is getting more and more bizarre or shall we say futuristic? Then, there is a buzz of a company having created ‘seeds’ to practically ‘grow’ infrastructure. And the guiding thought at labs, where all the action is happening right now, is that we need to emulate nature, just like nature produces what is needed, our manufacturing world should just copy that. If you connect the dots, with biotechnology and nanotechnology gaining all the more prominence, bacteria will be our future workforce…

PRINTING PRODUCTS RATHER THAN MANUFACTURING IT… 3D printing is changing the manufacturing landscape with exciting possibilities, but there are lots of steps that need to be taken before it can actually dominate the way we manufacture. 3D printing today is what dot matrix printing was in the beginning of the 2D printing phase. In retrospect, just like people had a dot matrix printer at home, it still did not replace the printing industry and their businesses. The same is expected to be the case with the 3D printing. In a way, we are in the process of democratising the technology so that more people can be a part of creating

content. So, while it does have the potential to dramatically transform the manufacturing industry as everyone becomes a manufacturer, it will redefine the landscape without killing mass manufacturing as a sector.

And there are advantages galore of being one with this new technology. We see architects building a model of a new project, walking into the selection committee and winning the business. We see sales and marketing folks using printed models to attract new clients. We see printed parts being used for real end-use medical applications. We see consumers beginning to experience this industry’s capabilities through access to parts online or with very low-cost 3D printer kits. We see 3D printing/additive manufacturing transforming the way industries think about functional and aesthetic design.

A SUMMERSAULT OF SORTSWith all this happening, will the future see the summersault in business dynamics? Most probably. Today, we have smaller companies supplying components, services, etc. to bigger companies…with 3D technology it is a probability that bigger companies, with their means and might, will be suppliers to smaller companies, providing 3D printing technology services and other capabilities to smaller companies for a cost! In a way, it will be role reversal. It will be a world of customised

manufacturing and our world is about to change.

FACTORY REDEFINEDWith the 3D reality intact, it will change the concept of a factory or a shop floor. Today, we have very expensive factories, but tomorrow, you can imagine a factory in a mall, and the whole value chain, including the logistics and supply chain will evolve as per the new needs, because your production base will shift. The airlines are already printing the parts and components for the aircraft that we are flying in. 3D printing is there, but you do not see it. So, it is not about when it is going to happen, but more about when people are going to notice it. Manufacturers should start incorporating these realities now to be future ready.

Two realities of these totally automated factories of the future – one, robots do not care if the last product that they produced is same or different than the next one they are about to produce and two, the cost of making costly dies is removed in 3D printing, since you are now designing in 3D and also printing or manufacturing in 3D…it is a big shift and a huge opportunity for manufacturers.

DIY OR DO IT YOURSELFAnother trend that is going viral is the DIY or Do It Yourself and the ‘Maker

The Autodesk Inventor software was used to design the fi rst 3D-printed car, KOR EcoLogic’s Urbee.

THE WORLD’S FIRST 3D-PRINTED CAR ACTUALLY WORKS!!If clothes can be made by 3D printers, it only fi gures that cars can also be. The same company that teamed up with HP for their ‘affordable’ 3D printer has made the world’s fi rst 3D-printed car, Urbee.Dripping each layer of material bit by bit in the additive manufacturing process, the Urbee is a two-seat car made by 3D printers Stratasys and engineering company Kor Ecologic. All the body parts, including the glass panels, are made using 3D printers.One day, it will hopefully be put on the production line and do its bit for the environment. For now, it runs on gasoline and ethanol (getting up to 200 miles to the gallon). The low cost is attained by: (a) Spartan fi tting up (b) Implementing a new patented conception for the body –

carbon fi bre cage, covered with thin shockproof plastic.

FUTURE TRENDS – MFG 2020

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Movement’ is all about the people who create, build, design, modify, invent, or simply make something. These people are incidentally moving economies the world over and include small businesses, startups and entrepreneurs, who have the potential to fix the ailing economies or boost the growth of economies, whichever is applicable given the continent and the context.

The age of democratisation of innovation is here and it has initiated the era of customised or personal manufacturing! Digital fabrication is the buzzword and 3D printers are making it easier to design and create things. This ability to create is being tested in gravity-free environments so that parts can be created as needed in outer space as well. So, the ‘Made in Space’ tag will be a reality of the future…just imagine what it can do to taxation, duties, and the norms & laws of the ‘land’.

THE BIG SHIFT: FROM OWNING TO ACCESSINGThere has been a major change in the buying/procuring habit of the consumer and this trend will get all the more dynamic owing to the changing needs, choices, preferences, habits and the lifestyles of people. Consumers, be it of any category, are moving away from the concept of owning things to a model where we can access things. It has caught the west and is all set to go viral in India as well. For example, consumers prefer e-books from Amazon, movies from Netflix, etc.

This reality has the potential to create a big wave of disruption if a company is not nimble footed and averse to change. Changing the business model to suit the present and future needs is the way forward.

UNUSUAL BUSINESS IDEASThe other major change in the present, which will continue to evolve, is ‘unusual business’ ideas, where the ideas of a business are truly unique & innovative. As the trend has already

been initiated, the bigger shift going forward is that ‘innovating’ ideas and business plans will generally come from smaller, more entrepreneurial establishments, rather than big corporate houses spending millions on R&D and customer intelligence. It is essentially reversing the flow of innovation. Under the old model, innovation flowed from R&D efforts in large companies down to smaller businesses. Now, business ideas flow upstream. Ecosystems that did not exist in the past are changing the game and levelling the playing field.

TECHNOLOGY REWIRING OUR BRAINSTechnology is growing exponentially, transforming industries and the way we imagine and envision possibilities. The number of processors produced on the planet last year was greater than the number of rice grains grown in the same period! The growth in processing power and availability improves our productivity and democratises creativity. The impact of technology is also diluting our attention. Tools –from pens to computers – become a part of our nervous system. A recent study showed that how we get information from the web is different from how we get it from paper. We can read the Internet much faster, but we remember less.

Technology has unexpected consequences. Human brain capacity doubles every 1,60,000 years, but computing power doubles every year. The technology is rewiring our brains. We see the world through the tools we use. On another front, rapid technological change is creating turbulence and chaos in our industries. We need to reinvent our businesses.

MANUFUTUREOpen innovation and affordable technology are changing the world and changing the way we do business. According to experts, the past decade was about finding new social and innovation models. The next decade

will be about applying them to the real world. Our brains cannot grow bigger to have more capacity, but their capability can be enormously increased with access to technological aids. This is because as technology matures, it is pushed to do more and more. As a result, we are all facing greater challenges with what we can accomplish using the tools. You cannot hold back the ocean because it is not rain or one wave but an entire ocean. We cannot ignore what is coming and work with the same methodologies as we did in the past. If we only focus on technology and not the people, we are making a mistake. Training is not the only crucial element to take care of people. Strategic planning, capability maturity, leadership skills, process versus tool and organisation changes will be required to make a successful business.

As a business, we have to continue to become lighter, nimbler and faster without losing accuracy – and we still have to make sure we do not chase technology that may not pan out. The tools and technology available today are awe-inspiring and are helping generate a revolution. The current generation faces challenges no other generation has had to deal with and the outcome is unpredictable. It is impossible to predict the cultural impact of technology. A brilliant example of this would be television. People thought TV would never replace the radio because people cannot watch it while they do other things. Instead, TV changed the nature of culture. People made time for it. It is time we stop predicting and start innovating!

[email protected]

(With inputs from Brian Matthew, VP,

Autodesk Labs; Grant Rochelle, Sr Director

– Manufacturing Industry Marketing, Autodesk

Inc; Steven Blum, Sr VP – Worldwide Sales

and Services, Autodesk Inc; Mike Colombo, Sr

Director – APAC Marketing, Autodesk Software

(China) Co and added inputs from Innovation

Forums at Autodesk University, Las Vegas)


KRISHNAMURTHI VENKATARAMANAN – BEST BRAINS

‘People from tier II & III cities are the real crafters of India’s growth story’Krishnamurthi Venkataramanan, Whole-time Director & President – Engineering & Construction Projects,

Larsen & Toubro ................................................................................................................................. 76

‘It is time India should emerge as a space power’Dr G Madhavan Nair, Former Chairman, ISRO .................................................................................. 80

‘You have to earn the right to exist’Carl Bass, President and CEO, Autodesk Inc. .......................................................................................... 84

‘You should be self-motivated to inspire other team members’Ramesh Chandak, MD & CEO, KEC International and President, IEEMA ................................................ 86

‘Localisation is key to our business growth’Daizo Ito, President, Panasonic India .................................................................................................... 92

‘You don’t do lean, you become lean’Peter Walsh, Founder President, Lean Enterprise, Australia ........................................................................ 94

‘A company’s best strategy should focus on things that other companies cannot replicate’Sheena Iyengar, ST Lee Professor of Business, Columbia Business School .................................................... 96

‘Small companies fail when they copy big companies’ processes & strategies’Nirmalya Kumar, Director, Aditya Birla India Centre at the London Business School .....................................100

‘Success can only be achieved through repeated failure’ Paul Sloane An acclaimed author & speaker on creative problem-solving and lateral leadership ...........................102


BEST BRAINS – KRISHNAMURTHI VENKATARAMANAN

MILESTONES ACHIEVED FROM 1966 TO NOW @ L&T… When we graduated from IIT Delhi, every graduate wanted to get hands-on training at the shop floor because manufacturing used to be a favoured industry then. I got selected on campus and got an opportunity to join an FMCG company. It was probably the first time that IIT graduates were given the choice of getting shop floor experience. I opted to get firsthand experience of the shop floor and I landed at L&T right from the start of my career. Since then, it has been a fascinating journey.

That was an era of self-reliance and the Indian industry was in its infancy. The industry learned through technical collaboration and companies like L&T invested in R&D. That actually offered strength & mettle to what L&T is today. Right from the start, the company has been imbibing a manufacturing culture in each of its employees to deliver the best.

Entering into nuclear fabrication as early as 1969 was a very important milestone we achieved. We also laid the foundation of our project activities in hydrocarbons & industrial sectors in Mumbai through the concept of Powai Production Engineering Department. Around the same time, ECC was growing in Chennai in the infrastructure and construction space.

L&T had Danish founders at that point in time. As a result, young

engineers like us got an opportunity to get training in other parts of the world. This, in turn, ensured best practices in our India facility. That was the time when most of the companies grew through technical collaborations. I had the same opportunity to go again in 1981 for another collaboration to the US. During those days, a lot of L&T cadre was built through that route.

I think this has been one of the strong aspects behind such a strong team at L&T. We were given the chance to implement best practices at

the shop floor at a very young age, which actually built confidence and trust in us to deliver better than the best. I think we were fortunate to get hands-on experience on the new technologies. This has provided us the technology edge in the country. We have always been the people who did the first thing in India. That has been the inspiring part. Moreover, then L&T was also a small team and that young team got a chance to be

the real game changers. This is the same philosophy that our Chairman Mr. AM Naik is implementing. The whole idea is to create an atmosphere of a small company in such a giant organisation. That is the strength L&T possesses and is the reason why it has grown to become India’s barometer of leadership.

The aspiration of good people is to reach the Board position and L&T has a very empowered Board. There is no private owner and each Board member handles a part of the business. Today, our biggest focus is to position L&T as the biggest international brand at least in the Gulf, South East Asia & Africa. When we joined, the senior Board management was Danish and our bosses were European. Then, in 1974, L&T had all Indian Board members except Mr. HH Larsen at the top. Now, as we are going global, we are recruiting international people overseas. We are going full circle in globalisation. That is how the whole organisation gets rejuvenated. Undoubtedly, Indian companies are moving in the right direction by adopting the latest technologies. But there has to be a balance between alliance and your own product development capabilities.

LEADERSHIP STYLEI think my leadership style is very informal and nobody is scared of me. I am a very hands-on person. I am assertive, but I reach out to everybody.

One of the biggest thrills in our life at the age of 24 was to release a

drawing and certify it for fabrication, which only our top bosses could do. When we got trained abroad

and came, we were given the responsibility to implement the same

because we were the people who knew the job. I think this was really a turning point for all of us who made it

early at that point in time.

A true epitome of leading by example and empowering young talent, Krishnamurthi Venkataramanan, Whole-time Director & President – Engineering & Construction Projects, Larsen & Toubro, is one of those few leaders who believe in practicing what they preach. In a free-wheeling interview with Archana Tiwari-Nayudu & Prerna Sharma, this young man at heart unravels many facets of his career and his experiences @ L&T. Excerpts…

People from TIER II & III CITIES

INDIA’S GROWTH STORYare the REAL CRAFTERS of



I believe in leading by example and empowering young people. I have always offered support to my team. I can communicate and articulate well. I enjoy my work. I am a good sportsman and I play cricket. I am an extrovert and a knowledge-bearing person. I give a lot of importance to knowledge background and little more intense on research. It comes with discipline. You need all-round players to lead multi-dynamic businesses. In fact, we have a Leadership Development Programme & a Top Management Leadership Development Programme to develop and nurture talent. We are investing heavily towards developing human talent. But as we grow bigger, the fun of working does not remain the same as it used to be during the initial years. One has to do that extra bit to keep the excitement intact. I believe that you cannot run a company by just increasing the salary; you need to enthuse people to deliver that extra.

TALENT RETENTION Good talent is still limited in India. To empower and enrich those who are best suited for manufacturing, FICCI has set up a National Knowledge Functional Hub (NKFH) to engage higher educational institutions with the industry to produce quality engineering graduates and meet the increasing requirement for skilled hands in the market. NKFH aims to facilitate the industry-academia connect in tier II and tier III institutions, which are the source of bulk engineering graduates for the capital goods industry. Each capital goods company can adopt 2-3 institutions in its vicinity for sustained interaction and collaboration under the proposed initiative.

I am a member of FICCI’s NKFH. We are trying to make tier II & tier III people accessible to the manufacturing industry. We believe that these are the real crafters of India’s growth story. We have got our own training centres to upgrade skill sets and keep people

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BEST BRAINS – KRISHNAMURTHI VENKATARAMANAN

abreast with the latest technologies & equipment. The initiative was aimed at enhancing the skill development of students, and making them ‘employable’, with the involvement of the industry. There are plans to set up five NKFHs in partnership with industry champions from the capital goods sector and patron institutions all over India. Institute patrons have been identified as NMIMS, Thapar, Manipal, Amrita and UPES Universities and industry patrons are L&T, BPCL, ISGEC, Thermax, Bharat Forge, Chemtrols, and GW Precision Tools.

INNOVATION, ACCORDING TO YOU…Innovation is the creation of new applications, products or even adding new value to a product. At L&T, we work on a concept called non-monitory rewards to enthuse employees to come up with innovative ideas. In our Hydrocarbon Division, we call it ICON. Every quarter, we conduct a competition wherein we gather innovative ideas that have come from employees working in various strategic business units, which have culminated into innovative products. These selected ideas, presented by the young

team members, are then discussed and deliberated upon at the learning café. This exercise is followed by rating the ideas. The top innovations are then given awards. In fact, we have created a Knowledge Management System in our organisation wherein all such ideas are collated so that each unit can implement such ideas in their respective manufacturing facilities to improvise their work process.

QUALITIES TO BE GROOMED IN ENGINEERSFirst & foremost, one must have the right attitude, passion and optimism to achieve and deliver the best. More importantly, they should have orientation towards learning business strategies that will help them excel in their careers. They also need to be able to communicate properly.

LEADING FROM THE FRONT…I always tell people that project activity is like a movie production. Each project has to be a success. In each project, you start from zero and stop only when it is completely executed. So, you have to be on your toes, you have to have a good team. You need to put the right people into a particular task to give shape to that particular project. I always tell my people that

L&T is nothing but Love & Trust and Learning & Training. You need to be strong at networking.

MOTIVATION FACTORFirst of all, you must like what you are doing. Right from the start of my career, I had the opportunity to work under good bosses. So, I started liking

K Venkataramanan, President – Engineering & Construction Projects, joined L&T on June 12, 1966 after completing BTech in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. He was appointed Whole-time Director on the Board of the Company on May 28, 1999.

Venkataramanan established the foundations for Project Engineering and Execution in L&T. He was sent for specialised training to Denmark in 1968 for product engineering & plant design, and to the US for process engineering (1973).

In 1983, he became Head – Special Fabrication Shops, Production Engineering and Plant Engineering. He conceptualised, designed and planned the water front load-out facility at Hazira for offshore platforms of up to 6,000 tonne.

He is instrumental in developing L&T’s extensive capabilities in the latest 3D CAD design and integrated project management.

He has set up L&T’s Centres of Engineering Excellence for the hydrocarbon sector (L&T-Chiyoda) and power sector (L&T-S&L). He also built process design capability through a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) group for direct access to process technology. He helped transform the company from a fabrication-driven EPC contractor to a technology-led player. He also established IT-enabled Engineering Services Centres to tap global opportunities.

Venkataramanan implemented Real Time Strategic Change (RTSC) processes in the company for high-performance team building. He implemented various business solutions such as global sourcing, skill building, risk management, benchmarking, contracts management and intense monitoring of value drivers encompassing financial and operational parameters.

Venkataramanan also formed a dedicated International Business Development Cell to give a thrust to the international front. Under his leadership, the project team successfully executed/are executing high technology projects in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Kuwait, Oman, Sri Lanka and Nigeria.

Venkataramanan was conferred doctorate in Project Management by the University of Petroleum Energy Studies, Dehradun on May 31, 2011.

JOURNEY TOWARDS EXCELLENCE

Innovation is the creation of new applications, products or even

adding new value to a product. At L&T, we work on a concept called non-monitory rewards to enthuse

employees to come up with innovative ideas.



my job. You follow your passion & money follows… I have seen that many people right from their starting years are worried about money. I believe in the mantra that if you follow what you like, everything else will fall in place. You also need to balance your personal and professional life. Those who have succeeded have shaped their own careers. Lastly, you need to indulge yourself in hobbies.

FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING…The competitiveness of manufacturing even with the highest levels of automation will still remain in those countries, which have the local demand and talent. India is poised to be the focal point of investment. The country needs to come out with labour-friendly policies. Manufacturing has a very important dimension for India because no great country can depend on imports for the rest of their lives. Each country has to have a value creation in demand

and manufacturing is that value creation tool for India. The growth has to be supported by policies, investment, skill development, innovation and so on & so forth. Apart from this, I think to spearhead the growth momentum of manufacturing, the country must have these factors: The country has to facilitate

environmental issues, land acquisition issues so that adequate infrastructure can be developed without much hassle. In the last two years, we have not been able to move at a fast pace

Policies on investments also need to be looked at extensively. The government cannot announce a policy and hold it back just because it had not thoroughly worked on it. You need to attract foreign investments to carry forward the growth momentum and the investment climate should be fairly structured

We have to have an inclusive growth. There have to be balanced labour reforms; otherwise, industries would not invest heavily into the Indian market

India needs to achieve political reforms to ensure governance and eliminate corruption.

TRENDS TO WATCH OUT FOR… One needs to be careful, rational

and calculative in opting for the right technology

We have to definitely be conscious about talent retention. Any company that has talent will grow in the world. Talent acquisition, motivation and retention philosophies should be well formulated

Watch out for China… they are a big and competitive market

The country should opt for a balanced-liberalisation approach.

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BEST BRAINS – DR G MADHAVAN NAIR

MANAGING ISRO AND CRUCIAL MISSIONSThe most important part of the management philosophy is to see that you take care of the people working with you. You give importance to their ideas, feelings and then, one should have the patience to withstand failures, learn from them and apply these lessons for future improvements. The continuous process of evolution has indeed helped me. Mainly, it has been the ISRO culture that Dr Vikram Sarabhai has inculcated

by creating a scientists’ fraternity and the ambience for teamwork without barriers.

Today, in the scientific world, every scientist is an institution. They rarely interact, and when they do, it is to share knowledge and experience, but in ISRO’s culture, this is not the case. We have been able to explore the best of our abilities and this is one of the reasons why ISRO could succeed. We could manage interdisciplinary activities exceedingly well with an open system of communication, review

and decision making. We let things evolve from the

grassroot level rather than forcing something from the top. From the top, an outline can be given with the final objective and goals, but the actual implementation is left to the appropriate levels of decision making — be it technical, managerial or financial. This learning curve has enabled me to take up the final challenge of managing ISRO. We had nearly 6,000 engineers with around 10,000 supporting staff. There are issues at the every level; you

With a down to earth personality, soft-spoken nature and a brilliant mind that has been integral in realising the Indian a strong-willed person with a foresight. From his astounding career graph to his vision for aerospace development, has brought India on the global aerospace radar. Opening up on India’s aerospace future with Sumedha Mahorey, he in providing low cost access to space, not only with GSLV MARK III, but also the next generation of reusable launch

IT IS TIME INDIA SHOULD EMERGE

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DR G MADHAVAN NAIR – BEST BRAINS

intervene when the situation turns critical, give a nudge and see that the issue is taken in the right direction.

INTUITION AND DECISION MAKINGIn all these processes, intuition plays a big role; especially, in the new technology area. Here, 50-60 per cent data is available, the remaining is risk. We have ‘n’ number of options because of our familiarity or intense association with the project. That intuition comes automatically and helps us take the right decision.

One cannot assume that everything will go as per clockwork precision. We should be prepared for failures. You have to do your part of the work. After that, the system of review works. Every aspect of the work – be it financial or technical decision making or mission planning – goes through reviews lasting for hours. If you take all the decisions put together, there is an 80 per cent success rate that has been achieved. This comes out of deliberation. The meticulous analysis of all details, and above all, the open culture, has helped

us achieve success.

INDIA’S STANDING IN THE GLOBAL ROCKET LAUNCHING TECHNOLOGYAs far as technology competence and our proof of performance are concerned, we are on par with any developed country. Payload capability-wise PSLV is very unique. It can carry satellites for various applications into the orbit. Cost-wise, we are about 70-80 per cent of the international cost. More than that, our reliability is good as compared to other similar

launchers. Presently, GSLV will take some time before getting established internationally, but the demand for communication satellites will increase in the future. Rising on this is GSLV MARK III, the next workhorse launcher for the global need. The advantage of this launcher is the cost of launch, which will come down considerably. Today, we spend about $20,000 per kg per launch; whereas, the spending on a MARK III launch will be less than $10,000. This comes in as a saving in terms of cost advantages. And with this technology in place, we will be able to meet not only our requirements, but also part of the global demands.

JOURNEY FROM A TECHNOLOGY SEEKER TO A TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERPSLV has been a stepping stone in our journey so far. Going further, we are aiming for larger capacity launchers. GSLV was conceived on that note. The GSLV makes use of the PSLV modules by and large. The liquid and solid core is used as it is. Only substitution is the new development of

the cryogenic stage. In the cryogenic stage, initially the idea was to get the technology from Russia, but due to political reasons, the process was halted. Our teams have now started working on the project. We have attempted a flight test last year. Unfortunately, it did not succeed, but it turned out to be a minor problem with respect to the tolerance in one of the components. It is presently getting redesigned and soon, we will have a test flight. Using this as the technical base, we are using the heavy lift booster called GSLV

MARK III, the third generation of GSLV, in which we are using a huge solid technology with a larger loading.

aerospace dream, Dr G Madhavan Nair, former Chairman, ISRO, comes by as his immense learning as well as the ability to not fi t into the conventional articulates, “If we want to be a space power, we have a unique opportunity systems.”

AS A SPACE POWER

Being unconventional Since childhood, I did not fit into the conventional mode. People say that you have to be good in studies and sports. But I used to study subjects that I liked, not the others. Fortunately, that took me to the doorsteps of engineering college. I finished engineering in Electrical & Communication. Again, instead of taking the conventional route of becoming an Engineer, I pursued an atomic programme at BARC Training School...a turning point came in my life as space was an emerging opportunity then... I jumped into it. The learning has been a continuous process from conventional engineering subjects to propulsion, controls, guidance, space trajectories and so on. It has been a continuous journey all these years. I was lucky to get the best of the training under two people — Dr Vikram Sarabhai and Dr Kalam. My association with Dr Sarabhai was very short. Dr Kalam has been my guru in all senses. I learned technology and management from him. What do you do in leisure? Practically nothing...I have all the technical reports in front of me to immerse myself into.

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Today, we carry about a 150 tonne of propellant in the first stage, the MARK III will be able to carry more than 250 tonne in the first stage and the liquid engine will remain more or less the same, but with a higher propellant loading.

In the cryogenic stage, we are going in for further development. Today, we are making a 20 tonne thrust engine design and it is under the process of being realised. With all this in place with less number of stages, as compared to the seven rockets that are flying in the current GSLV, with three rocket stages, we will be able to achieve double the capacity of GSLV i.e. against the two tonne in the geo-transfer orbit, we will be carrying four tonne payload. Not only this, it can carry about 10 tonne into the lower orbit of about 500-600 km. GSLV MARK III will not only carry scientific instruments and payloads, but also become a carrier for manned mission. We want to position ourselves as one of the low-cost space access providers in the coming days.

PROVIDING LEARNING GROUND TO STUDENTS A satellite has a host of technologies, structure, thermal, power, solar panels, software and electronics for communication, sensors, etc. It is a multidisciplinary science and we need a variety of technologies that ought to be synthesised. By building a satellite, the student community is exposed to a multidisciplinary task.

Exposing the student community to a very high level of sophistication and a multidisciplinary activity will enable them to become better future engineers. This has been the driving force behind the launch of many student satellites by ISRO. In the learning process, mistakes can happen. From those mistakes, students should learn and achieve perfection. The success rate of the student satellites launched, so far, has been about 60 per cent. We hope that in the

future, this learning will improve the quality & reliability of their projects and they will be able to perform better.

INTERACTING AND COLLABORATING WITH INDUSTRIAL VERTICALSOver the years, we have evolved processes and procedures within the government setup. In fact, it is one of the departments where every aspect of the contract or procurement is well documented right from specifications, until the finalisation. Thus, we go through an open system of deliberation and only then do we chose partners. Some of our industrial partners have come up to our expectations, some have not. But working with ISRO has always helped them improve their quality as well as their work culture. But the aerospace industry has to mature. They have not shown any initiative so far.

EFFECT OF CHANGING POLITICAL SUPPORT ON ISROWe have been fortunate enough to have this department controlled by the Prime Minister. All the prime ministers have supported space initiatives. The fact that in the last 5-6 years, the annual increase in our budget has been nearly between 15 per cent and 25 per cent shows the confidence that the government has placed in us.

FUTURE OF INDIAN SPACE PROGRAMMETill now, we have followed Dr Sarabhai’s vision and achieved self-reliance in space technology. Based on his vision, we have used technology for societal benefit. The next mission is with respect to what and where India should be. It is time India emerges as a space power. Achieving the same will give us a unique opportunity in providing low-cost access to space, not only with MARK III, but also with the next generation of reusable launch systems. Also, communication from space, handheld communication

and providing wide band connectivity to the rural areas has become very relevant.

We have a host of projects, which have been chalked out, to meet the nation’s future challenges as well as enable India to become a space power. As part of that, the manned initiative is very important. If we want to be a space power, we should be able to carry astronauts to the orbit and bring them back safely. Chandrayaan-2 is a small project compared to the other projects that we are working on. This is a follow-on project to confirm what we have found through remote sensing. A Lander will be used to pick up samples and send back the data. Also, there are scientists who are interested in finding the features of Mars, Venus and other planets in the solar system and exploring the galaxies. But those kinds of missions will be a small fraction of our focus. We will be oriented more towards meeting the demands of the nation in terms of not only the civilian requirements, but also for military applications as well as to provide for the vital needs of the communication activity.

DREAM BECOMING A REALITY IN INDIAN SPACE MISSION’S FUTUREIndia has been concentrating on meeting the day-to-day needs of the people by helping them in agriculture, fisheries and even entertainment, with the DTH feature. About colonisation, yes, it has been a long dream for mankind. We cannot be lagging behind on that front, but I do not think we will put too much stress on tourism and related aspects. There is no point in providing a luxury tourist spot using common man’s resources. That will be the least priority. But, at the same time, when it comes to the colonisation of Mars or moon, the technical issues would be definitely concentrated on.

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BEST BRAINS – CARL BASS

Sometimes, companies mistake that every company has the right to exist, but Carl Bass, President and CEO, Autodesk Inc., begs to differ. In an exclusive interaction with Archana Tiwari-Nayudu, this leader talks about all things important — be it future of manufacturing, his leadership style, which is self-confessed ‘relaxed’ yet ‘gripping’ and his interesting take on corporate courage. Read on…

You have to EARN the RIGHT to EXIST

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CARL BASS – BEST BRAINS

YOU SAID ON ONE SIDE, THE WORLD IS GETTING MORE COMPLEX AND ON THE OTHER, IT IS GETTING SIMPLER, ELABORATE…The one thing that is going on is the fundamental rearrangement of the economical equation, which has been established from the beginning of the industrial revolution. Today, I can produce something of very high quality, which is reasonably priced, in very small numbers. It is an inverse of the industrial revolution, which stood for mass manufacturing. I do not think 3D printing or customised manufacturing is going to replace mass manufacturing in entirety in the near future. But, it will, and has already added a new dimension to the manufacturing sector. New concepts, like these, open newer opportunities for all kinds of entrepreneurs. This is also to say that on one side, the world is getting more complex and on the other, it is getting simpler.

AN ATOM IS AT THE HELM OF ALL THINGS MANUFACTURED… Yes, I said an atom is at the helm of manufacturing; manufacturing using biology, the kidney being ‘manufactured’, using the stem cells of a person, is a live example. We, as engineers, always believed in either ‘treating it’ or ‘beating it’ and that is what traditional manufacturing was all about. But with science and technology making their presence felt, we are reengineering our own DNA. We cannot imagine what science and technology have in store for us.

COUNTERING WAVES OF DISRUPTIONSThe entire history of technology is about getting disrupted sooner or later. Competition always comes from the bottom, seldom from the top. You may be doing great in your space, but then someone comes up with some products, solutions or service, which may be unimaginable to compete with. In such cases, you just have to deal with the situation. Sometimes, you also need to have ‘corporate courage’ to

disrupt yourself, you need to cannibalise when things are changing, you have to accept that ‘yes’ the business is changing – be it lower pricing, better products or more unique business models – you have to adapt to it. One is the awareness to accept it and the other is the courage to adapt to it. Most of the companies falter on the latter. It is important to acknowledge that this disruption occurred for rational reasons; it is not that the people working were incompetent or unknowing, or they acted irrationally and that is what led to the downfall. It is important to acknowledge that it was not a sin of mission, but a sin of omission…they were acting and working perfectly rational, but it still did not work out. It is important to realise that it did not work out because something has structurally changed.

EARNING THE RIGHT TO EXIST ….Companies have to have the willingness, appetite and culture to embrace change & adapt to new situations. They have to do things differently and take leaps. It is true that bigger companies are good at a lot of things, but what they are not good at is looking at these disruptions and treating them as opportunities. The real trick is to turn that mindset where people dread failures to wanting to embrace success. But with that comes risk. And I strongly believe that sometimes people mistake that every company has the right to exist. I think you have to earn that right.

YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE…Relaxed, but gripping! The trait I value the most is that of how people get work done. I am always asked about what it takes to get ahead in this company, what is my magic potion of success, etc.… I love smart people, I love creative people, but the most important thing when you are managing creative and smart people is that those people get the work done. So, I create an environment that helps my team get the work done.

YOUR NORTH STAR?I try to figure out what is more important and, to me, the answer to that question is: what are you doing to understand and service your customers. At the end of the day, we make tools for the people, and I am not embarrassed about it. It is our proud tradition, you are actually empowering people in doing something which they were not able to do, but now, they are equipped to do it, thanks to our tools. We build tools for tomorrow. The Shanghai towers, the movie ‘Avatar’ are some modern creations and they were made using our tools. But my North Star is to create tools for my customers, which empower them.

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• Before taking over as President & CEO, Autodesk; Carl Bass was COO – Worldwide Sales, Marketing and Product Development, Autodesk. His earlier roles included CTO & EVP, Product Development.

• Bass co-founded Ithaca Software, the developers of HOOPS, which was acquired by Autodesk in 1993.

• Bass serves on the Board of Directors of Autodesk, E2open, the Art Center College of Design and the Rocky Mountain Institute. He is also a member of the Executive Advisory Boards of Cornell Computing and Information Science and UC Berkeley School of Information. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from Cornell University.

CREDENTIALS


BEST BRAINS – RAMESH CHANDAK

KEC’S TRANSFORMATIONAL JOURNEY…When I took over the leadership position in 2002, the industry in general, was not performing well, which, in turn, had an impact on KEC’s overall business performance. With a vision to overcome these issues and bring the electrical industry at the forefront, we decided to focus on some of the most fundamental aspects. First and foremost, we started focussing on the turnover instead of the bottom line. As a result, we started booking more orders in fewer margins and were thus able to demonstrate our capabilities to the world.

Secondly, at that point in time, we also used to be an asset-heavy company, hence, we thought it was best to ease the flab and become lean by selling our real estate properties. Thirdly, and most importantly, we forayed into major

geographies to capture global markets – a move, which offered a huge fillip to our business. Today, we are present in around 45 countries and continue to scout for more emerging markets. Looking at the potential, we decided that every year, we would add two countries to our portfolio. This shift enhanced our market size substantially and in this course of our journey, we also entered into partnerships wherever we thought that operating solely would not augur well for the company.

During this journey, we realised that there are some markets, which are difficult to get access into, particularly the US. To tackle this issue, we acquired a company, which had one factory in Brazil and another in Mexico. Thus, through this acquisition, we were able to cover the whole of America — a move which changed our market size

substantially. Apart from geographic expansion, we also ventured into product portfolio expansion. We added power systems, cable manufacturing, telecom, water, railways, etc., into our portfolio.

All these factors combined have truly transformed our market standing in the world today. Having achieved the feat, I think that a company can grow by various means — firstly, through geographic expansion and secondly, through product portfolio expansion. At KEC International, we have adopted a holistic approach to expand and strengthen our base, which, I believe, is the key to our success.

MOTIVATION MANTRA I think one should be self-motivated to inspire other team members. Moreover, being motivated and enjoying what

Recognised as an innovative and dynamic leader, Ramesh Chandak, MD & CEO, KEC

International and President, IEEMA, is considered a role model by today’s youth

not only for his sharp business acumen and leadership, but also for his personal ethics

& conduct. After taking over the reins in 2002, he transformed KEC International,

which initially had a turnover of `501 crore into the world’s largest transmission line construction company with a turnover of

over `4,000 crore. During a free-wheeling interaction with

Prerna Sharma, this astounding personality deliberates on the

transformations achieved over the years. Excerpts…

You should beSELF-MOTIVATED

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BEST BRAINS – RAMESH CHANDAK

one is doing will ensure successful future leadership. Additionally, one also has to be passionate about what one is doing. No amount of hard work will help unless one is passionate about what one does. Also, one needs to create a healthy working atmosphere. This would not only result in better productivity, but also ensure great team bonding.

CONVERTING EXISTING MANAGERS TO FUTURE LEADERSIn order to leave behind a successful legacy of leadership, a leader must possess the ability to delegate and monitor from a distance. If one succeeds in doing that, I am sure future leaders will begin to emerge from the team itself. At KEC International, we follow another procedure in this regard. Once we identify people who have the capability to take up the leadership position, we send them to the best management institutes globally to get hands-on experience and brush up their management skills. This also helps them become more analytical and logical when making decisions. Thus, we are able to create powerful leaders for the future.

POWER SCENARIO IN INDIAAs of today, I do not see the burgeoning power demand-supply gap narrowing any sooner. One of the reasons is that our method of calculating power shortage is faulty. Today, there are a number of power-starved regions. In fact, the issue of power shortage is much more intense than what we think. This is because the actual requirement of power is far greater.

Sadly, no government machinery is talking about the root cause. The private sector, on its own, can only bring in the funding, but the real problem lies in the policies. The power sector has been challenged with some of the fundamental issues, which have to be addressed. These would include fuel linkages, forest clearance, environmental issues, etc. An individual

company cannot resolve these issues. In a nutshell, power problems have to be resolved by working in tandem with the government.

AS YOU GROW BIGGER, CHANCES OF FAILURE INCREASE…I have a contrary view to that. I think that the chances of failure decrease because one is exposed to most of the tumultuous situations, and, in such a scenario, one is more mature to take the right decision for the business. Having said that, people learn from their mistakes; hence, I believe in giving people the liberty to take on new initiatives, so that they can prove themselves and emerge as winners in tough times. Initial failures will teach one to become more agile and prepare them to deal with adversity.

SUCCESS, ACCORDING TO YOU…I think the most important question to ask ourselves is: How does one perceive success rather than others telling them how they perceive it. For some, success is always linked to money, but others might have varied notions. I believe that the definition of success lies in how much one enjoys their job.

PRIORITY FACTORS THAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD ADDRESSInfrastructure and power are undoubtedly the most pressing concerns. Secondly, growth and finance are essential too. In India today, the cost of borrowing is so high that companies find it difficult to go ahead with their expansion plans. In such a scenario, the government needs to take certain initiatives and make finance available to these companies so that they can enhance their productivity and carry out their expansion plans. The government also needs to bring in various reforms in place — labour and financial reforms should be the government’s top priority.

Lastly, we need to create assets in the country to spearhead the momentum of growth. We need to

train our workforce to be ready for the future. Additionally, the government needs to come up with policies to carry out skill development.

SUCCEEDING THE DOWNTIMESLeaders cannot take stern measures during recessionary times. They need to prepare themselves for the worst when things are in control and the business as well as the economic scenario is stable. It is a universal truth that good times are followed by bad times. Sadly, no company in the industry prepares itself to sustain adversities. People plan for growth, but not for downturns. Once they start doing that, I think India Inc. will be more shielded from external shocks.

BOOKS THAT INSPIRE YOU…I have read many books and I do not think that any particular book has inspired me. My approach is to observe people & superiors and imbibe their best traits. It is a continuous learning curve that one should enjoy.

GOING FOR BIG BANG ACQUISITIONSFirstly, before making any acquisition decision, one needs to ensure that the decision logically fits into the organisational structure. Once the target is identified, due diligence needs to be absolutely perfect. It does not only relate to financial numbers and calculations, but also to business ethics and the workforce.

The biggest challenge after acquiring a company is to create a perfect sync between the parent organisation and the acquired one, i.e., the two have to be balanced perfectly. Also, there has to be trust from both the sides. Once this is achieved, synergy in the company will be far easier to achieve. Additionally, one also needs to aim at adding value to the acquired organisation. Most acquisitions fail because one of the critical success elements is missing.

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BEST BRAINS – DAIZO ITO

YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE My leadership style is very democratic. I believe that ideas and creativity flow freely in a democratic environment as it makes team members comfortable to communicate their views. I keep my focus on the long-term goal for the business and accordingly drive measures to achieve the same. It is always good to gather inputs from your team as different thoughts put together can bring out an innovative solution to a business concern. Effective communication within the team is key to my success.

CONVERTING EXISTING MANAGERS INTO LEADERSIn the current business scenario, it is vital to create systems and processes

to support the development of leaders internally – a practice that is already in place at Panasonic. The essence of leadership lies in bringing about changes for the betterment of an organisation. Therefore, for a manager to be a leader, it is important that he influences people to bring about that change, which is measurable and, at the same time, is linked to the company’s vision and mission.

MOTIVATING TEAMPanasonic has a well-defined and structured process for managing senior & high-potential talent to ensure effective and smooth implementation. The process is followed across all businesses of Panasonic by the mid-level managers. Panasonic strongly

emphasises on personal development, training programmes, projects, etc., designed to recognise the strengths of its employees and nurture them to its fullest potential. Every employee of Panasonic is aware of the company‘s mission & vision and works towards accomplishing the goal of making Panasonic the ‘No.1 Green Innovations Company’ in the worldwide electronics industry by 2018.

YOUR OPINION ON INDIA AS THE GLOBAL HOTSPOTIn India, consumer electronics and home appliances are some of the fastest growing segments today. These segments have proved to be very profitable for us as well. The fact that our senior leadership is making

A visionary with exemplary leadership style, Daizo Ito, President, Panasonic India, wants to see Panasonic as a household name in India. With vibrant plans in place and eco-friendly products in the offi ng, the company plans to carve a niche for itself in the Indian market. In this interview with Arindam Ghosh, he shares his strategies to cash in on the India opportunity. Excerpts…

Localisation is

to our business

BEST BRAINS – DAIZO ITO


DAIZO ITO – BEST BRAINS

frequent visits to India to feel and experience the environment & get involved with the frontline people, while investing heavily in the country, clearly proves that India is a significant market for us. The company believes that localisation is key to our business growth and modification of business, products & content, should satisfy both the language and cultural differences of the targeted market. Panasonic has witnessed 200 per cent growth in the past three years in India, and it is confident that this growth trend will continue for the next two years.

STRATEGIES TO TAP TIER II & III MARKETSLooking at the market conditions in India, Panasonic has devised a mid-term strategy for the Indian market. The company aims to target tier I, II & III markets. In fact, all the products’ marketing and communication strategies are aligned with this. In

tier 1 markets, primarily products like large-screen flat-panel televisions and inverter-based home appliances & digital cameras are promoted. In tier II & III markets, the range of LCD televisions, direct cool refrigerators & entry-level home theatre systems are promoted.

This festive season, we have introduced a range of products suitable for tier II & III markets — new entry-level 22-inch & 24-inch LCD TV models priced at Rs14,600 and Rs16,900, respectively, have also been added to the existing line up of flat-panel Viera TVs, semi-automatic washing machines and direct cool refrigerators in a variety of colours. We are also promoting our range of beauty products, which has hair dryers starting from Rs575. We have also introduced a camera LS5 priced at Rs4,990 for our consumers in tier II & III markets.

At Panasonic, we continuously

endeavour to develop and deliver products best fitted for the Indian consumers without a compromise in technology and quality. In a nutshell, ‘rich communication’, ‘empowerment’ and ‘localisation’ are our pillars to achieve business strategy in India.

A BOOK THAT HAS INSPIRED YOU The book ‘Uesugi Yozan’ by Fuyuji Domon has inspired me. It has taught me that it is important to place the right people in the right job, even if it means employing people one does not like. This is an important aspect of being a leader.

BIGGEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE WHILE OPERATING OUT OF INDIAIn Japan, people adhere to deadlines. The work style in India is more relaxed and so, one needs to factor in some risk due to this practice.

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BEST BRAINS – PETER WALSH

HOW TO THINK LEAN? The biggest improvement in lean activities can only come about if every single person in an organisation becomes a problem solver. I usually use the example of Toyota, where every single person in the shop floor, including the ones fixing wind screens in vehicles, is a problem solver. In a shop floor, everyday there are thousands of small problems that occur every hour. And if all companies apply this approach, the opportunities of actual impact on increasing productivity would be immense.

Just imagine — every single person in the organisation, devoted to doing their job, also continuously thinks about ways that would increase productivity on the shop floor. Toyota is a classic example of how it happens. ‘Lean’ is picking up everywhere. It is happening in hospitals & clinics, major banks, insurance companies

and even in the government set up. Various organisations across the globe have started to adopt these approaches. Eventually, as these lean techniques reach its full extent, every person in the organisation will become a problem solver. So imagine the impact where instead of having a few specialists to solve problems, everyone will be able to solve smaller problems themselves in a strategic way leaving the company’s senior management to think about the bigger issues affecting the company.

CREATING AN OFFICE CULTURE TO THINK LEANIt is important for the organisation to recognise people who can actually think so that people from the shop floor or office floor can make sensible improvements to their own areas of work. Creating a lean culture also depends to a great extent on the senior management in the way the

organisation develops its strategic plans and cascades those plans down the organisation. Simply announcing policy changes does not work. Any lean organisation follows the process of policy deployment, where the top management cascades the policies to the next level and asks them for their feedback. Similarly, these policies are sent further down to the lower levels for analysis and feedback by every level before it is actually implemented. In this way, each worker is a part of the larger strategy and the entire organisation works together. It is an up and down process and takes a little longer time, but eventually, it works.

STEPS TOWARDS BECOMING LEAN The very methodology of lean management is about involving the last man on the shop floor. Essentially, anybody working on the

“Lean is an integrated approach of people, process and purpose,” says Peter Walsh, Founder President, Lean Enterprise, Australia. Through this interview with Debarati Basu, he dispensed on Indian manufacturers for revving up the productivity quotient of their shop fl oors. Excerpts...

LEANYou don’t do

LEANyou become

BEST BRAINS – PETER WALSH


PETER WALSH – BEST BRAINS

factory floor should be able to notice if things are not working properly or if standards are not being met. In a lean organisation, a senior manager’s responsibility is to be on the shop floor and scout for those problems so that they get to know about the issues earlier than it is detected in traditional organisations. They should not just see the problem, but also see the problems being tackled and have a continuously updated account of the situation. They should be in touch with those on the shop floor, ask them questions and understand their problems. This helps them keep in touch with everyday problems.

COMPREHENSIVE LEAN APPROACH Lean is an integrated approach of people, process and purpose. Managers need to be system thinkers so that they can think about end-to-end processes. In addition, they have the added responsibility to cascade down the policies, get feedback and develop people to become the organisation’s problem solvers.

Many organisations, which call themselves lean, simply focus only on the process to get some improvements in process handling. My view is that you can be a lean organisation only when you integrate all the three key fundamentals of process, purpose and system. Lean deals with continuous improvement throughout the journey.

LEAN APPROACH IN INDIA Organisations in India are certainly adopting lean measures, but the process is not fast enough. One of the issues is that people think that adopting some process improvement measures makes them lean. But you don’t do lean, you become lean. To be a lean organisation, one has to become lean in everything they do. This is one problem that Indian organisations have to address.

LEAN GOING GREEN Lean has a lot to do with minimising resources. If you minimise resources,

it will certainly help in adopting green practices.

LEAN WAYS TO PROFITABILITY It is often said that one really needs a crisis to adopt lean practices. The main focus of any organisation is money. But when trapped in difficult situations,

people want to do something, which can quickly get them out of the situation. Lean does not ask for a lot of investment as this process is all about making optimum use of what you have and getting quick results.

[email protected]

First job I was into chemical engineering with Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), UK. It was an interesting time with the market expanding. But after some years, I decided to move on to a management consultancy and eventually, even wanted to set up my own consultancy business. But then, one thing led to another and I decided to set up Lean Enterprise.

Learning of life It is the focus on improvement that we consistently need for improving our personal life or business. That is the only way for people to grow in their lives and for organisations to survive. Also, the lean philosophy of respecting people and giving equal importance to everyone in the system is something which is imbibed in me.

Switching from being a chemical engineer to coming up with management mantrasChemical engineers focus on processes and are often called process engineers. Personally, I think it is a very good background for lean because the lean theory also focusses mainly on process. ICI was a big company, but, back then, I felt that many things could be improved. In fact, after I left that company, I realised that it was much better than many other companies I later came across.

Where it all began I was familiar with many companies across the globe and had heard that many good things were happening in Japan. Initially, I thought that the growth in Japanese companies was because of their culture. But when I visited Toyota, I saw that they were doing things differently from other Japanese companies. At Toyota, I was given a book on the Toyota production system from industrial engineering people. I was asked to read it and understand the concepts. However, the poor translation did not make much sense. I brought the book back home and rewrote it long hand, and ultimately translated it in a language that I could understand. Doing this was a big learning experience for me. In fact, that is where my lean thinking started. What struck me the most in that book was the way they did quick change over between things while being flexible to meet their customers’ demands. These were some of the key aspects about their process. In fact, I am still learning. Message for budding entrepreneursIt is very important to set your objectives very clearly and then stick to them for long term, be flexible to different conditions and try to focus on eliminating stuff, which does not have value for customers. If you do that, you will go a long way.

UP, PERSONALCLOSE &


BEST BRAINS – SHEENA IYENGAR

GREAT LEADER ACCORDING TO YOUI admire Warren Buffett the most. What I think is so special about him is not so much the choices he made, but the choices that he did not take. His policy is, ‘If I do not understand it, I do not buy it’. He is a big investor in Coke, for instance, because it is a straightforward product and industry. More than anything else, Warren Buffett’s experience has enabled him to develop an understanding of the limits of his knowledge.

KEY TAKEAWAYS COMPANIES CAN IMBIBE FROM ‘THE ART OF CHOOSING’ ‘The Art of Choosing’ looks at three questions: first & foremost, why do we choose, i.e., where does a choice get its power from? Secondly, how do we make choices, i.e., what are the various factors that influence how and what we choose? Lastly, given all this, how can we choose better? While writing the book, my goal was to offer useful insights into the choices that any reader would be able to apply to his or her life. One of the most important messages I would like to convey is that we can all benefit from being choosy about choosing. Ask yourself, ‘How much choice do I really need? Is it really worth it, or is it a distraction from my more important goals?’

MASTERING BUSINESS FORECASTINGWhen companies try to guess what consumers want, they essentially make the choice for consumers. Since it can take up to two years for an article of clothing to move from design to product, fashion companies try to predict trends. They consult with

other companies and buy trends from forecasters, thereby resulting in various companies producing products with a lot of similarities and, as a consequence, trends being created. So, if that trend is white clothing, you may have a hard time trying to find a black wardrobe. We might assume that the demand for white clothing has increased, but it is more likely that the forecasts increased consumption of white clothing. So, ultimately, do we choose fashion or

does fashion choose us?

ALIGNING GROWTH WITH PERTINENT OPPORTUNITIESWhen competition for market share is very high, the best way to differentiate yourself from your competitors is to offer something they cannot offer. Nowadays, most products can be replicated and improved upon. That means, your best strategy is to focus on things that other companies cannot

Sheena Iyengar’s provocative book, ‘The Art of Choosing’, won Gold at the 2011 Axiom Business Book Awards. The book was also a finalist for the 2010 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award and was voted #3 on AMAZON’s BUSINESS & INVESTING TOP 10!


SHEENA IYENGAR – BEST BRAINS

Prominent social psychologist Sheena Iyengar has been an inspirational fi gure for many in the world. She has chosen not to let her blindness

keep her from conducting prodigious research and intrepid experiments. Through this awe-inspiring interaction with Prerna Sharma, she explains

our ‘biological need for choice and control’, the decision process, and the myriad infl uences that dictate everything from purchasing choices to career

moves. The daughter of Sikh immigrants from India, Iyengar is particularly astute in her globally signifi cant analysis of the striking differences

between how Americans and Asians make decisions. Excerpts…

A Company’sBest Strategy Should Focus On Things That Other Companies Cannot Replicate

The book that has inspired you the mostIn terms of the book that has given me insight into choice, I would say ‘Essays: First Series’ by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

As you grow bigger, do you think the cost of failure gets higher and higherThat’s an interesting question. I would say that’s not necessarily the case if you manage your risks well.

Overcoming one’s own weaknesses to emerge as winnerThe key is balancing your hopes, your desires, and an appreciation for the possibilities, with a clear-eyed assessment of your own limitations. When we are able to do that, we are best able to practice the art of choosing.

Your mentor in lifeI have had many mentors — too many to list. Two of them would be my doctorate advisors Amos Tversky and Mark Lepper.

Your turning point in life…I do not think I had a turning point. I believe that it is only when we make a few careful choices, every day, day in and day out, that we are best able to transform our lives.

Challenges you faced when nobody accepted your thinkingIn general, you should not expect that the first time you utter an idea, it will be widely accepted – or even accepted at all. It is more about learning how to express an idea that is understandable and memorable to others.

UP, PERSONALCLOSE &

replicate, viz., your company values and identity.

CONVERTING EXISTING MANAGERS INTO LEADERSWe evaluate our leaders by the choices they make. So, if we aim to become better leaders, we need to study how to improve our choices. We need to learn to harness the power of choice, which can be transformative, but also a little unwieldy. What does a leader need to know and do to make the best of choice? This can be trained, but it requires something I like to call ‘informed intuition’. Informed intuition is experience (which includes practice and feedback), judgment and wisdom. I give examples of informed intuition in my book and in my talks to business school students and executives.

YOUR MOTIVATION IN LIFE…The topic of choice has always been my passion. I think it was really the interplay of three factors that motivated me to pursue choice as a passion. First,

I was born to Sikh immigrant parents living in North America, and because of that, I became a part of two different worlds. These two worlds did not just comprise of two different languages, or two different sets of rules, but offered two entirely different narratives of how to live one’s life. The first emphasised on the importance of knowing your duties and fulfilling your responsibilities, while the second emphasised the importance of identifying and acting upon your personal preferences. Second, as a result of my blindness, I came to be interested in both the possibilities and the limitations of choice — I had to constantly think about what I could do, and balance that against what I could not. Finally, I chose to begin formally studying in college and graduate school, because of the interests that emerged from my experiences. Underlying much of my research are questions about how we balance our duties and responsibilities to others with the pursuit of personal preference, and how we reconcile both


BEST BRAINS – SHEENA IYENGAR

the possibilities and limitations of choice.

INDIA: A NEW GLOBAL REALITY…According to the Global Innovation Index, China ranks 29, while India ranks 62. So, I think one important challenge for the country is to continue to innovate outside the box in order to sustain and build upon the growth India has had thus far. I believe that there are some simple but powerful things that Indian companies can do to help incentivise their employees to become even more innovative. One of the things I teach at the Columbia Business School is techniques for better brainstorming sessions and how to create a culture in which innovation thrives. In fact, I recently spoke on this topic to leaders at Aditya Birla.

In short, India is going places! In the next 25-50 years, Asia is where it is happening, and India is one of the major players.

[email protected]

Sheena Iyengar is the inaugural ST Lee Professor of Business at Columbia Business School and the Research Director of the Jerome A Chazen Institute of International Business. Sheena knows first hand how the power of choice can transform lives. At the age of three, she was diagnosed with a rare form of retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited disease of retinal degeneration. By 6th grade, Sheena had lost the ability to read, and by 11th grade, she had lost her sight entirely and could only perceive light. She was told by her high school guidance counsellor that she should not bother applying to college; no matter what, she would eventually end up on SSI. Not only did Sheena choose to go to college, she graduated from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania with a BS in Economics and a BA in Psychology. She then earned her PhD in social psychology from Stanford. The following year, her dissertation, ‘Choice and Its Discontents,’ received the prestigious Best Dissertation Award for 1998 from the Society of Experimental Social Psychology.In 2002, she was the recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Social Scientists for her work on cultural differences in decision making.A world-renowned expert on the subject of choice, she says that choice can provide a sense of freedom and control that is essential to our well-being. It is the most powerful tool we have to shape our lives, to go from who we are today to who we want to be tomorrow. Unfortunately, the misunderstanding and poor practice of choice often undermines its many benefits and leaves us frustrated, overwhelmed and unhappy.

PERSONAL TRAITS


BEST BRAINS – NIRMALYA KUMAR

Apart from being one of the most sought after consultants, Nirmalya Kumar, Director, Aditya Birla India Centre at the London Business School provides counsel to some of the world’s top CEOs. Being one of the top 50 thinkers on strategy and marketing in the world, his domain of focus is majorly the growth of India as an economic force and marketing strategies. During an exclusive interaction, he tells Nishi Rath that small fi rms can remain afl oat and outwit large fi rms by fi nding niches that are overlooked or unprofi table for the large companies. Excerpts…

Small companieswhen they copyBIG COMPANIES’

PROCESSESSTRATEGIES&

FAIL

BEST BRAINS – NIRMALYA KUMAR



NIRMALYA KUMAR – BEST BRAINS

DRIVING GROWTH AND PROFITABILITY The most important part is to have the customers’ voice represented while making strategic decisions. This allows the firm to serve what the customer wishes to pay for, while eliminating the various costs that creep into companies, but do not create value for customers.

Furthermore, by being close to the customer, the firm is more likely to anticipate how customer needs are evolving, which, in turn, drives the development of new products & services. In short, it helps the manufacturer develop a bond with the customer.

PROBLEMS INDIA FACES Manufacturing is alive, but I see it hard for India to become a manufacturing hub. There are various reasons for the same. The most important reasons are the country’s labour laws and logistics infrastructure. The labour laws are too restrictive and logistics, too underdeveloped. These put a cost penalty on companies to manufacture for world markets in India, except in niche categories.

Speaking about the talent pool, it is India’s biggest strength and

weakness at the same time. The talent pool is highly constrained as any HR manager in India will explain. This leads to rising salaries that productivity increases strain to keep up with. While India has one of the largest pools of English speaking engineers, the pool is shallow as many of them require extensive retraining on graduation.

As one gets to higher levels like PhDs, India is relatively weak with few world-class researchers and research facilities. No doubt IITs are great teaching institutions, but they are not

great research universities as compared to the US, the UK or China. And as far as engineers are concerned, they generally are poor leaders unless they learn how to manage people.

WHAT WILL HELP INDIA SUSTAIN THE GROWTH MOMENTUM?The ability to change depending on the economic circumstances can create wonders. Growth leads to focus on different challenges. On the other hand, innovation and cost control must be pursued simultaneously.

What can be an option is that, growth-oriented manufacturers can align themselves with the pertinent opportunities by investing in best practices, adopting world leading technologies and continuously improving the processes. Speaking about small companies, they fail when they try to copy a big company’s processes and strategies. To remain afloat, such companies should focus on finding niches that are overlooked or unprofitable for the large companies. Then, with more focus on these areas, they can outwit large firms.

The uncertain market dynamics call for spontaneous rescue strategies, while, at the same time, balancing the long-term growth prospects of companies. Here, there is a need for ambidexterity and flexibility to seize opportunities as and when they come. Strategies need to be flexible in the face of great uncertainty.

FDI: NOT SUCH A BAD DEALFDI will be in sooner or later. This will be a bonanza for consumers as they will see increased choice, better services and lower prices. It will professionalise the supply chain and brand manufacturers will have to up their game. This will also lead to greater innovation and cost control on the part of manufacturers who supply via these retailers.

A GREAT LEADER, ACCORDING TO YOU…A great leader is someone with a lot

of followers! So, we need to ask why should someone follow you? Most ‘so- called’ leaders think it is about them, rather than the followers or the cause. CEOs are often great managers, but not necessarily great leaders.

Most great managers are not destined to become leaders regardless of what the very large leadership training industry claims. We need more competent managers in this world than leaders. If everyone becomes a leader, who will follow?

[email protected]

Nirmalya Kumar got his Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from Calcutta University in 1980 and Masters in Commerce from Shivaji University in 1983. In 1986, he did his MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Later, in 1991, he got his PhD in Marketing from the JL Kellogg School of Management in Northwestern University.

Before being a part of the London Business School, he served as Professor – Marketing, IMD-International Institute for M a n a g e m e n t D e v e l o p m e n t (Switzerland); Visiting Professor – Marketing, Harvard Business School and Visiting Assistant Professor – Marketing, Northwestern University.

He has authored five books on marketing and other topics related to business. He is known for proposing the culture of 3Vs — valued customer, value proposition and value network.

CREDENTIALS

FDI will be in sooner or later. This will be a bonanza for consumers as

they will see increased choice, better services and lower prices.


BEST BRAINS – PAUL SLOANE

AN INNOVATIVE LEADER, ACCORDING TO YOU…An innovative leader encourages a culture of experimentation. The leader must teach people that each failure is a step along the road to success. To be truly agile, you must give people the freedom to innovate, the freedom to experiment, the freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail as well.

EMPOWERING INNOVATIONThe challenge with innovation is finding products & services that are easier to use, easier to maintain and more appealing to customers. Where can you draw the creativity and drive to make this happen? Often, the best source for innovation is the team within your business. A great leader can turn them into enthusiastic entrepreneurs looking for new opportunities. The key is empowerment. By empowering people, you enable them to achieve goals through their own ideas and efforts. The leader sets the destination, but the team chooses the route.

People need clear objectives so that they know what is expected of them. They need to develop their skills for the task. They need to work in cross-departmental teams so that they can create and implement solutions that will work. Above all, empowerment means trusting people. It is by giving them trust, support and belief that you will empower them to achieve great things. Empowerment is more than managers setting objectives and then leaving people alone. It is about encouraging and enabling people to solve problems, meet customer needs and seize market opportunities on their own initiatives, either individually or in groups from different disciplines.

An acclaimed author & speaker on creative problem-solving and lateral leadership, Paul Sloane, has brought multiple dimensions for today’s leaders and their leadership styles. He believes that if you want to change the culture of an organisation, then one of the best ways to do it is by praising the behaviours you want to see. Through this interview with Prerna Sharma, he talks about how by praising someone for failing, one can send out a strong message that countervails the current culture. Excerpts…

SUCCESS Can OnlyBe Achieved throughREPEATED FAILURE




PAUL SLOANE – BEST BRAINS

Paul took a first in Engineering at Cambridge. He joined IBM where he came top of Sales School. He was part of the team that launched the IBM PC in the UK. He went on to became MD, Database Leaders, Ashton-Tate. He became VP – International, MathSoft Inc. and CEO, Monactive.

Paul Sloane is an entertaining, thought provoking, motivational speaker and a recognised expert on innovation, lateral thinking and leadership. He has authored 17 books on lateral puzzles, creative problem-solving and lateral leadership.

CREDENTIALS

The goal is to have everyone think of themselves as an entrepreneur who has the right & the duty to solve problems and seize opportunities and not to offload them onto others. In many organisations problems are passed up and down a long chain of command. They are postponed, delegated, transferred, ignored and eventually handled by some remote manager who cannot avoid the issue any longer. In the empowered organisation, they are handled by the first employee who encounters the problem. They have the authority to solve problems and take quick remedial initiatives. They

do not do this in isolation; instead, they communicate. The senior team knows what is going on – but

because they trust people to do the right things, they find out

later – after the fact, in most cases.

This involves risks, but it pays back in a much more agile, effective, creative and dynamic mode of operation. The goal is to change the business from a routine group of people who are doing a job to a highly energised team of entrepreneurs who are constantly searching for new and better ways of making the vision a reality. We want to use creative techniques to drive innovative solutions to reach the goal. But just encouraging innovation is not enough. You need to initiate programmes that show people how they can use creative techniques to come up with new solutions.

BE AN ARSONIST AND A FIRE FIGHTERInnovative leaders are comfortable

with ambiguity. They know that there are many ways forward. They are evangelical about the vision, but agnostic about how to achieve it. They have a clear strategy, but are quite prepared to change tactics They recognise the need for different leadership styles at different times. When it comes to innovative ideas, they are alternately arsonists and fire fighters. They confront their teams with questions – Can you find a new route to market? Can you halve our service response time? How can we break into the Chinese market? Can we find a better way to provide this service? Can you design a lighter, cheaper, faster version? – that demand answers and actions.

The leader starts many initiatives and then follows up on them. The projects that are not succeeding are cut back. If the new product prototype does

not please customers or is not technically feasible or is very

costly, then the fire is extinguished. Lessons

are learnt and the team moves on. The leader has

a restless curiosity to try new things. Some people may

find this frustrating and ask, ‘Why does

she keep asking us to try new things and then stop them

just when they are getting interesting?’ The answer is that only by trying lots of different things are we likely to find the radical new initiatives that we need. Not every interesting project can be pursued to completion. Life is too short and resources are limited. It is essential to eliminate the less promising projects so that we can devote resources to those that show the most potential.

Innovative leaders are a little schizophrenic. They strive for success, but fear it. They love to win, yet they applaud failure. They are coldly

analytical sometimes and hotly passionate at others. They use left brain and right brain techniques. Their management styles are sometimes tight and sometimes loose. They are proud of what their team achieves, yet they are humble enough to listen to feedback. They start fires and they put them out.

WELCOMING FAILUREVery often, the best way to test an idea is not to analyse it, but to try it. The organisation that implements lots of ideas will most likely have many failures, but the chances are, it will reap some mighty successes too. By trying numerous initiatives, we improve our chances that one of them will be a star. As Tom Kelley of IDEO puts it, “Fail often to succeed sooner.”

Honda Motor Company entered the US market in 1959 with its range of low-powered motorcycles. It endured failure after failure as it learned the hard way that little motorcycles popular



in the Tokyo suburbs were not well received on the wide open roads of the US. They eventually brought out a range of high-powered bikes that became very popular. Soichiro Honda, Founder, Honda, said, “Many people dream of success. Success can only be achieved through repeated failure and introspection. Success represents the 1 per cent of your work that results from the 99 per cent that is called failure.”

What makes Silicon Valley so successful as the engine of high-tech growth? It is the Darwinian process of failure. Author Mike Malone puts it like this, “Outsiders think of Silicon Valley as a success, but it is, in truth, a graveyard. Failure is Silicon Valley’s greatest strength. Every failed product or enterprise is a lesson stored in the collective memory. We do not stigmatise failure; we admire it. Venture Capitalists like to see a little failure in the resumes of entrepreneurs.”

In order to develop the concept

of the benefits of failure, Penn State University has a course for engineering students called Failure 101. The students have to take risks and do experiments. The more failures they have, the sooner they can get an ‘A’ Grade! Many great successes started out as failures. Columbus failed when he set out to find a new route to India. He found America instead (and because he thought it was India he called the natives Indians). Even if the failure does not lead directly to a success, it can be seen as a step along the way. Edison’s attitude to ‘failure’ is salutary. When asked why so many of his experiments failed, he explained that they were not failures; each time he had discovered a method that did not work.

SUCCEEDING THROUGH FAILURE Recognise and communicate that

when you give people the freedom to succeed, you give them the

freedom to fail too. Distinguish between two kinds of

failure — honourable failure where an honest attempt at something new or different has been tried unsuccessfully and incompetent failure where people fail for lack of effort or competence in standard operations.

Make sure people know that honourable failures will not be criticised.

Get people to admit to or even boast about failures they have had where they tried something innovative that did not succeed. Make these into learning experiences.

In a culture that is very risk averse and keen to apportion blame take the issue head on by rewarding honourable failures. Publicly praise and reward those who have had them.

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Search Jan 2012-Vol-I Ad Name: CECO Pg. 105

Search Jan 2012-Vol-I Ad Name: Hindustan Motor Pg. 106


DHRUV – EXTREME ENGINEERING

DHRUV: Marking Th e Dawn Of Advanced Light Helicopters ..................................................108

TERRAFUGIA’S FLYING CAR: Bringing Transition In Mobility ........................................118

CHANDRAYAAN1: Making Mission Moon Possible ............................................................126

DEEP SEA MINING: Exploring Th e Riches Of Th e Ocean ...................................................134

MAKING OF PSLV: Decoding Indian Rocoket Science .........................................................138


EXTREME ENGINEERING – DHRUV

n the early 70s, Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) was given a very exacting challenge — to design and develop a state-of-the-art

technology, multi-role, multi-mission, medium weight class helicopter for the Indian Armed Forces (IAF). The helicopter was required to operate by day and night, in all weather conditions, at high altitudes, in extreme cold & hot weather conditions and in hot and high desert & saline atmosphere in the offshore environment. The envisaged helicopter was to fly in the Indian environment, which is one of the toughest in the world considering that its environment extends from 80 North to 350 North latitude. Moreover, the temperature varies from -500 to +500 and the elevations of the land mass and mountains ranges from sea level right up to 8 km.

Due to lessons learnt from helicopter operations during the

Vietnam war, the design concept was changed after eight years from single to twin engine by users with stringent standards as per FAR Part 29/JAR, DEFSTAN970, MIL-STDs and also the specific requirements of the IAF (the helicopter has since met all these certification requirements).

With Messerschmitt Bolkow Blohm (MBB), now Eurocopter, as consultants; the Government of India sanctioned the design and development of a ‘wheeled’ twin-engine helicopter christened ‘Advanced Light Helicopter’ (ALH) in September 1984. The MBB team arrived in Bangalore in November 1984 and the work on the design of the dream helicopter commenced in the same month. Designing and developing such a helicopter required a very powerful computer, which was available only at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. However, due to other commitments, the computer was available to the HAL designers only

during the night hours. Nonetheless, the designing team worked till 3 am and to ensure that no time was wasted, they got the MBB team to review their work during the day.

THE DHRUV DESIGN AND FEATURESOne unique technology adopted was the ‘Integrated Dynamic System’ (IDS), wherein all the rotor controls were enclosed within the main gearbox housing. This was an apt proposition in the light of the many casualties in Vietnam as a result of the main rotor blade control rods being damaged by small arms fire.

The design freeze of Prototype-1 (PT-1) became functional in June 1986 and test programmes and procedures began to get formulated. As if all this was not exciting enough, due to various reasons – mainly empty all up weight increase – the users decided to change their requirement from the ‘wheeled’ version to a ‘skid’ version in 1987. Most

Demonstrating its engineering might, Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), after much painstaking efforts, developed Dhruv, a multi-role helicopter, which was named after the North Star that has been showing the way to explorers

for centuries. It is expected that DHRUV will demonstrate the Indian helicopter design, development and manufacturing industry the technical might and help it take off to greater heights. Ashok Baweja, former Chairman,

HAL shares the designing and development of a rotorcraft for the world’s highest and harshest environment by a team of dedicated designers, engineers and technicians.

I

Light HelicoptersMARKING THE DAWN OF


Advanced



of the design work for the fuselage and the main body had to be revisited. Corrections were made to make it a suitable skid version. The production of the PT-1, which commenced in 1986, was completed by 1992.

To meet all the abovementioned requirements, it was decided that a major part of the helicopter’s structure and surface should be made of composites. To meet other Air Staff Requirement (ASR) & Naval Staff Requirement (NSR), the helicopter was to have four main rotor blades with electrometric bearings and a large hinge offset to suit the design of IDS. To meet the services requirement of manoeuvrability, agility, quick response and high ‘G’ manoeuvres coupled with the naval requirement of landing on a small ship deck in ‘Sea State 6 conditions’, was a very tall order indeed. The Army and Air force wanted a helicopter, which could fly at a high speed at

sea level, and yet be capable of landing at 6 km above mean sea level (AMSL) with useful payload. The Navy, on the other hand, wanted a helicopter, which hovered efficiently at sea level. All these were contradicting requirements for blade design, thus involving a challenging task for designers.

The twin engines were to be electronically controlled with the Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system. With two independent hydraulic and electric systems, advanced digital automatic flight control system (AFCS),

anti-resonance vibration isolation system and crashworthiness incorporated in the design, the helicopter was truly an advanced design helicopter. In addition, the helicopter was to have advanced digital avionics, integrated glass-cockpit, fuel dump, night vision goggle-compatible cockpit & covert external lights, pressure refuelling and emergency floatation gear. Thanks to the changing requirements, the helicopter also has skid, retractable/fixed undercarriage variants. The ALH has been designed to survive in the battlefield with the abovementioned features, in addition to those, it is also enabled with – low infrared and noise signature, redundant critical systems, ballistic hit tolerant fuselage, main rotor and tail rotor blades, self-sealing fuel tanks, sophisticated electronic warfare suite, good auto-rotational characteristics and excellent single engine flyaway capabilities, crashworthy structure and crew seats.

THE MAKING OF DHRUVA total of five prototypes were planned, wherein there were two were basic versions, viz., the Army/Air Force version PTA (skid) and the Naval Version PTN with retractable wheels. A civil version, PTC2, was planned at a later stage. A total of 1,420 hours of prototype flight testing were planned to achieve ‘military certification’. When the PT-1 finally flew on August

20, 1992, all the efforts of the previous years seemed worth it. PT-2 quickly followed on April 8, 1993; followed by PTA on December 28, 1994. MBB, by then, had completed their contract and returned. On December 26, 1995, PTN flew with a different engine (T-800). The prototypes of many variants flying in such quick succession Technology of the ALH

Ashok Baweja, Senior Technical Advisor (STA) – Aerospace & Defence Business Group, HCL. Before joining HCL, he was Chairman, Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), India’s largest defence public sector undertaking, the largest aerospace complex in South Asia. He joined HAL as a Management Trainee in 1970 and became the Chairman in 2004. He was the youngest Chairman at HAL and had a long and illustrious tenure.

He held assignments in helicopter and engine divisions and in HAL’s Corporate Headquarters before coming on the HAL Board as the Director – Design and Development in September 1998 and later taking over as Chairman. During his tenure as Director – Design, he spearheaded several major programmes like the advanced light helicopter, intermediate jet trainer and several major upgrade programmes. Later, as Chairman, he took major business initiatives like the development of the Light Combat Helicopter, Light Utility Helicopter, Fifth Generation Aircraft and Multi Role Transport Aircraft — the last two as joint developments with Russia. Under his leadership, HAL saw significant growth in new programmes, turnover, profitability and achieved the coveted ‘Navratna’ status.

CREDENTIALS



were remarkable by any standard. The PTC2 flew on March 6, 2002. The military certification was given by Center for Military Airworthiness & Certification (CEMILAC) in March 2001, after 1,400 hours of prototype testing followed immediately by the first deliveries of 10 ALHs to the Army, IAF, Navy and Coast Guard.

As the military certification was nearing completion, it was decided to rechristen the ALH as Dhruv, the North Star which has been showing the way to explorers for centuries. It was expected that Dhruv would show the Indian helicopter design, development and manufacturing industry the way forward for future improvisations.

The design and development of Dhruv took just as much time as any other such programme in the world, where the other manufacturers have the advantage of testing the major components of the new design on their earlier models before they are tested on the new helicopter. In case of Dhruv, the design process commenced in 1984, the first flight was in 1992 (after eight years) and the first production model was delivered after 15 years, in 2001. In comparison, NH-90 achieved the first flight after nine years, while the delivery was after 18 years. EH 101 had the first flight in nine years, while the delivery was after 16 years. RAH 66 Comanche had its first flight after 15 years. It is also a known fact that helicopter design and development generally takes double the time of a fixed wing aircraft.

TESTING OF DHRUVThere were a number of achievements during the flight testing phase, which need to be recalled. The first 35 hours saw us clearing the envelop of ALH up to 3 km and by the time we completed 65 hours, the envelop up to 6.5 km was cleared. All FADEC and engine response tests up to the max altitude were completed by the time we achieved 80 hours. At 120 hours, we could claim to have cleared

the ALH for landing on a 100 slope in any direction, single engine landings and the helicopter was cleared for 5,500 kg all up weight (4,000 kg was initially planned for the Army/Air Force variants).

The HAL team completed the sea level trials and the full ‘g’ envelop was cleared right from the sea level to 6.5 km, which included +3.2 ‘g’ to -1 ‘g’, thus demonstrating the integrity of the helicopter up to 1.5 ‘g’ at Vd (max designed velocity), which was 367 kmph at sea level. The first flight of the Naval variant with a different engine was carried out when we had 250 hours of flight testing experience on ALH. At 600 hours, the ALH was ferried to Leh for cold weather and high-altitude trials. The Naval variant was cleared for deck landings up to sea state 2 and max all up weight of 5,500 km on a small ship deck. The hot weather trials at Jodhpur were completed when there was only 700 hours experience.

At 1,200 hours, we completed height-velocity diagram, automatic flight control system tuning, all system testing, Doppler-GPS navigation testing and integration with the AFCS and FADEC failures. By this time, CEMILAC was satisfied with the progress and awarded ‘provisional’ certification to commence the ‘limited series’ production. While the full military certification was obtained only at 1,400 hours of flight testing, the DGCA of India awarded the civil certification at a total of 1,800 hours after all the required additional tests for the civil certification as per FAR Part 29 were completed. This included ‘Cat A’ performance testing up to 3km altitude. The first Dhruv was delivered to the Coast Guard in March 2001 and ever since, the DHRUV team has not looked back!

IMPROVISATIONS FOR DHRUVAfter getting feedback from various users, a number of improvements/modifications were carried out.

The Kargil War brought out the requirement for using the weaponised Dhruv at higher altitudes, which has led to re-engining the Dhruv with a more powerful Shakti engine, jointly designed and developed by Turbomecca of France with some systems done by HAL. As a result, the high-altitude payload carrying capability rose to about 10 times of that of the Cheetah, which is offers logistics support for high-altitude posts.

A strategy based on customer inputs and trials has continually helped to evolve and incorporate the changes in batches and models of Dhruv. Besides the high-powered Shakti engine for high-altitude operations by the IAF and Army, a new second generation Active Vibration Control System (AVCS), an Integrated Architecture and Display System (IADS) with ‘smart displays’ and ‘mission computers’ were introduced along with a number of other systems to keep the technology contemporary and make Dhruv even more versatile. The ALH MK IV with weapon system integration, a glass cockpit and an electronic warfare system, places the Dhruv in a different multi-role class. A full fledged training facility to train customer pilots and ground crew has been established. A FAA certifiable level ‘D’ full motion simulator for the Dhruv is commissioned in the HATSOFF JV of HAL with CAE Canada. This is experience by itself to be trained for the Dhruv, while ‘flying on the ground’ in a highly realistic full motion-based simulator.

MILESTONES FOR DHRUV Among the several challenges in development testing, manufacturing of composites, four-engine installations, sanctions post 1998, there were some very notable achievements as well. November 2004, was a special month in the history of the Indian helicopter industry. On November 1, 2004, Dhruv, the indigenously designed and produced helicopter, with Wg



Cdr (Retd) CD Upadhyay, Vr C; Wg Cdr (Retd) UK Pillai and Wg Cdr (Retd) MU Khan, VSM, as crew, soared to 25,000 ft ( 7,520 mt) AMSL —the highest altitude flown by a middle-weight class helicopter.

Joining the record-making spree was Cheetal, which is the Cheetah helicopter, originally designed by the Aerospatiale of France, and licence-produced by HAL, now re-engined and upgraded by HAL with TM 333 Turbomeca engines. On November 2, 2004, Cheetal, flown by Gp Capt AS Butola, VM, HAL test Pilot and Sqn Ldr Sharma, an IAF pilot, set the world record for a landing at the highest altitude by a lightweight helicopter when they landed at a height of 23,220 ft (7,070 m) AMSL. The landing was carried out on the western ridge of the Saser Kangri peak in Ladakh region of the Himalayas. The record so impressed the IAF Helicopter Unit operating there, that the ridge, which has not been scaled ever, was christened Cheetal Peak by them. Both the records were rendered more impressive due to the fact that the density altitude—a major factor governing the height at which a helicopter can fly—was significantly higher, at 27000 ft (8200 meters) for DHRUV and 25150 ft (7670 meters) for the CHEETAL. The records were set in terms of density altitude too.

Both the records were rendered more impressive due to the fact that the density altitude – a major factor governing the height at which a helicopter can fly – was significantly higher at 27,000 ft (8,200 mt) for Dhruv and 25,150 ft (7,670 mt) for Cheetal. The records were set in terms of the density altitude too. The records were a culmination of a joint effort by HAL, IAF, CEMILAC and DGQA.

DHRUV: GLOBAL ACHIEVEMENTS Confidence built up with the versatile capability and feature rich ALH, led

HAL to foray into foreign markets. HAL submitted a techno-commercial proposal for Dhruv to the Chilean Army, Navy, Air Force and Police. As a result, the Chilean authorities invited HAL to bring their helicopter to Chile with a view to evaluate the capabilities of the helicopter to meet the operational requirements of their armed forces. The scantily populated terrain in Chile is rugged and hostile. It has a dry volcanic sand plateau in the north with dry salt lakes, high mountains with maximum altitudes of 18,500 ft in the east, a long, cold, foggy sea coast in the west and snowy land with Arctic mountains in the south. Dhruv ALH designed to operate in these hot and high and hot and cold conditions had excelled in similar applications in India. And so, it was ideally suited for countries like Chile, Columbia, Venezuela and other South American countries, which have high mountains and a climate similar to India, besides a requirement for cost-effective solutions.

In view of the distance of 17,000 km from Bangalore to Santiago Chile, an AN-124 aircraft was chartered to transport the Dhruv helicopters. Four Dhruv helicopters, which included three utility helicopters of the IAF and one from HAL with special electronic warfare suite, surveillance pod and glass cockpit were transported to Santiago in partly disassembled condition on June 18, 2004. And after 36 hours of flying, the AN-124 aircraft arrived at Santiago on June 20, 2004.

A team headed by Chief Test Pilot (RW), HAL, consisting of

31 personnel from HAL and IAF was deputed to carry out the task in Chile. The team included test pilots, operational pilots, flight test engineers,

designers, technical officers and maintenance crew. The flight demonstration commenced on June 24, 2004 and concluded on

July 7, 2004. A total of 107 hours were flown towards demonstrating the capabilities of this helicopter to meet all the envisaged operational requirements of the Chilean Armed Forces. The flight demonstrations included the following:

Helicopter handling evaluation by the Chilean pilots

Demonstration of handling of important emergencies

Demonstration of long distance ferry from Santiago to Arica and back (3,600 km)

Demonstration of the capability to carry maximum load at Putre (11,000 ft AMSL) and Parinacota (14,000 ft AMSL)

Handling of the helicopter during tactical low-level flight in the northern desert sector near Arica between 1,000 and 5,000 ft AMSL at 50 ft above ground level

Demonstration of search and rescue capabilities at 12,000 ft AMSL east of Iquique

Demonstration of instrument flight capabilities of the helicopter

Demonstration of engine restart in hot and high conditions in a remote area in the desert

Ship deck landings and demonstration of search and rescue capabilities over the sea at Valparaiso.Besides India, the ALH is in

operation in Nepal, Mauritius and far-flung Ecuador. HAL did have a winning bid in Chile, but the contract went to another country, which was the traditional supplier.

SARANG AEROBATIC TEAMIAF made the Sarang Dhruv Aerobatic Display team the second of its kind in the



world. Attired in peacock red, blue and gold livery, the four ALHs have given scintillating low-level performances in India, Dubai, Singapore, Berlin, Paris and the Farnborough air shows. It is noteworthy to mention that the pictures of the Sarang display team are not creative Photoshop, but pictures of actual manoeuvres.

IN CLOSINGHAL had to learn to field support the helicopter and its complex systems, produce in large numbers of a composite helicopter with manufacturing challenges peculiar to composites, a very complex gearbox, which required large investments. Today, about 120 Dhruvs are in service with the IAF, Coast Guard and in foreign lands. For the first time in the history of Indian aviation, a totally indigenously designed, developed andmanufactured flying machine has got military and civil certification and is

being exported abroad.The confidence acquired from

the ALH development gave rise to a number of follow-on projects. Re-engining of the workhorse Chetak and Cheetah helicopters, with a variant of the modern engine of the ALH and a new rotor standard, considerably increased their high-altitude and range performance, besides giving an option to keep using the large existing fleet until more ALH and Light Observation Helicopters were inducted.

The Light Combat Helicopter was taken up and a in a very short time, commenced development flying in mid-2010. The government, in early 2009, awarded a development project for a Light Utility Helicopter for hot and high operations. A medium lift helicopter is likely to follow.

In 2009, a new business group – Helicopter Complex – was created in HAL to design, manufacture and support the range of existing and new

helicopters, which were being taken up.

All this was achieved with the hard work and commitment of designers, engineers, flight test crews and their leaders and the full support of CEMILAC for military certification, CRI for inspection and DGCA for civil certification. At the end of their careers in HAL, most of these designers and engineers now work in the private sector supporting their aerospace ambitions.

Despite the government facing so much flak, it is commendable to state that the Ministry of Defence and the Government of India have been visionary in initiating a number of challenging programmes in aviation, space, DRDO, atomic energy and other fields; and the related policy making and funding to build up capacities in India, which will certainly empower the nation in the future and make Indians abundantly proud.


EXTREME ENGINEERING – TERRAFUGIA’S FLYING CAR

t r eaml ine f l y ing experience with the revolutionary integration of personal land and air travel – the thought

that had found its place on the drawing boards of many animators & fiction authors – has been brought to life by a team of aspiring aeronautical engineers in the form of Transition, a flying car that can convert into a plane in less than 30 seconds. The builder of this innovation, Terrafugia Inc., a US based company, has started the commercial production of this vehicle, which is slated for deliveries in 2012.

Terrafugia was founded in 2006 by award-winning MIT-trained aeronautical engineers who incidentally are passionate private pilots. The company’s mission is to provide innovative solutions to the challenges

facing personal aviation. The result is Transition Street Legal Airplane (also called a Roadable Aircraft or a ‘flying car’). Taking advantage of the new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations in the Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) category, Terrafugia developed Transition to provide pilots the convenience of a dual-purpose vehicle. Its unique design allows Transition to fold its wings and drive on any surface road with a modern personal airplane platform. Once at the airport, the wings extend and the aircraft is ready for take off. Both folding and extending the wings is done from inside the cockpit in less than 30 seconds.

THE PROBLEM SOLVERHaving ground mobility and the ability to fly integrated into the same vehicle provides new options for travel that

are not available with two separate vehicles. If bad weather is encountered en route, the pilot can land and drive without worrying about ground transportation or having to return to pick up his plane. At the destination airport, the pilot can fold the wings and drive off the airfield without having to move bags or arrange for additional transportation. Driving and flying can be combined between multiple airports as it is not necessary to take off and land at the same field. The Transition provides a flexibility that cannot be matched with a separate car and airplane. It also reduces the cost of ownership of an airplane by burning automotive gasoline, parking in your garage at home instead of renting a hangar and nearly eliminating ground transportation costs. The Transition also addresses head-on the issues private and sports pilots face including

With unique ideas come unique innovations. One such innovation that brings in the fl exibility to move on the road as well as touch the sky is Transition, built by US-based company, Terrafugia. Put together by a team of aeronautical engineers, this fl ying car has been successfully tested and can be converted from a car into a plane in less than 30 seconds. Exploring its journey from concept to reality unravels many facets of extreme engineering...

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cost, weather sensitivity, high overall door-to-door travel time and a lack of mobility at destination.

THE FOUNDING TEAMTerrafugia’s founders Carl Dietrich, Samuel Schweighart and Anna Mracek Dietrich have brought together a world-class team to design and develop the world’s first integrated fixed roadable aircraft for Terrafugia. With the Transition Roadable Aircraft, a new milestone in aviation history is being accomplished. Carl Dietrich, CEO, CTO & Co-founder, Terrafugia, received his BS, MS and PhD from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) shortly after being selected as the 2006 winner of the prestigious Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for Innovation. Carl was additionally recognised by the Aero/Astro Department at MIT as one of 16 exceptional graduates under the age of 35. He has been a private pilot since the age of 17.

Anna Mracek Dietrich, COO & Co-founder, Terrafugia, received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. With experience at both GE Aviation and Boeing Phantom works, Anna brings project management expertise to the Transition development effort. She is also a private pilot. Samuel Schweighart, VP – Engineering & Co-founder, Terrafugia, received his MS and PhD from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT and holds his BS from the University of Illinois. Sam brings a high degree of practicality and hands-on experience to the programme, having left the Charles Stark Draper Laboratories to launch Terrafugia. He is a private pilot and active hang glider pilot.

THE FIRST FLIGHT The first flight of the Transition Proof of Concept (POC) – the first full-scale driving and flying vehicle built in the

Transition development programme – was conducted on March 5, 2009, at Plattsburgh International Airport in Plattsburgh, New York. On a blistery winter morning, Col. Phil Meeter, USAFR (Ret.) made history by successfully flying the Transition aircraft. A historic milestone for aviation, the first flight came in after six months of static, road and taxi testing. Transition cruises up to 450 miles at over 115 mph and can drive at highway speeds on the road. The vehicle has front wheel drive on the road and a propeller for flight. Both modes are powered by unleaded gasoline from a regular gas station. “This breakthrough changes the world of personal mobility. Travel now becomes a hassle-free integrated land-air experience. It is what aviation enthusiasts have been striving for since 1918,” says Dietrich.

A series of flight tests followed the initial flight demonstrating the viability and capabilities of an aircraft that can also drive legally on the road. The flight test programme was completed several months later. This was followed by a year of design improvements and modifications.

FLYING SPECIFICATIONSCategorised as an LSA, Transition

requires a sport pilot licence to fly. The POC will undergo additional advanced flight and drive testing and a pre-production prototype will be built and certified before first delivery. By giving pilots a convenient ground transportation option, Transition increases safety by incorporating automotive crash structures and allowing pilots to drive under bad weather.

THE NEXT GENERATION DESIGNTerrafugia, in July 2010, unveiled a scale model of the next generation design, currently under construction at Terrafugia’s facility in Woburn, Massachusetts. The improvements to the design are based on the data acquired during the drive and flight testing of the POC Transition, successfully completed in 2009, and extensive computer-aided design and optimsisation. The recent grant of 110

The Terrafugia team with Transition Roadable Light Sport Aircraft Proof of Concept at AirVenture 2008



pounds (50 kg) by the FAA for Transition within the LSA category also allows the next generation design to incorporate modern automotive style safety features currently unavailable in other light aircraft. Advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with Fluent, finite element analysis (FEA) with CATIA V5 and simulated dynamic crash testing – complete with airbag deployment and digital crash test dummies – have all been used to optimise the design and build confidence that the vehicle will meet the stringent Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Terrafugia’s Transition is the only LSA to simulate crash testing in this manner. When combined with a full-vehicle ballistic parachute system and the ability to drive in bad weather, the Terrafugia team expects Transition will prove itself to be one of the safest LSA in the world. Some features of the next generation design include:• Automotive style crash safety

features, including an energy-absorbing crush structure in the nose of the vehicle, and a rigid safety cage to protect the occupants

• A customised, intuitive touch screen interface in the cockpit

• An improved wing with an optimised airfoil and a folding mechanism that operates smoothly & safely from inside the cockpit

• A pusher propeller with an open empennage that makes efficient use of the 100 hp Rotax 912S mid-mounted engine in flight and is locked in place when driving

• Rear wheel drive with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and tuned independent suspension for responsive road handling.

TRANSITION: SUFFICING MILITARY REQUIREMENTS Terrafugia has already found its applications in major quarters. In November 2010, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched a $65M programme to develop a four-person flyable and roadable vehicle. Terrafugia is the largest subcontractor to one of the two winning teams, led by AAI Corporation and comprised of other Textron companies.

The vehicle, known as the Transformer, or TX, would function like a Humvee on the ground while

also providing helicopter-like mobility. The result will be “unprecedented capability to avoid traditional and asymmetrical threats while avoiding road obstructions,” according to a DARPA announcement. Intended missions include medical evacuation, avoidance of improvised explosive devices, remote resupply and Special Forces insertion. The vehicle will be able to travel 280 miles by land and air using vertical take off & landing to increase access to difficult terrain and automating flight controls to enable operation by non-pilots.

Phase I of the five-year, three-phase programme will focus on conceptual design of both a prototype and a production

vehicle. Phases II and III will focus on the design and manufacture of the prototype, which could be ready as early as the first quarter of 2015. The work calls for Terrafugia’s expertise in drive and flight integration, deployable flight surfaces, and automotive crash safety for an aircraft. Dietrich says, “This DARPA programme effectively leverages Terrafugia’s core competencies and enables us to grow from a pure GA company to an emerging aerospace company with both general aviation and defence development programmes. Our strong team of Terrafugia engineers with

recent experience designing and building a dual purpose vehicle will bring a unique perspective to the TX programme that is highly valued by DARPA and the other contractors on our TX team.”

RECENT ACHIEVEMENTSThe company officially received a grant of all of the special exemptions it had requested from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Max, Vh: 100 kts (115 mph, 185 km/h)

Cruise, Vc: 93 kts (105 mph, 172 km/h)

Stall, Vs: 45 kts (51 mph, 83 km/h)

Range: 425 nmi (490 mi, 787 km)

Take Off: 1,700’ (518 m) over 50’ obstacle

Gross Take Off Weight: 1,430 lbs (650 kg)

Empty Weight: 970 lbs (440 kg)

Useful Load: 460 lbs (210 kg)

Fuel Burn At Cruise: 5 gph (18.9 L/h)

Useable Fuel: 23 gal (87L)

Mileage on road: 35 mpg (14.9 km/L)

TRANSITION LIGHT SPORT AIRCRAFT

DARPA’s Transformer (TX)

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TERRAFUGIA’S FLYING CAR – EXTREME ENGINEERING

(NHTSA). Terrafugia’s Transition is the first combined flying-driving vehicle to receive such a special consideration from the Department of Transportation (DOT) since the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards came into being in the 1970s.

These exemptions pave the way for Terrafugia to begin deliveries once Terrafugia’s rigorous Transition certification testing programme is complete. Extensive analysis and simulated crash testing are also being employed with industry partners to ensure that Transition meets all other applicable crash safety standards. Transition is the only light airplane to incorporate automotive safety features such as a purpose-built energy absorbing crumple zone, a rigid carbon fibre occupant safety cage and automotive style driver and passenger airbags. These exemptions allow Transition to use tyres that are appropriately rated for highway speeds and the vehicle weight, but are not ordinarily allowable for multi-purpose vehicles. The same tyres were used successfully on Transition POC that was flight and drive tested in 2009.

Traditional laminated automotive safety glass would add significant weight to Transition and could fracture in such a way as to obscure the vision of the pilot in the event of a bird impact. This exemption allows the use of polycarbonate materials that provide comparable protection to the occupants at significant weight-saving without shattering thereby improving the safety of Transition.

In the exemption text, NHTSA stated, “We further conclude that the granting of an exemption from these requirements would be in public interest and consistent with the objectives of traffic safety.” In 2010, the Transition was granted an additional 110 pounds allowance by the FAA in a prior exemption action by the DOT.

FUTURE OF TRANSPORTATIONThough major grants, full-fledged production activities are in place, the company had announced a slight delay to its projected delivery schedule for Transition in June 2011. The delay resulted from a combination of production design challenges and problems with third-party suppliers. For the past year, Terrafugia has been focussed on the development of prototype production tooling and processes as well as the construction of two Transition production prototype vehicles.

With this new transportation concept in place, the dream to touch the sky with meagre resources is now a common man’s dream. All that remains to be seen is the effect of this innovation on the way we travel in this century full of extreme engineering marvels...

Compiled by Sumedha Mahorey


EXTREME ENGINEERING – CHANDRAYAAN-1

M N POSSIBLEMAKING MISSION

If the fi rst step on the moon was a giant leap for mankind, fi nding the fi rst drop of water on the moon has been the biggest discovery of the century. Overcoming the extremities of outer space, India’s fi rst mission to the outer world – Chandrayaan-1 – has been a major success riding on huge discoveries and technological breakthroughs. Defeating the challenges of the unknown, a mission as big as this was intricate yet it was achieved. Interpreting the extreme engineering behind the making of India’s biggest space mission...

Mission: Remote Sensing, Planetary ScienceWeight: 1,380 kg (mass at lift-off)Onboard Power: 700 WattsStabilisation: 3-axis stabilised using reaction wheel and attitude control thrusters, sun sensors, star sensors, fi bre optic gyros and accelerometers for attitude determination.Launch Date: October 22, 2008Launch Site: SDSC, SHAR, SriharikotaLaunch Vehicle: PSLV - C11Orbit: 100 km x 100 km: Lunar Orbit

SUMEDHA MAHOREY


CHANDRAYAAN-1 – EXTREME ENGINEERING

handrayaan-1, India’s first mission to the moon, was successfully launched on October 22, 2008 from SDSC SHAR,

Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. With many countries vying for the limelight when it comes to reaching out to the moon post the space race, this mission meant a lot for India on multiple fronts. Proving its might in indigenous technology development and research capabilities, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) realised this mission in the first attempt.

WHY THE MOON?Although the moon has been familiar to humans since time immemorial, we were only able to clearly see and appreciate its surface features. After the dawn of the space age in October 1957, the moon became the prime target of exploration partly due to its proximity to the Earth. But this does not mean that every important aspect of the moon is known to humans. On the contrary, there are many secrets, which the moon was yet to reveal. For example, the mineralogy of the moon was yet to be understood in much finer detail. Similarly, the presence of Helium-3, said to be a relatively clean fuel for future nuclear fusion reactors, was yet to be quantified on the moon. And, the debate over the presence of water-ice in the permanently shadowed regions of the moon’s polar areas was not settled. Thus, from the point of view of human intellectual quest as well as in the context of the future of humanity, the exploration of the moon was and will always remain very important.

India’s Chandrayaan-1 was thus undertaken to seek answers to some of the fundamental questions that concern the moon and are of interest to the international scientific community. The goals of Chandrayaan-1 were to expand

scientific knowledge about the moon, upgrade India’s technological capability and to provide challenging opportunities for planetary research to the younger generation of Indian scientists.

THE FIRST MISSION & ITS CHALLENGES The mission, being the first for India, faced multiple challenges from the selection and development of technology to the final implementation and testing. Elaborating on the same, Dr G Madhavan Nair, former Chairman, ISRO, who was leading the team during the Chandrayaan Mission says, “It has been a real challenge right from the planning stage. To get an idea of the technological challenges and set the scientific objectives accordingly, we had to have a brainstorming session. We brought scientists from all the domains nationally and the scientific objectives merged out of the brainstorming session. Then, we discussed the capabilities required to go to the distance of about 4,00,000 km and the kind of vehicle, which can take us to that distance. We came out with a unique solution. By using a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), we could get into almost equivalent of a geo-transfer orbit and then use the satellite propulsion to go further.”

The Chandrayaan team had multiple options. Dr Nair avers, “We had various options like going to the lower orbit or direct launch to the moon, etc. But we had to optimise the payload capacity for that and the instrument, which could be placed on it. Finally, the combination that we arrived at was a 1,380 kg spacecraft design with a provision of nearly few hundred kg for scientific instruments. Again, there were challenges associated, as we were travelling this distance for the first time. There are unknown forces, which act on the spacecraft while it travels beyond Earth and the type of trajectories it has to follow. Thus, we had to undergo a large number of simulations. This is a mammoth effort. We thought the opportunity should be

shared with the international scientific community as well.” Thus, ISRO called scientists from the international scientific community and the decision to load 50 per cent of the instruments made by the international community and 50 per cent from the Indian scientists was taken. This unique system could do the mapping of the moon’s surface in terms of geometry, hills, valleys, craters and minerals.

PAYLOADS AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIONChandrayaan-1 spacecraft carried 11 payloads (scientific instruments) to achieve its objectives. The instruments were carefully chosen on the basis of many scientific and technical considerations as well as their complementary/supplementary nature. Of them, five instruments were entirely designed and developed in India, three instruments from European Space Agency (one of which was developed jointly with India and the other with Indian contribution), one from Bulgaria and two from the US. The Indian payloads were: Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC):

The aim of this instrument was to completely map the topography of the moon. The camera works in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum and captures black and white stereo images. It images a strip of lunar surface, which is 20 km wide and the resolution of this CCD camera is 5 m. Such high resolution imaging helps in the better understanding of the lunar evolution process as well as in a detailed study of the regions of scientific interest. When used in conjunction with data from Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI), it can help in better understanding of the lunar gravitational field as well. TMC was built by ISRO’s Space Applications Centre (SAC) of Ahmedabad.

Hyperspectral Imager (HySI): This CCD camera is designed to obtain spectroscopic data for mapping of

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minerals on the moon’s surface and for understanding the mineralogical composition of the moon’s interior. Operating in the visible and near infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, it images a strip of lunar surface, which is 20 km wide with a resolution of 80 m. The instrument splits the incident radiation into 64 contiguous bands of 15 nanometer (nm) width. HySI helped in improving the already available information on mineral composition of the lunar surface. HySI was also built by SAC.

Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument

(LLRI): It aimed to provide the necessary data for determining the accurate altitude of Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft above the lunar surface. It also helped in determining the global topographical field of the moon as well as in generating an improved model for the lunar gravity field. Data from LLRI enabled understanding of the moon’s internal structure and the way large surface features of the moon have changed with time. The infrared laser source used for LLRI is Nd-YAG laser wherein Neodimium atoms are doped into a Yittrium Aluminium Garnet crystal. The wavelength of

the light emitted by LLRI is 1,064 nm. LLRI was built by ISRO’s Laboratory for Electro Optic Systems (LEOS) of Bengaluru.

High Energy X-ray Spectrometer

(HEX): This is the first planetary experiment to carry out spectral studies at ‘hard’ X-ray energies using good energy resolution detectors. HEX is designed to help explore the possibility of identifying polar regions covered by thick water-ice deposits as well as in identifying regions of high uranium and thorium concentrations. Knowledge of the chemical composition of the various solar system objects such as planets, satellites and asteroids provides important clues towards understanding their origin and evolution. HEX uses Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) detectors and was designed to detect hard X-rays in the energy range of 30 kilo electron Volts (keV) to about 270 keV. HEX was built jointly by Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) of Ahmedabad and ISRO Satellite Centre of Bengaluru.

Moon Impact Probe (MIP): The primary objective of MIP was to demonstrate the technologies

required for landing a probe at the desired location on the moon. Through this probe, it was also intended to qualify some of the technologies related to future soft landing missions. This apart, the scientific exploration of the moon at close distance was also intended using MIP. The 34 kg MIP consisted of a C-band Radar Altimeter for continuous measurement of altitude of the probe above the lunar surface and to qualify technologies for future landing missions, a video imaging system for acquiring images of the moon’s surface from the descending probe and a mass spectrometer for measuring the constituents of extremely thin lunar atmosphere during its 25-minute descent to the lunar surface. MIP was developed by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre of Thiruvananthapuram.

The three payloads from the European Space Agency (ESA) were: Chandrayaan-1 Imaging X-ray

Spectrometer (C1XS): This instrument intended to carry out high-quality mapping of the moon using the X-ray fluorescence technique for measuring elemental abundance of magnesium, aluminium, silicon, iron and titanium distributed over the moon’s surface. C1XS was jointly developed by Rutherford Appleton Laboratory of England and ISRO Satellite Centre of Bengaluru.

Smart Near Infrared Spectrometer

(SIR-2): This instrument aimed to study the lunar surface to explore the mineral resources, the formation of its surface features, the way different layers of the moon’s crust lie over one another and the way materials are altered on the moon’s surface. SIR-2 was developed by Max Plank Institute of Germany.

Sub keV Atom Reflecting Analyser

(SARA): The aim of this instrument was to study the surface composition of the moon, the way in which the moon’s surface reacts with solar

Chandrayaan I in the build up stage at ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore



wind, the way in which materials are altered in space with time and the magnetic anomalies associated with the moon’s surface. The instrument was developed by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, and Space Physics Laboratory (SPL) of ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre built its processing electronics.The Bulgarian Payload onboard

Chandrayaan-1 included Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM), which aimed to qualitatively and quantitatively characterise the radiation environment in space around the moon’s vicinity. RADOM was developed by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

The NASA instruments carried by Chandrayaan-1 included a Mini Syntheic Aperture Radar (MiniSAR) from Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory and Naval Air Warfare Centre, USA through NASA. Working in S-band, MiniSAR is mainly intended for the important task of detecting water-ice in the permanently shadowed regions of the lunar poles up to a depth of a few metres, and Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), an imaging spectrometer, which is intended to assess and map lunar mineral resources at high spatial & spectral resolution to support planning for future targeted missions. M3 was from Brown University and Jet Propulsion Laboratory through NASA.

Thus, Chandrayaan-1 was a classic example of international cooperation

that has characterised the global space exploration programmes of the post Cold War era. With multiple components from different countries, the challenge to build Chandrayaan-1 increased all the more. Dr Nair avers, “For the first time, we were interfacing 11 instruments from diverse groups into one system. That in itself was a big challenge. At every stage, we used to face hundreds of problems, but we are happy to say that once the go ahead was given in 2004, within four years, we could realise the entire project including a deep space tracking network, which was established in Bengaluru.”

DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEEP SPACE TRACKING NETWORKDuring various phases of its flight, the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was supposed to send detailed information about its health to Earth through its transmitter. At the same time, the spacecraft would receive radio commands sent from Chandrayaan-1 Spacecraft Control Centre instructing it to perform various tasks. Besides, the spacecraft received, modified and retransmitted the radio waves sent by ground antennas in a precise way. This plays a crucial role in knowing its position and orbit at a particular instant of time. All these happen at ‘S-band’ frequencies in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Additionally, from its orbit around the moon, the spacecraft sends valuable imagery and other scientific information to Earth through X-band

(at a higher frequency compared to S-band), which also lies in the microwave region.

But, such information is transmitted through radio at a very low power of a few watts. Thus, radio signals carrying that precious information become extremely feeble by the time they travel 4,00,000 km from the moon and reach the Earth. Thus, a Ground Segment of Chandrayaan-1 was built to perform the crucial task of receiving the radio signals sent by the spacecraft. This system also transmitted the radio commands to be sent to the spacecraft during different phases of its mission. Besides, it processed and kept safe the scientific information sent by Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) had a lead role in establishing the Ground Segment facility of Chandrayaan-1 along with ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) and Space Applications Centre (SAC). The Ground Segment of Chandrayaan-1 consists of Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN), Spacecraft Control Centre (SCC) and Indian Space Science Data Centre (ISSDC).

IDSN performed the important task of receiving the radio signals transmitted by Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft that become incredibly feeble by the time they reach the Earth. Besides, it could send commands to the spacecraft at a power level of up to 20 kilowatts. IDSN consists of two large parabolic antennas, one with 18 m and the other 32 m diameter at Byalalu, situated at a distance of about 35 km from Bengaluru. Of these, the 32 m antenna with its ‘seven mirror beam waveguide system’ was indigenously designed, developed, built, installed, tested and qualified. The 18 m antenna supported the Chandrayaan-1 mission, but the 32 m antenna was built to support Chandrayaan-1 as well as any spacecraft mission further deep into space.

Commenting on this indigenous infrastructure build up, Dr Nair avers, Earth as seen by Chandrayaan-1 from lunar orbit 3D view of the moon



“At that time, we had the option of buying from outside, but we took a decision that it should be an indigenous capacity building. So our scientists have designed the system. We also involved industries like Electronics Corporation of India (ECIL), Bharat Electronics, HAL, L&T and this consortium of industries built that system. Today, only the US, India and Europe have got such capacities. Ultimately, this tracking system at Byalalu has proved to be an asset. It can be used for future missions to moon, Mars and beyond.”

THE SPACECRAFT AND ITS JOURNEY Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, carrying 11 scientific instruments, weighed about 1,380 kg at the time of its launch. It was shaped like a cuboid with a solar panel projecting from one of its sides. It was built at ISRO Satellite Centre, Bengaluru. The launch of Chandrayaan-1 took place at 6.22 am IST on October 22, 2008, from the Second Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. With a perfected launch technology in place, the launch was successfully done amid bad weather conditions. PSLV-C11 was chosen to launch the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. It was an uprated version of ISRO’s PSLV standard configuration. Weighing 320 tonne at lift-off, the vehicle used larger strap-on motors (PSOM-XL) to achieve a higher payload capability. On November 14, 2008, MIP carrying the painting of the Indian tricolour on its sides, was separated from the spacecraft and after a 25-minute journey, impacted the lunar surface near the south polar region of the moon at around 20.31 IST. Following this, by mid-December 2008, all the payloads had been switched on and tested.

Elaborating on the mission’s criticalities, Dr Nair says, “The unique aspect of the project was mission planning. Most of the countries had failed with their first launch. Either the probe had gone skimming around

the moon or it crash landed. Even a small error in a fraction of the m/s of the velocity can make all the difference between success and failure. So, we took a very cautious approach.” He elaborates further, “We first took an intermediate orbit, calibrated our systems, trajectory parameters, etc., and fine-tuned it. Finally, as the probe approached the moon, we applied the braking command and put it in the moon’s orbit. Everything worked as per clockwork and we achieved the mission in the first attempt. We had 300 days of very useful life of the system. We had expected nearly two years, but unfortunately, there were some parameters of the moon’s surface radiation, which were wrongly estimated. The moon’s surface reflected energy from the sun, and was resulting into heating up of the Chandrayaan.” Citing challenges, he avers, “Thermal management was becoming slightly critical and some of the power systems got affected. But within that period, about 85 per cent of the mission’s objectives were achieved. This was one of the most successful missions as far as moon exploration is concerned. First and foremost, for the global community, this was the first time that the confirmation of the presence of the water on the moon was made and we are proud that India could do that.”

TEAM MANAGEMENTWith many departments, industries as well as international teams involved, the challenges before Dr Nair to handle the huge workforce were many. But his expertise and guidance has brought a major achievement for the Indian space programme. Opening up on his leadership strategy, Dr Nair says, “When you are looked at as the apex person managing a sophisticated system, clarity of the final course is very much required. Whatever perturbation happens, controlling that perturbation is the key to achieve the final goal. Secondly, I think that when the inputs/suggestions come from various quarters,

you should be patient enough to listen, as sometimes, very bright suggestions come from unexpected quarters. You should be able to listen to such inputs, carefully analyse them and then take a decision. More than that there has to be a synergy among the team members. They need to communicate with each other. You need to intervene only when there is a crisis and leave the implementation, etc., to the team members and entrust the responsibility with an oversight. This is the kind of management, which we adopt at ISRO. If we have a problem, we debate, discuss it and then arrive at a workable choice. It is not that an ideal decision is taken always. We always try to see whether something is manageable in terms of time, cost and final objectives.”

CHANDRAYAAN-1 RESULTSThe Chandrayaan Mission confirmed the huge qualities of ice deposits in the polar region of the moon. Mineral mapping has provided information about the presence of Helium-3 and the vast areas where it is available. The Chandrayaan Mission has also recorded critical data that can be explored by the scientific community for the next few years. All this was achieved in a meagre budget of `380 crore. Tasting success in its first attempt, Chandrayaan-1 will be followed by Chandrayaan-2, which features a lander and a rover. Apart from this, studies are being conducted by ISRO on sending unmanned spacecraft to planet Mars as well as to asteroids and comets. Also, a manned mission to the Earth’s orbit is being chalked out. Through such programmes, ISRO intends to undertake the exploration of space besides its primary mission of developing and utilising space technology for the overall development of the country. Going deeper in space and understanding the universe and its rules is thus an extreme engineering challenge taken up by ISRO.

Image Courtesy: Indian Space Research Organisation


EXTREME ENGINEERING – DEEP SEA MINING

SUMEDHA MAHOREY

ith the mining sector shifting gears towards the sea to explore the vast untouched natural resources for

the next generation, the demand for suitable technologies that can help in exploration and deep sea mining has brought about a radical shift in ocean research and development. Deep ocean mining is a technologically challenging field considering the mining depth and the soft ocean floor. Opening a wide array of opportunities for deep-sea mining in India, the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT),

Chennai, has recently developed and successfully tested Remotely Operable In-situ Soil Tester (ROSIS) and an Underwater Mining Machine, along with several other related innovations.

NEED FOR DEEP-SEA MINING TECHNOLOGY & CHALLENGES TO DEVELOPMENTPolymetallic nodules are potato-shaped objects lying distributed at 2,000 m to 6,000 m deep ocean floor. They have economically mineable quantities of copper, cobalt, nickel & manganese and are viewed as potential resources to meet the increasing demands of metals

W

EXPLORING the

With keen interest in deep sea mining growing by the day, the extremities that the blue ocean puts forth in terms of high pressure, depth as well as soft beds, seem to have created an all new fascination for engineers to implement their talents and devise new technologies to explore the vast ocean. Creating dual benchmarks, National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai, has tasted success at 5,462 m depth with its deep sea Remotely Operable In-situ Soil Tester (ROSIS) and at 512 m depth with its Mining Machine.

riches of theOCEAN

Deep-sea mining system concept



DEEP SEA MINING – EXTREME ENGINEERING

and take care of the depleting land resources.

India has no economically mineable resource of cobalt & nickel, and the available resources of copper are also depleting. These nodules offer a good solution to meet this demand. The International Seabed Authority (ISA), UN, has been allotted a site having an area of 1,50,000 sq km (about the size of Orissa) in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) for exploration and development of technology for mining these nodules to India. After detailed exploration and assessment of resources, 50 per cent of this area has been relinquished to the ISA as per terms. Other nations like China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea and Russia have been allotted similar sites in the Clarion Clipperton Zone in the Pacific.

There are about 380 million tonne of nodules in the Indian Pioneer Area with a resource potential of over Rs12 lakh crore. However, the development of deep subsea technology for mining these resources is a major challenge considering the ultra-high pressure environment of 550 bar (about 250 times the pressure in automobile tyres), very soft soils of shear strength 2.5 kPa (similar to heavy grease) and other factors. The Earth Sciences Ministry has undertaken this complex task of technology d e v e l o p m e n t through NIOT. NIOT’s Deep-sea Technology and Ocean Mining Group has been working on a mining concept having a crawler-based mining machine with a mechanical

collection device, a crusher, single positive displacement pump and a flexible riser system. Multiple mining machines are proposed to cover the mining field during large-scale mining operations.

THE MINING SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT PROCESSThe mining system has to operate in a hyperbaric environment, collect nodules efficiently from the ocean floor having soil of very low shear strength, traverse through the sea floor of varied topography, lift the nodules to the mining ship, discharges

tailings from the ship with minimum environmental problems – both at the surface and subsea. It should also facilitate easy deployment and retrieval of the systems during adverse sea conditions and control the subsea equipment from the surface. Currently, all development work is being attempted at 500 m water depth in the initial stages before venturing into cost-intensive tests in deep waters.

In the first phase, an underwater mining system was developed and tested for mining sea floor material for a short duration at 410 m depth. Testing the system

for long-term operations required major augmentation in mother vessel ORV Sagar Kanya, with a Dynamic Positioning (DP) system with follow target mode of operations and Launch & Recovery System (LARS) for the safe launch and retrieval of the mining machine, which was done.

Next, the mining system was tested for long-term operation for pumping sea floor material using a manipulator and cutter at 452-515 m depth. The system has now been enhanced with a nodule collector, crusher, slurry pump, electrical, sensors and control systems, umbilical cable, launch & retrieval

Remotely Operable In-situ Soil Tester (ROSIS)Depth of operation : 6,000 mSize : 3m x 3.5m x 3.5m (L x W x H)Overall weight : 2.9 tonne in air; 2.2 tonne underwaterDrive mechanism : Lead screw assembly with modular

constructionVane Tester Measures undrained shear strength of soil in-situRange : 0.2 to 10 kPaAccuracy : +/- 2% of full scaleRotation limits : 270 deg. Rotation speed : 90 deg/ minPenetration range : 650 mmActuator (up/down) : Sub-sea electric motor Vane rotation : Sub-sea electric motor Cone TesterSoil bearing strength in-situRange : 0-10, 0-25 kPaAccuracy : +/- 2% of full scalePenetration depth : 650 mmActuator : Electric motor (common sub-sea electric motor with vane)

Underwater Mining Machine being launched for testing at 512 m water depth

Underwater Mining Machine in front of the artifi cial nodule track before the commencement of operations



systems and tested at 512 m depth. After completion of 500 m

subsea mining demonstration trials in October 2010, NIOT has started developing deep sea mining systems for 6,000 m. The design and development of subsystems & components and testing in hyperbaric chamber are in progress. Large systems that cannot be tested in the hyperbaric chamber are also tested in deeper waters close to Indian coasts. One such large system tested recently was the subsea solids pump, which was tested at 1,032 m depth off Narimanam, in Tamil Nadu. The countries presently developing underwater mining machines for polymetallic nodules (China and Korea) have carried out such tests up to 140 m depth. Japan has attempted demonstration of up to 2,200 m depth and the US has conducted trials in 5,500 m depth. NIOT plans to develop and demonstrate deep sea mining technologies for 6,000 m depth operations in the next three years.

CREATION OF ARTIFICIAL SITESThough the 500 m tests could be done within the Indian Exclusive Economic

Zone, the main problem is that there are no nodules available and artificial sites have to be created for validating the performance of machines. A remotely operated artificial nodule laying machine has been developed with thrusters and rotary vane feeder to lay the nodules at controlled speeds close to the ocean floor to create such a nodule carpeted site. One such nodule carpeted track was created using the artificial nodule laying machine in Angria Bank off Malvan coast during the tests done in 2010.

DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF ROSIS AT 5,462 M DEPTH To obtain reliable soil strength values of the soft seafloor, an electro-hydraulic remotely operated in-situ soil tester has been developed and tested for operations at 5,200 m water depth in 2006. The soil tester is used to identify and isolate very weak areas in the sea floor, which could be the cause behind extensive vehicle sinkage during mining operations.

Following trials in 2006, NIOT successfully developed a compact, fully electrical ROSIS and tested it at 5,462 m water depth in CIOB in October 2011. The test was done at the proposed First Generation Mine Site (FGMS) for assessment of soil properties in-situ to facilitate the safe deployment of deep subsea mining machines. Cone and Shear Vane testing was also done on the sea floor to ascertain the extent of bearing area required for crawler tracks for operation.

The bearing pressures measured varied between 5 kPa at the surface to 20.6 kPa at 492 mm depth. Maximum shear strength of 5 kPa was obtained at 492 mm depth. Clear videos of nodule resources showing the nodule abundance and topography of the sea floor were also obtained. Acoustic Positioning System transponders and deep subsea transceivers, which provide proper path control for mining machines, were also deployed and

studied for performance. All the tests were done in the deep ocean floor for about 4 hours duration.

FUTURE APPLICATIONS Most of the subsea electrical systems like terminations, connectors, transformers, electronic sensors like altimeter, motion reference unit, temperature, depth sensors, underwater illumination, vision cameras, data acquisition and control systems qualified in the ROSIS tests will be used in the development of deep sea mining machines in the future. Other tests conducted include sub bottom profiling, multi-beam survey and sound velocity profile measurement. The tests have given the scientists sufficient confidence for design and development of deep sea mining system for polymetallic nodule mining within 2-3 years.

The test facilities developed for deep-sea mining research include hydro-transport test facility for testing high pressure solids pumping systems,

test pond for mining vehicle mobility testing, winch test facility and hydraulic valve testing facility. With the deep ocean mining of polymetallic nodules likely to become a commercial reality in the near future, the technologies developed by NIOT are expected to contribute significantly towards the realisation of this complex and challenging task full of extremities.

[email protected]

With inputs from Dr MA Atmanand, Director,

NIOT; and CR Deepak, Scientist-in-charge,

Deep-sea Technologies and Ocean Mining

Image Courtesy: NIOT

Remotely Operable In-situ Soil Tester (ROSIS)

Testing in progress at manganese nodule site in CIOB at 5,462 m depth


ADVERTORIAL


EXTREME ENGINEERING – MAKING OF PSLV

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MAKING OF PSLV – EXTREME ENGINEERING

ith mysteries abound and scientific challenges galore, the space activities in the country was initiated during early

1960s with the scientific investigation of upper atmosphere and ionosphere over the magnetic equator that passes over Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram using small sounding rockets. From this humble beginning then, India has emerged as a global player today.

Today, India is self-reliant and has the capability to build & launch communication satellites for television broadcast, telecommunications and meteorological applications; remote sensing satellites for management of natural resources, etc.

One of the major breakthroughs that came in with the successful journey of the Indian Space Programme is Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) used for launching IRS type of satellites, and has demonstrated outstanding performance though faced with challenges right from the start.

A BACKGROUNDERIn India, the launch vehicles development programme began in the early 1970s. The first experimental Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-3) was successfully launched in 1980. An augmented version of this, ASLV, was launched successfully in 1992. Since then, India has made tremendous strides in launch vehicle technology to achieve self-reliance in satellite launch vehicle

programme with the operationalisation of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).

PSLV represents ISRO’s first attempt to design and develop an operational vehicle that can be used to orbit application satellites. And with PSLV, a new world-class vehicle has arrived. PSLV has repeatedly proven its reliability and versatility by launching 52 satellites/spacecrafts (25 Indian and 27 Foreign Satellites) into a variety of orbits so far.

PSLV also has the credit of being the first operational launch vehicle of ISRO. PSLV is capable of launching 1,600 kg satellites in 620 km sun-synchronous polar orbit and 1,050 kg satellite in geo-synchronous transfer orbit. In the standard configuration, it measures 44.4 metre tall, with a lift off weight of 295 tonne. PSLV has four stages using solid and liquid propulsion systems alternately. The first stage is one of the largest solid propellant boosters in the world and carries 139 tonne of propellant. A cluster of 6 strap-ons attached to the first stage motor, four of which are ignited on the ground and two are air-lit.

The success rate of PSLV has been commendable. There had been 19 consecutive successful flights of PSLV, till October 2011. With its variant configurations, PSLV has proved its multi-payload, multi-mission capability in a single launch and its geosynchronous launch capability. It

has been used for launching a total of 27 satellites for foreign customers under commercial agreements, demonstrating its multi-satellite launch capability. PSLV has rightfully earned the status of workhorse launch vehicle of ISRO.

OF AMBITIOUS GOALS AND CHALLENGESBy the mid 80s, India had set a very ambitious target of achieving self reliance in space technology as per the vision set out by Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the founding father of the Indian space programme. Commenting on the initial hurdles faced by the scientist community to achieve the mission, Dr G Madhavan Nair, former Chairman, India Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the father of PSLV, elaborates, “We initially started building spacecrafts of all kinds but we did not have the capability to launch by our own docket systems. We were dependent on Russia and European countries for these processes. Simultaneously, there was an effort mounted to achieve self reliance in the launch field. The PSLV is the culmination of such an effort and we are happy to say that it has evolved as a workhorse launcher globally today. The development of PSLV was really a challenging task.”

CHALKING OUT THE WORK PLANAs part of Dr Sarabhai’s vision, ISRO had to develop a work plan to achieve a successful launch vehicle. Dr Nair explains, “We started with

From sci-fi to reality, dominance over space has been the dream of humanity for decades. Entering space is an extreme engineering task but when it comes to Indian space programme, PSLV – the indigenously developed workhorse launch vehicle – has achieved back to back successes with 19 consecutive launches out of 20, setting uncompetitive benchmark in the global aerospace industry. Revealing the making of PSLV from idea conception to reality...

SUMEDHA MAHOREY

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DECODING INDIANRO KET SCIENCE


EXTREME ENGINEERING – MAKING OF PSLV

the development of solid rockets. From there, the next target was to achieve around 800 kg satellite for remote sensing purposes and scientific applications. This converged as the target for the development of launch vehicle. We had to really chalk out a plan of action for developing the rocket system and proper staging of these systems. There was a big debate in those days whether to go for solid or liquid propellant rockets. Our familiarity with solid propellant was much better as compared to liquid propellants. In liquid propellants, we had just made a beginning and some collaborative effort was established with France. Thus, initially, we conceived a vehicle with all solid configurations. But later, when we had some visibility about the liquid engine, we replaced the second stage with the liquid rocket and finally the upper stage needs to have some correction capability, so that also turned out to be liquid rocket. So, a unique configuration in which, solid configuration in the first stage, second stage is liquid rocket, the third stage is solid motor and finally the upper stage is a liquid propellant combination was evolved.” Elaborating further, he says, This is slightly unconventional, as scientists concentrate on all solid or all liquid propellants, but this has given

us a good opportunity to develop diverse techniques in the field of rocketry. The outcome has been a highly satisfactory one, in the sense we have the third largest solid booster for the first stage of PSLV developed in India, while

the second stage today is the largest liquid stage. The other two stages are highly optimised one. We had started these efforts in the mid 80s. It took us nearly a decade to create the infrastructural base, develop the various technology and sub systems, qualify them on ground and then attempt the flight.

LEARNING FROM PSLV’S FIRST FAILURE PSLV has achieved 19 successful flights out of the 20 till date. The first flight of PSLV-D1 which was supposed to launch IRS-1E on September 20, 1993 was the only unsuccessful flight of PSLV. But this failure also taught a lesson or two to ISRO. Elaborating on this, Dr Nair avers, “The technology from the outside world is not available in rocket science. Indian scientists had developed this rocket science and perfected it. We have achieved consecutive success of about 19 launches in our array of PSLV which is really a remarkable achievement on global standards. Today, the failure rate of these rockets is 10-15 per cent. Yes, the first attempt in 1993 was not successful but at the same we were proud to note that all the rocket systems in that mission also worked well. That gave us the confidence to go further. The failure was a great learning ground. We deciphered the reason for failure and finally identified a software implementation problem. Subsequently, that was corrected and we had to go through a series of validation tests. Since then we haven’t looked back. Apart from the back to back successes, we have also consistently

improved the performance of PSLV from a target of about 800 kg to start with. Today, PSLV carry nearly 1500 kg into orbit.”

HURDLES IN MATERIAL PROCUREMENTThe materials required to build a rocket are very different from

those required in the aerospace sector. That also acted as a major challenge when it came to the sourcing of the raw materials including steel and other products. Dr Nair avers, “We had to start from scratch. The type of material which is used in the conventional industry is quite different. We required high strength maraging steel which is nearly five times stronger than the conventional steel. We tried to import to start with but again because of the high specification it was denied. Then we took up the manufacture of this material. First some samples were made in ISRO and DRDO labs, and then production was scaled up at Midhani. Gradually, they were ready to bring out plates and forgings that are required to build the rocket. This took almost three years before the first lot came out. A number of technology challenges were encountered like perfecting toughness, lower impurities and avoiding cracks in the material and so on. These challenges were very successfully solved while working with the industry.”

Another challenge came in the form of use of the binder and liquid propellants. Dr Nair explains, “Hydroxy-terminated polyether binder (HTPB) is a binder that is required for the solid propellant. While others were using the conventional natural rubber based compounds for this application, we took a bold decision. We chose what was latest possible and this really paid off. Even America has not developed that kind of propellants. Also for liquid propellants, we collaborated with the industry and realised materials of space quality in bulk. Thus, we carried the industries along with us. This in itself was a success story.”

With PSLV, ISRO has developed various technologies in house. Highlighting on this, Dr Nair, points out, “The development of sophisticated sensors like gyroscope and accelerometers, is a totally in-house effort. These are sophisticated instruments with very high level of

TYPICAL PARAMETERS OF PSLV• Lift-off weight 295 tonne• Pay Load 1600 kg in to 620 km

Polar Orbit• 1060 kg in to Geosynchronous

Transfer Orbit (GTO)• Height 44 metre

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Search Jan 2012-Vol-I Ad Name: Hi-Feb Pg. 142


MAKING OF PSLV – EXTREME ENGINEERING

• PSLV-C18 launched Megha-Tropiques, SRMSat, VesselSat-1 and Jugnu on October 12, 2011 (Successful) • PSLV-C17 launched GSAT - 12 on July 15, 2011 (Successful) • PSLV-C16 launched RESOURCESAT - 2, YOUTHSAT and X-SAT on April 20, 2011 (Successful) • PSLV-C15 launched CARTOSAT-2B, ALSAT-2A, NLS 6.1 & 6.2 and STUDSAT on July 12, 2010 (Successful) • PSLV-C14 launched Oceansat - 2 and Six Nanosatellites on September 23, 2009 (Successful) • PSLV-C12 launched RISAT-2 and ANUSAT on April 20, 2009 (Successfully) • PSLV-C11 launched CHANDRAYAAN-I, on October 22, 2008 (Successful) • PSLV-C9 launched CARTOSAT-2A, IMS-1 and Eight nano-satellites on April 28, 2008 (Successful) • PSLV-C10 launched TECSAR on January 23, 2008 (Successful) • PSLV-C8 launched AGILE on April 23, 2007 (Successful) • PSLV-C7 launched CARTOSAT-2, SRE-1, LAPAN-TUBSAT and PEHUENSAT-1 on January 10, 2007 (Successful) • PSLV-C6 launched CARTOSAT-1 and HAMSAT on May 5, 2005 (Successful) • PSLV-C5 launched RESOURCESAT-1(IRS-P6) on October 17, 2003 (Successful) • PSLV-C4 launched KALPANA-1(METSAT) on September 12, 2002 (Successful) • PSLV-C3 launched TES on October 22, 2001 (Successful) • PSLV-C2 launched OCEANSAT (IRS-P4), KITSAT-3 and DLR-TUBSAT on May 26, 1999 (Successful) • PSLV-C1 launched IRS-1D on September 29, 1997 (Successful) • PSLV-D3 launched IRS-P3 on March 21, 1996 (Successful) • PSLV-D2 launched IRS-P2 on October 15, 1994 (Successful) • PSLV-D1 launched IRS-1E on September 20, 1993 (Unsuccessful)

MILESTONES ACHIEVED & COUNTING…

precision. We could develop them in-house and the limited edition has been commissioned. Today, state-of-the-art-sensors are available with us.”

TAKING THE RIGHT STEPSPSLV was an intricate project bound with challenges as well as breakthroughs. The team that worked on the PSLV project was one of the best in the scientific community worldwide. Pointing out the team’s working methods, Dr Nair articulates, “When our teams are challenged with technology, facing time constraint and performance demands, they have led to innovation. I am happy to say that for the first time in the Indian context, scientist and engineers have really done an excellent job in indigenously developing sophisticated materials, fabrication technologies processes and bringing them to the industries. Many innovations in the development of light aluminium, titanium structures have been achieved. We have been successful in bringing about a synergy

with the national level, with the industries, academic institutes in realising these projects.”

APPLICATIONS OF INNOVATIONSThe PSLV project in itself was a major breakthrough for the scientific community as it brought about multiple innovations with it. The high grade aluminium alloy developed by ISRO has various applications in the aircraft industry. Maraging steel has not only found applications in aerospace but also in defence applications. It has got very high strength and good properties. It is used in many of the weapon systems as the basic material. Some of the foam and insulation has found applications in refrigeration. One of the unique applications is the artificial foot – Jaipur foot – which has now become very popular.

DEMAND FROM INTERNATIONAL MARKETSPSLV is internationally acclaimed as a reliable launcher and there is a

lot of demand for this launcher from countries including Europe and the US. Dr Nair, proudly says, “Close to 30 small satellites have been launched by foreign countries so far with PSLV as the launch vehicle. If we look at the market today, PSLV is in a very unique position to place the space craft for earth observation or scientific purposes in the lower orbit. It has become a very reliable tool. In addition, we have also done geostationary orbits with PSLV. In Chandrayaan Mission also, the payload was carried by PSLV in the lower orbit. We are highly satisfied with PSLV’s development.”

With meagre resources, a technology seeker’s position to today’s placement as a reliable technology provider, Indian space programme has achieved much beyond the mission dreamt by Dr Vikram Sarabhai, and the making & development of PSLV is a milestone which symbolises the success of the collective efforts taken to solve the extreme challenges of engineering.


MODULAR FABRICATION FACILITY, HAZIRA, L&T – SUPER SHOP FLOORS

MODULAR FABRICATION FACILITY, HAZIRA, L&T: Exhibiting Process & Projects Competency ................................................................................................................146

TATA MOTORS PIMPRI PLANT: Passion Driven Production .............................................154

SUZLON: Decoding Th e Green Champion’s Success .................................................................162

SONA KOYO STEERING SYSTEMS: Steering Best Management Practices To Achieve Excellence ..................................................................................................................168


SUPER SHOP FLOORS – MODULAR FABRICATION FACILITY, HAZIRA, L&T

hat was once considered a distant dream has now become reality, and the credit goes to the global engineering conglomerate

Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which spotted a huge opportunity in the oil & gas sector way back in 1986. Its state-of-the-art modular fabrication facility located at Hazira, Gujarat, is testimony of its commitment to create engineering marvels.

Our recent visit to this awe-inspiring yard could never be overwhelming than this when we actually got to witness the grandeur and complexity of engineering structures to be hooked up offshore. Yes, the project was for their client ONGC, for developing process platform as well as living quarters to accommodate 150 people with interconnecting bridges. Knowing that

it is no less than an extreme engineering task, the firm grit & determination that the L&T team has demonstrated right from the top, has laid the foundation for such a mammoth task.

Recently being organised into a completely new entity is L&T Hydrocarbon. The primary focus of the unit is to deliver ‘design to build’ world-class engineering and construction solutions on a turnkey basis in the oil & gas, petroleum refining, chemicals & petrochemicals and fertiliser sectors and cross-country pipelines.

Synergised with strategic partnerships, its in-house expertise and experience has enabled the company to deliver a single-point solution for every phase of a project — right from the front end design through engineering, fabrication, project management,

construction and installation up to commissioning. In this course of time, the parameters that set L&T Hydrocarbon apart from the rest are on-time delivery, cost competitiveness and high-quality standards with a focus on best in class HSE practices. Coupled with this, experienced highly skilled engineers and workmen, are the key enablers in delivering critical and complex projects in India and in select countries overseas. The company has a forte in the following aspects when it comes to hydrocarbon business: L&T Hydrocarbon is equipped with qualified & experienced engineering talent, in-house engineering centres with latest technology, software, world-class office facilities & robust IT infrastructure. Its services are further complemented by specialised support from engineering partners like L&T-Valdel Engineering,

PRERNA SHARMA

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Demonstrating mettle & might in offshore project capabilities, Larsen & Toubro, has given India a new high… Having developed one-of-its-kind process platforms and related offshore structures, the company’s Hydrocarbon business unit has not only become a preferred company in the domestic market, but also globally. Its largest modular fabrication complex at Hazira boasts of excellence in technology, processes and equipment. Our recent visit to this gigantic site proved to be an eye opener when it comes to India’s engineering competency.

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L&T-Chiyoda, L&T-Gulf. As far as its fabrication capability is concerned, its modular fabrication facility in India over the years has provided cost-competitive advantages. A new Modular Fabrication Yard at Oman is an all-weather yard augmenting the capability to fabricate and supply a range of large-sized complex modules. The yard has facilities for heavy fabrication, sophisticated equipment for testing and load-out facility. Coming to the most complex part, i.e., installation, a state-of-the-art heavy lift-cum-pipe lay vessel, referred to as ‘LTS-3000’ has been developed in a joint venture with Sapura Crest Petroleum Berhad (Sapura Crest) of Malaysia. It has capability of lifting 3000 ST & laying 6”-60” of sub-sea pipelines. In addition, a new offshore and modular fabrication facility has recently been established on the coast near Chennai.

INHERENT STRENGTHSL&T’s modular fabrication facility (MFF) at Hazira is one of the largest in South

Asia. MFF is capable of manufacturing several large modules simultaneously with an annual fabrication capacity of 50,000 MT. Fabricated modules are tested and commissioned onshore to ensure rapid and trouble-free hook up offshore.

L&T’s MFF first rose out of the marshy land on the bank of river Tapi in 1986. The concept of modular fabrication itself was in its infancy in India, and L&T’s facility was a milestone for the country and the company. Reminiscing the early days, VN Desai, VP & Head, MFF, Hazira, recalls, “Hazira is the largest manufacturing complex of L&T. It is spread across 900 acre. We started operations in 1986, while production commenced on April 2, 1987. Hazira is the brainchild of our Chairman. He had a vision to explore offshore projects because he envisioned the growing demand in the future. We had to face a lot of difficulties while

getting approvals for setting up base because there was licence raj at that point in time. All these offshore projects were managed by public sector entities. We were probably the front-runners as far as private participation is concerned. We used to be one of the bidders among the strong public sector companies.”

“For almost 4-5 years, we did not get any substantial projects and only performed sub-contracting work for the public sector companies involved in such huge projects. However, it was only in 1992, when there were policy reforms that private sector participation in such projects got a nod from the Central Government. At that point in time, ONGC realised that L&T was able to take up such a big project and deliver up to the desired expectations. That is how we bagged our first big project. We completed our first project three days ahead of schedule. On March 23, 1994, we delivered our first

project. Because we have deployed automation in all our processes, we have been able to complete projects in the benchmark time, which is comparable to any international standards,” Desai adds.

For over a decade after it came into being, Hazira played host to many historical achievements including the celebrated ‘sail-outs’ of huge platforms. Not one to bask in past glories, MFF had to keep shifting the goal posts with yesterday’s targets becoming today’s starting point. A vigorous programme of expansion, modernisation and upgradation was put in place, and MFF turned out to become bigger & better than ever before.

Till 2010, the Hazira facility had only two yards for fabrication.

Yard area:4,75,000 sqm

Water front:200 m (approximately)

Load-out capacity:5,700 MTWater depth:

4.3 m wrt CD(additional dredge depth of 3 m)

Fabrication capacity:50,000 MT/annum

Engineering consultant:L&T Valdel oil & gas upstream

engineering

The capacity of MFF has grown from 35,000 tonne to 50,000 tonne. To this, if we add the capacity of Sohar, Oman, and the fl edgling facility of Katupalli near Chennai, it would make up a cumulative capacity of 1,50,000 tonne. This could rank among the largest modular fabrication capacities even in global terms.The GrandeurWe were awestruck after seeing the living quarters, which can accommodate 150 people. Well knit with the necessary amenities, the quarters resembled no less than a plush society complex. The living quarters, which boasts of nothing less than opulence, also house a control tower to examine the smooth functioning of all the platforms. The most striking aspect was the workmanship and their commitment towards the task. It is indeed the hard work and passion towards developing the impossible that has perhaps aided the company in fi nishing the project ahead of time.

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In 2011, it came up with the third yard on the west, which is a state-of-the-art fabrication facility. MFF 3 has over nine workshops covering approximately 26,000 sqm, including the piping shops, the mechanised shot blasting & paint shops, process skids assembly shops, beam-line shop and structural steel processing and pre-fab shops. All of them are fully covered shops with latest machinery comparable to any international module fabrication facilities. Further, the giant subassemblies and skids/modules are prefabricated on well laid out tracks and Goliath crane facilities. This is a major shift. What was once made in the open yard is now made in under-roof conditions, with all the attended benefits of safety, quality and speed.

PIPING SPOOL SHOPSThe successful completion of any offshore project or a process plant is determined by how effectively piping & process discipline is controlled during fabrication or construction. “It is this single discipline among others, which make or break a project with regard to achieving completion schedule popularly called the ‘Mechanical Completion’ of the

Project,” explains Desai.With the objective to reduce overall

cycle time to achieve mechanical completion, apart from improving productivity, safety, quality & reliability and streamline production processes, four piping shops have been established to handle different metallurgy materials involved in piping and process. The shops measure approximately 12,000 sqm and are equipped with the latest material handling facilities, equipment & machinery for automatic and semi-automatic welding processes, x-ray and gamma ray for quality control & NDT, apart from automatic 5-axes pipe cutting and auto blast and priming facilities for raw material & components. The capacity of pipe spool shops is approximately 3,000 inch-dia per day of pipe work, which benchmarks any other similar facilities existing in the world, says Sunil Bajaj, Sr DGM, MFF, responsible for facility development, automation and Plant Engineering.

As a part of the major quality improvement programme, separate shops have been created to process ferrous and non-ferrous steel piping to ensure separation of consumables, improved preservation and eliminate contamination during fabrication,

which otherwise may result in in-service failure and poor quality reliability. Without establishing such facilities, it would have been impossible to achieve timely completion of fast track MHNRD II Project for ONGC, reiterates HT Naik, Joint General Manager, MFF. He adds, his team could achieve approximately 30 per cent reduction in overall cycle time in prefab and erection of piping spools for conventional, 1800 MT each, on four well head-cum-production platforms for MHNRD II.

BEAM LINE & STRUCTURALThe structural processing facility, popularly known as the ‘beam line shop’, measuring approximately 3,000 sqm, is equipped with a technologically advanced computer-controlled robotic machine, which is under commissioning and trial production. It has the capacity to process structural sections up to 300 MT per day (three shift basis) and is capable of producing intricate profiles directly from drawings generated at the design centre. The machine gives high-quality dimensional tolerance, thereby significantly reducing the time required during the fit-up stage, assembly and installation. “We have been able to achieve significant reduction in the

An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil & natural gas, and to temporarily store products until it can be brought to shore for refi ning and marketing.

In many cases, the platform contains facilities to house the workforce as well. Remote sub-sea wells may also be connected to a platform by fl ow lines and by umbilical connections; these sub-sea solutions may consist of single wells or of a manifold centre for multiple wells.

THE TERMINOLOGIES

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manpower required for structural assembly, thereby reducing the cycle time and improving quality & safety,” says one of the business associates responsible for platform fabrication.

AUTO-BLAST & PAINT SHOPThe highly corrosive sea environment encountered at high seas demands the highest quality of protective surface coating and painting during service for offshore platforms, which are normally designed for 25 years of operating life. High quality of surface preparation and coating is a must. Young engineers from MFF undertook the process through the TQM approach, analysed the various comments received over the last five years and came out with the process improvements required to be carried out including investment decision and cost-benefit analysis.

The auto-blast shop, measuring approximately 3,000 sqm, is equipped with the latest automatic blasting machine capable of achieving an output of approximately 200 sqm per hour. In addition, having such a facility under covered shops has resulted in a cleaner environment and use of clean energy. The even blasted surface that is so achieved reduces paint consumption and brings down volatile organic carbons (VOCs) and paint effluents.

With so much of components and sub-assemblies manufacturing now taking place in the ‘west’, the pressure on the original ‘yard’ is considerably reduced. As a result, it is now free

to focus on assembly and load-out of modules. This has led to an increase in speed and throughput. “Despite the fact that modules are not fully assembled in the ‘west’, for the first time during 2010-11, we could achieve production of 33,000 MT against our initial capacity of 22,000 MT and we hope to achieve an equivalent output of approximately 35,000 MT during 2011-12,” says HK Umarwadia, Sr DGM – Central Scheduling & Project Management, MFF.

INTEGRATION THROUGH SAPWhile the new shops and facilities are large and visible, what is perhaps most significant is the transformation that you cannot see — the new systems that now integrate all operations at MFF and are further integrated with all SBUs of Upstream SBG, including Powai; and Kattupalli facilities near Chennai. Advanced Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software systems now embrace every aspect of design, planning, procurement and manufacturing, developing project control legacy systems such as e-ALPS

and E-SPS and successfully integrating with SAP v. 6.0 technology that helps orchestrate multiple activities to boost efficiency. As is the case with everything that MFF takes up, it scored high on ERP implementation too. So much so, that SAP chose the unit for the Best Run Award in Engineering, Construction and Operations (ECO), and bestowed upon L&T an award for Customer Excellence – 2010 for a neat IT implementation in a fabrication facility that supports large EC&O customer needs.

But technology has helped in other phases as well. For instance, the BOCAD system for structural modelling enables a swift transfer from design to manufacture. Skills have been transferred from man to machines. Logistics and connectivity are the key buzz words in modern manufacturing enterprises. MFF scores high on this aspect too. There is also an integrated connectivity to the supply chain.

SAFETY COMES FIRSTThe company follows a top-down approach as far as safety is concerned.

View of RO-RO Jetty at Hazira

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This facility has helped L&T undertake critical piping for onshore DHDT project for MRPL, to achieve mechanical completion as per schedule, in addition to winning accolades from the client regarding quality and schedule. We must

maximise the fabrication of all critical piping work for all our EPC projects at MFF, Hazira.Krishnamurthi Venkataramanan, Whole-time Director & President – Engineering & Construction Projects, L&T



To this, Desai adds, “We educate internal as well as external people on safety aspects because we believe that safety of personnel is of paramount importance when it comes to carrying out such big projects. Having said that, if a company wants to continue to grow not only in the domestic markets, but also globally, it needs to implement global best practices. Keeping this approach in mind, we have demarcated three safety levels — people, process & equipment. Today, safety has become a business imperative. To educate employees and bring the safety principle into practice, we have taken services from DuPont. A team of experts from DuPont is engaged for a period of almost one year from March 2011-February 2012 to implement safety mechanisms in the division.”

Giving an in-depth perspective on the same, he adds, “To start with, a three-day programme was conducted for the top management to

create awareness about safety-related mechanisms. This was followed by the training of senior unit people. Next, the team identified nine critical risk areas, for each of which safety standards were formulated. All the standards & procedures were developed by an internal team under the guidance of DuPont consultants. Thus, we were able to achieve high levels of participation from the word go. Moreover, each standard was being conducted in the programme format for one week duration to create awareness among employees. There was also a training programme for formulating procedures. Totally, 134 procedures have been developed and regular training programmes have been organised by employees. For each of the nine standard, a half-day training programme was conducted. Any new employee is first trained on the same module and is then assigned the particular task.”

A TRUE ENGINEERING MARVELSetting sights firmly on expanding its international presence, the company is ready to demonstrate its engineering might to the rest of the world. Having a significant presence in major markets, the company is now moving towards emerging regions such as South East Asia & Australia, Sub-Sahara Africa and Commonwealth of Independent State (CIS) countries.

Having witnessed such megastructures created & crafted by an Indian company, we are sure that India is poised to take on the global manufacturing landscape. The visit has truly transformed our notion towards Indian engineering & manufacturing capabilities. After visiting such a landmark facility, one should proudly say that the ‘Made in India’ tag stands tall and has all the might to take on the global markets.

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SUPER SHOP FLOORS – TATA MOTORS PIMPRI PLANT

PRODUCTIONDRIVEN

isionary JRD Tata instilled the culture of putting the interest of the employee before everything else — a

factor that provides the company an edge in this era of high attrition and lack of skilled workforce. Motivated manpower can move mountains, it is rightly said!

And it shows and how... A visit to the Tata Motors Plant in Pimpri, Pune was inspiring and heartwarming. The popular notion of a monotonous assembly line with cold robots working mechanically and with workers adding their bit in the car assembly line gets nullified the minute you enter the lush green environs and a warm ‘namaskaar’ greets you instead of a businesslike handshake. Before drooling over the state-of-the-art assembly line that awaited us in this Pimpri campus, the colours were added with the warm welcome, as the bouquet of flowers presented on arrival was very a pleasant surprise for professionals who had ‘just work’ on their minds. We were told

that this again was truly a Tata way of welcoming guests, as ‘atithi devo bhava’, which can be loosely translated as ‘guests are like God’ — a belief and tradition that Tata lives by…we were slowly warming up to be one with the Tata family.

All loaded already, a racy corporate film in a mini auditorium was a perfect prelude to the whole Tata Motors experience and we were all set to witness what makes Tata a world leader in whatever it does. But not before we had an insightful interaction with R Bhaskar, Plant Head – CVBU, Tata Motors, Pimpri. A veteran in this

field, he provided the future outlook of the Tata Motors Pimpri plant along with giving insightful inputs pertaining to the future of their business. Binding it with the past, he reminisces how this company and its people have risen in times of difficulty and turned challenges into advantages.

According to R Bhaskar, “We believe that the four critical elements for any shop floor are the four Ms – man, machine, material and method. We have created many channels of c o m m u n i c a t i o n , where the top management shares the company’s vision

The culture of putting people above everything else, even profi tability, is truly a Tata culture. With the corporate world, globally, fi nally waking up to fathom the simple math of motivated manpower = enhanced productivity and profi tability, Tata Group has been living by this prevailing anthem for more than a decade. A visit to the Tata Motors Pimpri plant just reaffi rmed this fact. The lush green campus, with state-of-the-art shop fl oors is where legends are created, the innovative vehicle manufacturing just happens to be one aspect of this ‘people’s factory’.

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The only one of its kind JRD Tata’s bronze status was sculptured by two machine operators. It is the only statue of the employer, which was made from employees’ contributions.

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TATA MOTORS PIMPRI PLANT – SUPER SHOP FLOORS

with each member of the company. Even in tough times, our Chairman has encouraged us to give our best. Even in times of crisis, which happened in 2000, when we incurred a huge loss – the biggest corporate loss of around `500 crore – every Tata Motors employee was secure. There were no job cuts. Everybody’s salaries were paid on time. In fact, even bonuses were paid. This is to say that the security and assurance that the company provided at the time of crisis was reciprocated by every single employee who stood by the company in these trying times.”

He adds, “Nobody was held responsible for this loss, but each one of us felt the moral responsibility. This was a turnaround time for the company, as we, the employees, took it as a challenge to turn failure into fortunes. Product innovation, people

innovation, process innovation was the outcome of a motivated team with a mission to give back to the company what it got. And the rest is history.”

A different strategy, which is beyond business, as somebody rightly said that most of the business decisions are driven by emotion, we just create logical and factual reasoning to substantiate & support these emotional decisions. As we were leaving his office, he recommended that we visit the award-winning training centre, Asia’s largest tooling division, the state-of-the-art Aria assembly line; the Stamping line, called Hitachi press line, which is the plant’s oldest line; the D3 Chasis line, which is the most productive line, where 56 types of models are produced. We already know that our day was packed with action. Here’s presenting the best in class procedures and practices prevailing at the Tata Motor’s Pimpri plant.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: IN-HOUSE EXPERTISE & FACILITIESEngineering Research Center (ERC)Research provides the much-needed inspiration for the birth of new ideas, which, in turn, breathes new life into products. World-class automotive research & development are key factors that contribute to the leadership of Tata Motors. The Engineering Research Centre in Pune was set up in 1966 and is among the finest in the country.

It has been honoured with two prestigious awards — ‘The DSIR

National Award for R&D Effort in Industry – 1999’ and ‘The National Award for Successful Commercialisation of Indigenous Technology by an Industrial Concern – 2000’.

With a team of highly qualified & motivated engineers and scientists at work, the Tata Motors Engineering Research Centre has enabled pioneering technologies and products. Every vehicle is developed in close conjunction with customer needs, virtually simulated, prototyped and then operated in real-time on the most arduous terrain.

ERC has got almost all the facilities that are available all over the world, so all the tests can be done in-house. As one of the production engineers informs, “We can

Sumant Moolgaokar, former Chairman of The Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (now Tata Motors) had a workshop at his residence at Mumbai. The workshop had all the tools of the trade neatly arranged. Moolgaokar’s command over engineering was not merely limited to guiding Telco to greater heights, but it permeated his private life as well. He spent many a happy hour at his well-equipped work bench crafting items, modifying everyday objects, rendering them easier to use, repairing tools, machines, etc.

WORKSHOP AT SUMANT MOOLGAOKAR’S RESIDENCE

We learn every day, every day we come here to make this company more progressive and more profi table. Why would we want to work for any other company, when we have our own company? We know that the company will take care of our families, and so, we take care of the company.

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create a temperature of up to -500 to +500, in the chambers to test the vehicles under extreme climates. There are many other facilities like the Crack facility. So, all the tests and validation happens in-house, where there is enough capacity and new age testing and validation devices & design capabilities. This is a huge advantage. Simultaneous EngineeringIn addition, this plant boasts of hosting Asia’s largest tooling division, which is a full-fledged tool room. It makes dies for all the components of vehicles. Hence, be it design aesthetics or other components, these are all made in-

house, though some are outsourced. The simultaneous engineering is perhaps the biggest advantage, which has compressed the timelines and improved the plant’s turnaround time. It is also one of the major contributors for a slew of new product launches.

“Earlier, if we took four years to launch a vehicle, now we can do it in two. And that is the reason we could launch 30 plus products in the last year, no other company can boast of such figures. Winger, Ace, the Prima truck are all example of this integrated and simultaneous engineering,” Bhaskar informs, adding, “We have a

supreme capability in the engines and gearboxes. That’s our strength, and so, we manufacture our own engines and gearboxes, which is the heart of the vehicle, as far as commercial vehicles are concerned. The process is faster as we have our own capabilities being utilised in critical parts of vehicle manufacturing. Earlier, we used to use special purpose machines, but now, we have flexible machining set ups where the programming can be changed. It provides flexibility and the tooling can be adapted as per requirement. We also have our own tool engineering division, so all the aspects required for

THE BIG TURNING POINT In 2000, we were mostly operating in the sellers’ market. We would sell whatever we produced. So, there was very little scope for customer orientation. But from 2000 onwards, we had a new leadership, which brought in the customer focus and there was a lot of product innovation. Before the pre-2000 crisis, we had very few product ranges, post that crisis, we expanded our product range and launched a slew of products and thus, the new products launching as a process took birth in our company.

We were helped by Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya of Warwick. WMG, at the University of Warwick, was established by him in 1980. From its inception, WMG’s mission has been to improve the competitiveness of organisations through the application of value-adding innovations, new technologies and skills deployment, bringing academic rigour to industrial and organisational practices.

He challenged the company to go for more. We used to believe in two per cent cost reduction YOY, but he challenged us to go for more and minced no words in telling us that at this rate, we would be diminished. He motivated us and challenged us to take bigger figures like attaining 10 per cent or 15 per cent cost reduction. Goal setting never looked the same after this exercise. We had a very focussed

“We have the capabilities to produce €5 vehicles, which gives us a huge advantage in the international market. Moreover, our export thrust is also going up now,” affi rms R Bhaskar, Plant Head, CVBU, Tata Motors, Pimpri during an exclusive interaction with Archana Tiwari-Nayudu. Excerpts…

‘We should be READY for TOMORROW

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cost reduction team and everybody pooled their resources together. Then again, our different BUs used to work in silos, each individual department would take care of itself, but after this exercise, all the walls were broken and the company came together in more ways than one. It spelt good news for the people and the business, newer plants were initiated like our Pantnagar plant, which is the youngest plant and produces the maximum number of vehicles.

FASTER, CHEAPER, BETTER PRODUCTSOur European technical centre is working on carbon fibre technology. In future, may be in the next 10 years from now, we would be making more and more use of carbon fibre instead of metal. This will make the vehicle lighter & faster. You can call it a material of the future. As we talk, this is being tried out in our technical centre in Europe. This will change the entire production system, because it is a totally different technology.

REDUCING CARBON FOOTPRINTS We are also monitoring our carbon footprint. Every year, we have a target to reduce the carbon footprint not only in our processes, but we have also mandated that our vendors to follow this regime. With the new material, we would be able to reduce around 20-30 per cent carbon reduction, and that is quite green, not only in terms of the manufacturing process, but also in the usage of the vehicle.

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES VS. PASSENGER VEHICLES The gap between the commercial vehicle and the passenger vehicle is narrowing. The cabin comfort of the commercial vehicle, which was never a focus area, has undergone a

massive change. Earlier, we would manufacture trucks, which would have the face and the chassis while the body was built by vendors also called ‘body builders’. But in response to the customers needs for enhancing the experience of the commercial vehicles, we are moving away from the traditional body and instead have a factory-built cabin, which are definitely getting better and better by way of look and comfort. And the results are there for everybody to see! The productivity of the driver with a more comfortable cabin has dramatically improved. Earlier, a driver would do 200 km in a shift, but now, he can do 600 km. Thus, the trip time has come down. So, if you ask me what happens to the whole universe of ‘body builders’ for the commercial vehicles, if commercial vehicles come with company-fitted bodies, I would say that the vendors will also have to adapt to the change, they will then make body designs as per our specifications and adapt to the newer designs… we are now embarking on what is known as fully built vehicles.

FORWARD LOOKINGThe commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles business is a cyclic market having its ups and downs. Hence, we need to have a larger product portfolio. The situation we faced in 2000 will not arise now, because back then we were only producing commercial vehicles and any disruptions in that business, made us vulnerable. But now, with the expanded product portfolio, our risks are divided and our opportunities extended. We have the capabilities to produce €5 vehicles, which gives us a huge advantage in the international market. Moreover, our export thrust is also going up now. We should be ready for tomorrow and not service yesterday.

core manufacturing are on the house, while the capability and capacity are available in-house. That’s an edge.”Testing Tracks: Looking for failures There are state-of-the-art testing tracks separately made for commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles. The testing in-charge, who took us to test drive Aria on these tracks, explained the critical importance of testing. The 2.8 km-long passenger car testing track is used for checking vehicle performance, accelerating, engine performance and any leakages after top speed. Imagine driving at the speed of 140 km/h, on the satin-like tracks; call

it the perks of the job, we envied him! For the commercial vehicle

durability test cycle, there are testing tracks called the Torture tracks, having witnessed the same, it is a befitting name. Our testing in-charge informs, “It is a destructive test. This vehicle will be test run on these tracks, till something fails. It is for us to identify the weakest link so that we can rectify the problem before it hits the road. There are cycles of different levels. The commercial vehicles are loaded with a minimum of 25 tonne weight.”

A well-equipped torture track enables rigorous and exhaustive testing

of modifications before they are used as regular fitments.Award-Winning Training CentreCVBU Customer Support has won the Prestigious ‘Golden Peacock National Training Award’ in 2011. CVBU Customer Support was adjudged the winner, based on its existing capabilities, initiatives & achievements in training for its dealer workforce, customer technicians, drivers and institutional customers in India and overseas. The award identifies training, which offers tangible benefits to the business/organisation or to the community.

and not SERVICE YESTERDAY’



In the training centre, a mock shop floor is created for training purpose. Class 10 pass outs are trained here and after training, they are inducted in any of shop floors. These technically trained workforce match the ITI-trained students in every respect. The training centre in-charge informed that every year “we train around 400-odd workforce”. One can see the components made by students, being proudly displayed at this training centre.Integrating Customers’ Wish List In today’s time, it is very important to hear what your customers have to say, and not only that, there has to be a plan and a process in place to integrate the voice of these customers in the actual product. Bhaskar explains, “We started capturing the voice of the customer and the flow of the voice of the customer to the production process was handled by a full-fledged dedicated team called the new products introduction team. This team goes to the market, conducts a market survey, interacts with the sales and marketing teams of the customers and gets an understanding

of their needs.” Case in point,

he adds, “A classic example was the birth of Ace. There was no vehicle in that segment. When we asked customers about their wish list, the three-wheeler consumers said that they would like to have a four-wheeler, which is safer, more stable and would elevate their status. Then they also needed a better looking vehicle. And, of course, the last mile connectivity, as India is growing, we

will have more and more hub and spoke like structures. So, keeping all the wish lists and aspirations of the three-wheeler consumers in mind, the Ace was born. This is also the first product, which went through the whole cycle of getting the ideas from the customers, then the information is passed on to the ERC, where they created a model to suit the needs. In fact, we called the select group of customers to give their feedback on the vehicle created. And post their recommendations; the vehicle was further modified to suit the needs and aspirations of the ultimate customers. Then, it went through a very rigorous validation process.”

PEOPLE POWERWorking with hands…and heartThe craftsmanship of skilled labour can never be replaced by machines and this reality was in motion at all the assembly lines of both the passenger vehicles as well as commercial vehicles. While the company has created a people-friendly environment, taking into consideration all their needs and efficiency enhancing infrastructure, a will to give in their best cannot be dictated; it has to be cultivated and nurtured so that it becomes a culture of that company. While moving around, many shining examples were seen. For instance, workers take personal pride in every vehicle that is manufactured by their company. While interacting with them, they referred to the vehicle as ‘my vehicle’ and the pride in what they created was evident. Then again, it was difficult to find a worker who has worked in this plant for less than 15-20 years, in this day and age of attrition, this was a rare example.

The much hyped and talked about

To help the armed forces keep pace with change, the Tata Group has brought the advantage of constant mobility to the defence sector. For nearly fi ve decades, it has been providing the wheels and a wide range of defence solutions that help make the nation’s borders impregnable. Moreover, Tata vehicles have been supporting the police and paramilitary forces in maintaining law and order, besides providing reliable protection for VVIP security.

THRUST ON DEFENCE

Imagine this!! Speckless fl oor, the sorts that compel you to check

your footwear before you enter, lest you may make the fl oor dirty.

The sound of fl ute and other instruments playing in the background that could be still heard amidst the soft clink-clanks.

The well-lit and well-ventilated workplace, which can put any commercial complex to shame.

The strict safety rules that are followed. No entry without safety shoes, helmets and goggles. (A big smile also does not work, we tried!)

NOISE AND GREASE…NO WAY!

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The Sumo is said to have got its name from Sumant Moolgaonkar, (Su-Mo), who was instrumental in a number of revolutionary changes in TELCO and bringing about signifi cant progress.

DID YOU KNOW?

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Integrated and simultaneous engineering enables Tata Motors to launch newer products in lesser time. If it took four years to launch a vehicle earlier, it takes two now. It has helped the company to launch 30 plus products in the last one year. Winger, Ace, Prima truck are some example of this production strategy.

u n i o n - m a n a g e m e n t relationship in every other plant was what can be best described as ‘harmonious’. As one of the plant in-charge explains, “It is not that we never have arguments about the schedules or other mundane things, but we always resolve the matter amicably.”

The ‘tea & nassta’ point, a regular feature in all the shop floors and centres that we visited,

while being a refreshment break area, was more like a ‘friends catching up with each other place’. Interestingly, this is the only place and time where you would spot workers chit-chatting. When they are at work, it is undiluted concentrated work, without any diversions or distractions. The best part…nobody has to be told to do so,

as one of the workers shrugs and says, “It is our culture”. He adds, “People feel totally involved and more than working, they own the company. They see this company as a part of their family. It is a great institution in its own right.”

And this people-friendly culture is not new. In fact, the company’s founding father, the great visionary, JRD Tata, truly believed and

lived this culture to the core. Because the company cares for its people, the people contribute more and more, without being told to do so. The workers do not just work with their hands, they work with their hearts as well.

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SUPER SHOP FLOORS – SUZLON

ith a clear vision to become the technology leader in the wind sector, and a global leader in providing profitable,

end-to-end wind power solutions to one and all, Suzlon Group stands out as a green champion in the global wind market. Its sophisticated R&D capabilities in the wind energy space have led to the development of a comprehensive product portfolio, ranging from 600 kW to 2.1 MW wind turbines. Though the dynamic increase in wind turbines ratings has slowed down since 2006, wind turbine technology continues to be a dynamic field of research with a focus more on reliability, ease of operation and loads reduction, which will enable weight and cost reductions of wind turbines.

A market leader in India with approximately 50 per cent market share and a global market share of over eight per cent, Suzlon not only stands out in terms of its manufacturing expertise, but also in terms of the vision and

mission on which it has been built. Spanning across 640 acre at Padubidri, almost an hour’s drive from Mangalore, the wind turbine manufacturing plant has a geographic advantage of being connected by road, rail, sea & air apart from proximity to reputed technical hubs like Manipal and National Institute of Technology, Karnataka. As one enters the industrial park, huge blades lay on both sides of the road right up to the plant.

A SNAPSHOT OF SUZLON’S MANUFACTURING EXPERTISE The company drives its turbine development effort at different centres across the globe and fine-tunes process engineering in India to produce some of the most efficient, robust and reliable wind turbines available in today’s wind energy market. Two subsidiaries of Suzlon Energy – Suzlon Wind International (SWIL) and SE Blades incorporated in 2006 – manufacture nacelles, nacelle covers, hubs & rotor blades. Erecting a wind

turbine involves several procedures in which more than two subsidiaries are involved in it. Suzlon Energy is the most backward integrated wind energy company with all major components used in the wind turbines internally sourced from its other subsidiaries.

As we proceed to SWIL’s manufacturing unit that houses the nacelle assembly line, one is awestruck by the Brobdingnagian size of the shop floor. Though shop floors are usually greasy, the one at SWIL is kept absolutely clean. In fact, special measures are taken to ensure that dust does not settle or enter the machinery in the building process – a precaution taken to ensure that the turbine is free from all possible damages when running at high speeds on site.

At the start of the shop floor, a storage area has been demarcated to store tooling and other equipment required for the line, which starts from the hub assembly. The hub is that part of the turbine, which supports the three blades and the nacelle. At the

SUMEDHA MAHOREY

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As the romantic sites of huge wind farms aside crashing waves mesmerises humanity, the success story of an Indian renewable giant fascinates entrepreneurs. From a humble start in 1995, to becoming the world’s fi fth largest wind turbine manufacturer, Suzlon Group has not only earned fame and respect, but also created a vision that will hold strong the country’s energy sector for years. We visited Suzlon Group’s facility at Padubidri, Mangalore, to capture the sheer magnitude of manufacturing that goes into making wind turbines…

GREEN CHAMPION’SSUCCESS




hub assembly, pitching motors used for angling of the blades as per the wind direction are placed and torquing is performed to prepare the hub for fitting of the nacelle. Shop floor innovation: Sequential torquing is required for optimum performance. Suzlon is in the process of developing a Hub Torquer in which all the 64 bolts of the hub are torqued in a one-time operation by a single person, wherein, presently, two people are required to complete the job. With this innovation in place soon, the time required for the torquing process will be dramatically reduced. Manufacturing of the nacelle, hub and blade are all separate production processes.

NACELLE ASSEMBLY At the nacelle assembly line, one can see 10 production beds where the nacelle is built. Based on the SAP released production orders, material is transferred to each of these beds. Gearbox assembly, main bearing assembly and the yaw assembly are sub assembly processes, which take place at their respective stations. Once ready, these components are brought to the bed stations and the actual building of the nacelle begins. The complete nacelle is built at one bed and moved only when completely ready. The rotor shaft is assembled and sent to the gear box assembly line. Subsequently, the shafts are inserted into the gearbox and torquing is performed. On the nacelle bed, yaw base is placed, and then the girder is fixed. The generator comes over the girder and then the PLC is attached. The turbine gearbox is fitted

on the mainframe. At this stage, oil coolants, lubrication boxes and yawing motors are also fitted into the nacelle. The overall weight of the nacelle is nearly 78 tonne while that of the hub is 20 tonne. Once the nacelle is ready, the testing begins. During this stage, every component is tested under site conditions. This process is the same for the manufacturing of S88 Mark I, II 50 Hz & 60 Hz and MM92, 2MW for REpower.

BLADE MANUFACTURING The basic challenge of manufacturing a blade is its size. This problem has been resolved by the 400X66 metre magnanimous manufacturing unit by SE Blades. This unit has been further divided into four bays of approximately 400mtx33mt each, which can have four moulds in each bay. The primary materials used for blade manufacturing are glass fabric, foam, resin & hardener, balsa (a type of wood), paint and studs & bolts. One of the specialities of the blade manufacturing unit is that of the nearly 700 employees, almost a third are women workers who have been employed for cutting and housekeeping activities.

The key to blade manufacturing lies in the skill and dedication of the technicians apart from the technology support in the form of ultra sophisticated glass fibre cutting machines, foam cutting and resin mixing machines. The entire process is spread over seven stages viz., material preparation, prefab manufacturing, moulding, dry finishing, wet finishing and balancing before they are sent to finished goods

storage area. At every process, stringent quality checks are conducted by the internal quality department followed by third-party inspection by Det Norske Veritas AS, who finally certify the quality of the blade.

Once through with this process, the blade is then weighed and balanced. The ready blade is then sent for packaging and dispatch. The packaging process is elaborate and consists of several layers of protective material. All wind turbine generator parts are packed separately with utmost care and using safety precautions. Dependent on the nature of the different parts, they are packed in plywood boxes, polythene cover, shrink wrap sheets, etc. Each item carries an identification sticker for easy assembly on site. Each individual item is tightly packed together in a box, which would form a complete part (for example, a nacelle kit or a hub kit). For extra protection, each box is wrapped in air bubble sheets and covered with waterproof plastic covers.

The boxes are then loaded onto containers – the layout is based on the size and weight of the boxes. The weight needs to be uniformly distributed in the container to ensure optimum cubic utilisation. The boxes are secured by using wooden blocks, planks and foam. These containers are then loaded onto trucks – multi-axel vehicles for blades – and dispatched to the nearest port to be transported to their respective destinations.

EXPLORING INNER STRENGTHSTo make sure that the talent within the company is duly explored, Suzlon

At the hub assembly, pitching motors used for angling of the blades as per the wind direction are placed and torquing is performed to prepare the hub for fi tting of the nacelle



has implemented Kaizen management principle. The company has set an internal target of 2 Kaizen per employee per annum. Thus, the company receives around 500 Kaizens per year. A panel of production head and quality head review these Kaizens and give the approval for its implementation. These Kaizens are horizontally deployed in all the Suzlon manufacturing facilities. The best Kaizen are awarded, thereby ensuring continuous improvement of the shop floor. The company spokesperson informs, “Wind is a technology-intensive sector, and, at Suzlon, we maintain a strong focus on innovation and knowledge cultivation at every step of our value chain, including R&D, operations & maintenance, manufacturing, etc., driving our ambition to be a technology leader in this space.”

A similar stance is taken during new product development, which is largely driven by market needs. Customer centricity is the hallmark of all Suzlon products. For example, the new S9X suite of turbines, which has been specifically designed keeping

in mind the low wind market. Suzlon is engaged closely with customers in the development phase, incorporating their input at the design stage and delivering not only a better product, but also significantly improving project execution and servicing of the machines on field.

ENSURING HIGH QUALITY A company of Suzlon’s stature has to ensure quality on all fronts. Suzlon has moved from a single Quality Management System (QMS) certification to company-wide Integrated Management System (ISO: 9001, ISO: 14001 & OHSAS: 18001 & ISMS 27001) certification. This has brought all the manufacturing business units under a single certification programme, thus replacing independent certifications and leading to a successful synergy of the supply chain. The company has teams of qualified auditors for conducting internal audits of various management systems like Quality Management System (ISO 9001), Environment Management System (ISO14001), Occupational Health & Safety Management System (ISO 18001) and Information Technology Management System (ISO27001).

HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT In its endeavour to be an ecologically responsible organisation, the company has been co-processing its waste from blade production since 2009. ‘Co-processing’ refers to processing waste materials in industries, such as cement, lime, or steel and power stations in which the energy and material value of the waste is fully recovered. Cement industries have, over a period of time, discovered the concept of waste co-processing in cement kilns. Internationally, co-processing has been recognised as being the safest, most cost-effective and ecologically sustaining option for managing waste.

Suzlon shreds and sends the green mesh with resin waste generated from its Padubidri blade production

unit to leading cement manufacturing companies, which use it, instead of fossil fuels such as coal, in kilns. The co-processing of waste in a cement kiln does not have any adverse impact on cement kiln emissions. It also does not harm the quality of the cement produced. The co-processing of waste in a cement kiln, in addition to the safe disposal of waste, also decreases the environmental impact of waste, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and conserves natural resources. Since 2009, the company’s waste co-processing has helped its co-processors avoid 4,292 tonne of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to carbon absorbed by 3.57 lakh trees or taking 2,258 passenger cars off the Indian roads for a year.

VERTICAL INTEGRATION Suzlon’s vertical integration has been its success driver. The company’s spokesperson avers, “Adopting a visionary strategy has made us one among the most vertically integrated wind turbine makers in the world. The wind industry’s supply chain experiences critical bottlenecks due to long production lead time for key components such as bearings, gearboxes, forging materials, etc. However, the company has gained a critical competitive advantage with better control over time, cost & quality; long-term service support to customers; turbine technology integration and faster product rollout.”

GREEN IS THE FUTUREWith technological might as well as the vision to become the leader in the global renewable market, Suzlon Energy has adopted ‘green’ at the heart of its operations. From an entrepreneurial beginning to a benchmark, the company’s journey has been cherishing for the global manufacturing industry. Hope this green champion continues to succeed and keeps the Indian Flag high on the global industrial map.

[email protected]

Image Courtesy: Suzlon

SE Blades to be packaged and dispatched


SUPER SHOP FLOORS – SONA KOYO STEERING SYSTEMS

arely a few kilometres away from the Sona Koyo Steering Systems (SKSSL) Dharuhera facility, one would

observe an increasing flow of trucks carrying newly manufactured cars and bikes headed to the capital city of Delhi apart from other major locations of the NCR. “Impressive,” I exclaimed. And as our vehicle approached closer, the most striking aspect that caught my attention was the line up of logistics companies en route, which were set up with an aim to provide logistics solutions to the various manufacturing businesses in and

around Dharuhera.Upon enquiring with the driver

about the same, he said, “Several manufacturing companies have established their manufacturing base in and around Dharuhera. From here, high-quality finished products are sent to Delhi apart from other major areas in the region.” This gave me the impression that in the next few years, Dharuhera will emerge as an important manufacturing location in the country’s northern region.

Along with my photographer, as I entered SKSSL’s facility, a few frames comprising the company’s guidelines and policies, which it follows in various

aspects of the manufacturing process to achieve higher levels of productivity and ensure that the workers are satisfied, caught my attention.

The set of steps included: Quality Policy: This talked about

the company’s commitment to continuous improvement in their designing and manufacturing process, which would enable them to meet or even exceed the customer’s requirements.

Safety Policy: This highlighted the company’s awareness in providing adequate training and offering a safe working environment by continuously addressing and

Standing the test of time, Sona Koyo Steering Systems (SKSSL), the fl agship company of the Sona Group, has grown to become the largest manufacturer of steering systems for the passenger car and utility vehicle market in India. What distinguishes the company from the rest is its ability to incorporate the best of various management practices followed in the manufacturing regime and moulding them to suit their own needs. A visit to the company’s state-of-the-art facility at Dharuhera best explains how SKSSL is using innovation to generate maximum returns.

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eliminating risk through regular safety patrol audit rounds.

Health Policy: This policy stressed on the need to provide personnel a healthy workplace and portable drinking water. It stressed on the elimination or minimisation of environment impacts.

Total Productivity Management

(TPM) Policy: This emphasises on achieving higher efficiency from manufacturing activity through zero failure and zero defect. Commenting on the various

management practices adopted in the plant, Deepak Arora, Assistant VP – Business Unit Head, SKSSL, said, “We practice TPM and Total Quality Management (TQM). Recently, we have started working on a visionary small and medium enterprise (VSME) project.”

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS… With a humble beginning in 1985, SKSSL, using its R&D and innovative capabilities as its strength, has been able to attain the position of the largest manufacturer of steering systems for the passenger car and utility vehicle market in India. Commenting on the market for steering systems Arora said that with more OEMs coming to India and with the launch of new models in various automotive segments, the market for steering systems will grow at a rapid pace in India. He added that big companies are also looking at India as a base in terms of parts manufacturing because of the availability of low-cost labour.

SUPER SHOP FLOORThe manufacturing facility was established in February 2007. It was established with over a total site area of 20,117 m. Its total floor area was 9,255 m. Unlike most shop floors, which are usually messy, much to my surprise, this shop floor was very clean and tidy. It also had great ventilation. The facility was indeed a perfect blend of automation as well as manual

skill sets. Moreover, the appropriate usage of material handling equipment ensured higher productivity, which, in turn, translated into profits. “We provide the best available technology to support the operator and thus try to eliminate their fatigue,” elaborated Vikram Singh Deshwal, Manager – Quality System, SKSSL, adding, “We also have a systematic analysis programme in place to eliminate the fatigue.”

For carrying goods of a specific size in the shop floor, specially designed containers were also made available along with the number of goods that a container should carry. The shop floor follows the 3C concept – correct

container, correct quantity and correct location, according to which materials should be taken in correct quantity, correct containers and to correct location.

GREEN INITIATESGiven the rising levels of awareness about going green along with the inherent advantages it brings, SKSSL too is doing its best to adopt all the possible eco-friendly initiatives. “We are working towards reducing our power consumption. We switch off all the motors, lights and machines when

not in use,” Arora explained. Apart from that, SKSSL is also

taking initiatives for continuous improvements. For instance, the company immediately replaces or repairs inefficient machines and generators. Also, in the facility, water is recycled. Additionally, the company is working on cutting down or minimising its paper consumption.

NEVER COMPROMISE ON QUALITY For each and every product manufactured, SKSSL follows a quality gate system. There are 20 different gates and selecting/approving/auditing vendors are part of that system. In

case the material has to be purchased from outside, enquiries are floated in the market and based on the positive responses from vendors, a team from the company goes to those vendors to do quality system audits. After finalising on an appropriate vendor, the company inspects the management and after scrutinisation, it begins the other regular process and formalities of doing business. “We never compromise on quality as we want to supply our customers with the best possible goods,” Arora elaborated.

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all the leading OEMs in its growing list of customers. Some of the key customers for the company include major vehicle manufacturers in India such as Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Mahindra

& Mahindra, General Motors and Mahindra-Renault. Independently, as well as through its network of overseas joint venture partners, it exports high-quality precision products to the US, Europe and Japan.

LEADING BY EXAMPLE The company’s technical team and innovation team works on ideas pertaining to improvement in quality of manufacturing or improving the manufacture design, which, in turn, leads to cost reduction, less fatigue, etc. If this idea comes from an employee, he is given his due credit and recognition. Thus, SKSSL motivates its employees to come up with more innovative and effective ideas. This not only ensures increased productivity, but also ensures higher levels of satisfaction for the worker.

Through regular R&D initiatives, design and state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities, SKSSL has been able to carve a niche for itself. The company has captured a significant market share over its competitors and has become a market leader in the Indian steering systems segment.

[email protected]

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A view of SKSSL’s shop fl oor where steering systems are being assembled


CLASSIC STRIPES – NEW AGE ENTREPRENEURS

CLASSIC STRIPES: Graphics Add Style & Persona To Th e Auto Sector ...............................174

AZURE POWER: Using Solar Energy To Power India .............................................................180

VISVIVA: Treading On A Sustainable Route To Develop Alternative Fuel ...............................186

GREEN HYDROCREATIVES: Capitalising On Th e Hydrogen Potential .............................192

REVERSE LOGISTICS COMPANY: Enabling Waste To Reduce Waste .............................198


NEW AGE ENTREPRENEURS – CLASSIC STRIPES

hat started as an idea, looking at the not-so-good transportation in India, is now a leading example of how

innovation is still the mantra to excel on the manufacturing front. Constant product innovation through its excellent product development/QC lab and in-house design studio, the company has ensured that Classic Stripes stays ahead of the curve and offers customers high-quality products at competitive prices. Having been voted by a survey conducted by Great Place to Work Institute as one of the best places to work in India for the seventh consecutive year, today, the company boasts of having the most cost-effective production house in the world.

THE JOURNEY SO FAR…Classic Stripes started with five people onboard and with a mere investment of Rs2 lakh in Vasai in 1987. Now, the Astarc Group has 2,000 employees under three domains — Classic Stripes, Durabuild and Saber Helmets (export oriented) – which make helmets for AGV, Italy. “With Classic

Stripes, I took the creative business to the mainstream. I am a creative man and love art… that is how this idea came up. Also, transportation is poor in India, which meant that the two-wheeler and four-wheeler industry was supposed to grow. I was sure the business would work. Today, our graphics bring personality to various models and distinguishes them from others,” informs Kishore Musale, CMD, Astarc Group.

After completing his education, Musale joined his father’s business, which dealt with manufacturing metal labels for two wheelers. But due to the rising cost of metals, the business was eventually shut down. Subsequently, Musale started Classic Stripes. Tracking the growth of Classic Stripes ever since, Musale elaborates, “We are in the process of taking over two businesses in the US. We have technology superiority, so people from here will be sent

Classic Stripes, an Astarc Group Company, has been providing graphic solutions to auto majors since the past 24 years. Understanding the science behind creating the innovative products; the company has made its way to the top league in the domain. It is the only major company in India, which has fi lled the gap in the domain. A vision to become a world-class technology company located in India having manufacturing plants worldwide is what has brought Classic Stripes to where it is today.

NISHI RATH

W EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND I did my schooling till Class 7 in Mumbai after which I was sent to the Military Boarding School in Nabha, Punjab, where I completed my ICS (Class 10). Later, I went to Canada, where I completed my BCom in 1976.INTERESTS My interests are listening to rock

and jazz & blues. I like listening to hard rock — Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. Apart from music, I feel that my family and the smiling faces of people around me are my real stress busters.

I also look after educational institutes, which

educate over 10,000 students. We take

corporate social responsibility very

seriously.My other interests include playing golf and reading.

Apart from these, I love painting. In fact, I have

learned painting from VB Pathare.

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NEW AGE ENTREPRENEURS – CLASSIC STRIPES

there to improve the technologies of those companies. This will make us a true multinational in automotive graphics and touch screens panels.” The company presently exports their graphics and electronic panels to the US, Middle East, South East Asia, Japan, Canada and Germany.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES Like most start-ups, Musale also faced initial hiccups. According to Musale, initially 70-80 per cent of the time was consumed tackling government procedures pertaining to excise sales tax and custom clearances among others. This, in turn, led to delays in every area including clearances of dispatches and different excise slabs for different end output. In addition, there was no uniform policy. “We started off with the production of these graphics with very poor quality raw materials. Those days, imports of materials were banned and carried a custom duty of over 250 per cent. Over time, we developed different inks, coatings and lacquers to enhance the life of the product. Many of these components were developed in our own research & development wing in which, so far, we have invested millions of dollars. Thus, we developed a frugal manufacturing process,” he comments.

Adding further, Musale says, “Since most of the economy was controlled during the 80s, we could not do much to bring about a change in the situation. On the product and performance sides, there was nothing we could change for us to become better. Hence, we can regretfully say that our growth has been slowed down because of governmental hurdles & issues and not because of product & technology development of which we are the leaders worldwide.”

ACHIEVING GOALS Classic Stripes has blue chip clients like Hero, Bajaj, John Deere, Mahindra &

Mahindra, Tata, Hyundai, General Motors, Toyota, Suzuki, Yamaha, Tafe, Kubota & Honda (US) and ITC, among others. “We manufacture for more than 20 million vehicles in a year, which includes bikes, cars, trucks, tractors and buses. We have the largest research & development and quality check facility compared to any other business house in the world,” exclaims Musale. Other than original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), the company also provides aftermarket solutions. “We have 2,000 dealers in the country today. A person wanting to experiment with the look of his vehicle can visit any one of our dealers and turn the model into their dream machine. The best part is that you need to spend only Rs500-600 on an average for the same,” he elaborates. The company sells its aftermarket products under the brand name Autographix that started seven years ago. It has plans to add 3,000 more dealers in the next three years.

INNOVATIVE CAPABILITIESThe company’s high performance

graphics, which has around 5-7 years of life, does not fade or crack. The company has taken utmost care to make sure

that the graphic’s ink does not chip off; thereby ensuring that the vehicle looks new even after five years while the paint fades. The manufacturing process has to take place in a dust-free environment and under controlled humidity with temperatures within 2 degrees or else the product will fail.

TIPS FOR NEW AGE ENTREPRENEURS According to Musale, as the global economy suffers, it is natural that the Indian economy will grow for at least 40 years, after which it will start slowing down. “With the rural income rising and the demand for manufactured products growing rapidly, we see a tremendous demand for manufactured products. But the government will have to help and protect the industry from Chinese manufacturers who are dumping their products in the Indian markets. This, in turn, will offer Indian manufacturing units in all the sectors several opportunities to establish themselves in the Indian market,” he explains, adding that this scenario will offer hope for new entrepreneurs.

Offering high-quality manufacturing

Classic Stripes utilises state-of-the-art manufacturing processes to bring out the best products

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CLASSIC STRIPES – NEW AGE ENTREPRENEURS

and leading in terms of technology should be a priority for all entrepreneurs. Fair and just HR practices along with wealth sharing with associates will also create a great environment for growth.

WHAT’S IN STORE? Classic Stripes will have a manufacturing plant in Indonesia to address the demand in ASEAN markets in the next eight months and another in Brazil in the next two years. “We are also coming up with another facility in Vasai in the next 18 months. It will be manufacturing flexible electronic circuits, touch screen panels and graphics,” Musale elaborates, adding that these will be exported all over the world to high-class clients. The

new facility in Vasai is slated to be fully automatic, which means that the raw materials once loaded on to the machines should come out as a totally manufactured product without human intervention.

Astarc Group is also setting up a thermal power plant of 1,320 mega watt at Pandhartal, Nagpur. “The land

has been acquired, water sanction received, preliminary environment clearances have been obtained. Now, only the coal linkages are awaited from the government,” he informs.

On the other hand, Durabuild – the domain t h a t m a n u f a c t u r e s aluminium composite panels – is expected to tie up with European manufacturers to expand a product range for non-inflammable composite panels. Durabuild is growing

at 8-10 per cent given the slowdown in the real estate/infrastructure business. But Classic Stripes is growing at 25-30 per cent every year and intends to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 30-40 per cent henceforth at least for the next 10 years.

[email protected]

A panoramic view of Classic Stripes shopfl oor


nergy security is one of the pillars, which provides tremendous strength for sustaining the rapid pace of economic development

for one of the fastest growing economies in the world — India. With the nonrenewable sources of energy depleting fast and stricter norms and

regulations on high levels of emissions in place, various initiatives have been taken to develop renewable sources, which are environment-friendly and are cheaper than the conventional sources of power to provide energy security.

One such entrepreneur who envisioned the importance of solar

energy for providing safe and affordable energy is Inderpreet Wadhwa. In 2007, Wadhwa formed Azure Power and around half-a-decade later, the company has become one of India’s fastest growing companies in the solar power segment.

Established with an aim to provide cheap and clean power to India, the

USING SOLAR

ENERGY TO POWER INDIA

India faces a challenging task of adding 500 MWs of power generation per week for the next 25 years to maintain a GDP growth rate of eight per cent per annum. Driven by the passion for rural electrifi cation & energy security through clean energy sources and further provide reliable, affordable, secure & sustainable energy in rural India, Inderpreet Wadhwa founded Azure Power. The company, which was set up barely half-a-decade ago, has already developed India’s fi rst private utility-scale solar power plant, which supplies power to 32 villages in Punjab. Through consistent and persistent efforts, the company has earned for itself the tag of becoming India’s leading solar service provider.

E ARINDAM GHOSH

NEW AGE ENTREPRENEURS – AZURE POWER

Photo By Dileep Prakash



company plans to invest `1,000 crore capacity addition of about 110 MW of solar power generation in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka.

THE JOURNEY SO FAR… The aim to deliver cheap and secure energy security to every household across the country along with an innovative idea to capture the solar energy made Azure Power see the light of day. “The Indian Government was already emphasising on electrifying every household in the country by providing solar home lighting systems and solar lamps. It was then that I realised that if we could aggregate the energy demand across several households together and build a medium-scale distributed solar power plant all over country, it would be possible to achieve the electrification target much quicker. Apart from that, I also analysed the availability of all the sources of renewable energy,” says Inderpreet Wadhwa, Founder & CEO, Azure Power.

“Solar is one such technology that can be deployed anywhere in India considering that India has abundant sun. Moreover, the basic technology behind generating solar energy is through using photovoltaic cells, which are dependent on silicon, i.e., sand. And sand is available all over the world,” Wadhwa says, adding that, the rate of solar energy will continue to become cheaper. “When the business was started, the rate of solar power was `17 per kwh. Presently, it is `8 per Kwh and over the next few years, it will be very cost effective in delivering energy security to every household in the country,” he explains while discussing his vision behind setting up Azure Power.

CHALLENGES FACEDAs is the case with most successful start-ups, Azure Power also faced several challenges. Power is one of the most highly regulated sectors in the country with clearances required

from various authorities to sanction plants and Wadhwa too had to seek permissions & approvals from various authorities. “For example, one of the clearances we had to take was from the Environment Ministry’s Pollution Board even though these are non-polluting projects. Since we were doing this for the first time, a lot of permits and approvals were required,” Wadhwa elaborates. Despite having to go through these long and tedious procedures, Wadhwa appreciated the fact that the government was increasingly taking steps towards promoting renewable energy-driven projects in the country.

WHAT DOES A SOLAR ENERGY SERVICE PROVIDER DO?The primary service offered by Azure Power is that of a utility. Wadhwa said that when he started looking at solar power as a business venture a lot of problems existed in the sector, which made the consumers or end users not to go for or adopt solar power. “There were a lot of companies in India into

the solar sector then, but they were only involved in the manufacturing and selling of various solar equipment like selling solar panels or solar home lighting systems, or other solar related instruments, etc., which consumers

had to install, maintain and further get the equipment serviced. There was no company that was providing solar energy as a service to consumers,” Wadhwa says.

The services of the company are in tune with that of companies like BSES Yamuna Power (BYPL), which give power connections along with a meter that records the power consumed. The payment is done depending upon the consumption. Expatiating on the process, Wadhwa highlights, “Our first customer was Punjab State Electricity Board. As part of the services given to them by the company, every month a joint meter reading is taken and the bill is paid to them as per the levels of energy consumed. In this way, we facilitate the process of buying solar power for our customers just like we are used to consuming conventional power.”

SUCCESS HIGHLIGHTSCommenting on the successful aspects of the venture, Wadhwa talks about his first project in Punjab completed in November 2009. “We started raising capital for this project in November 2008 and if you recall, the fall of 2008 is when week after week banks in Wall Street were shutting down. There was absolutely no capital available for risky projects and looking at India’s new market, new sector and new technology, this was perceived to be very risky. Hence, our first

You have to be resilient and strive for perfection. But that can only be done

with a solid business plan, backed by consistency and persistence,

especially, if you want to sustain in a market like India. It all has to be

in the right context, in the right idea and the right business plan.

Inderpreet Wadhwa is a renewable energy enthusiast and has over 18 years of experience in building large-scale infrastructure projects, patented application products, extremely profi table operations and raising venture & project fi nance for start-ups and fortune 500 companies in energy, retail, fi nancial services, telecommunications, manufacturing, CPG and service industries. He has been instrumental in creating India’s fi rst commercial MW scale solar power plant. He is passionate about rural electrifi cation and energy security through clean energy sources. He has graduated from Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and has done his Bachelors in Electronics Engineering from GNDU, Punjab.

CREDENTIALS



accomplishment was against all odds. We were able to secure financing for the Punjab project, which was the first milestone.” “Subsequently, the location where the power station was constructed had no industry. We had to convince the locals there about the benefits of using clean energy & power. We had to describe to them how energy security will be given to them for a 25-30-year period. Accomplishing this task was our second accomplishment,” he adds.

The third accomplishment was that before setting up our project, the locals would get electricity supply for 3-4 hours during the day. But now, thanks to the company’s new 2MW power generation facility, locals will receive almost eight hours of electricity supply for the next 30 years. “It is a very interesting milestone locals have realised,” he says.

INDIA: A HIGHLY PRICE SENSITIVE MARKETThe Indian market has a very unique quality of being highly price sensitive. Wadhwa says, “A lot of people in India are attracted to solar power not because of the technology as much as because of the price reduction it promises.” Azure Power conducts regular research & development and is continuously innovating to bring the cost down to a level where it is not debatable. Although the awareness levels regarding clean fuel and clean technologies are rising in India, people are highly conscious about their preference towards cost effectiveness, he says.

INDIAN BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IS CONSERVATIVEWadhwa has spent most of his professional career in the US and that too in Silicon Valley, which has a DNA to spawn entrepreneurship & ideas and to take risks. “The business climate in India is more conservative in nature. The companies that are well established are the companies that are very large. They incubate ideas within their own large environment and then grow from there. In the Indian scenario, it is relatively difficult to come in with nothing in your pocket and say I am going to build a billion-dollar business,” he says. Nonetheless, the world has seen the resilience and strength of an Indian entrepreneur.

In his concluding message, Wadhwa says that startups should highly value business ethics and morals. “I think I would like to see ethics in business being valued globally and, more so, in India. But this trait is only observed among leaders. Hence, entrepreneurs aspiring to be leaders of tomorrow must inculcate a very strong grain of ethics and morals within the business. This will define the New Age India entrepreneur.”

[email protected]


NEW AGE ENTREPRENEURS – VISVIVA

magine a scenario where scarce fossil fuels get replaced by unconventional sources of energy. And this time, we

are not talking about solar or wind… but the most abundant source of energy, viz., biomass. With a vision to provide sustainable paradigms in developing alternative fuels in India, a team of three young entrepreneurs formed VisViva, a start-up firm that aims at expanding the scope of renewable energy development in India.

The solution that is being implemented by VisViva is essentially based on a model driven by alliances.

The uniqueness of the model lies in the involvement of the local-level bodies and entrepreneurs. Offering an in depth perspective of the same, the start-up’s founder Siddhartha Shrivastav informs, “We are a team of three who started this company. The three of us had met during a programme held by IIM Ahmedabad. Entrepreneurs from all over the country were invited to attend the programme, which focussed on renewable energy. At the programme, we were exposed to the latest technologies available in the sectors. Apart from that, industry experts were also present at the event to mentor the entrepreneurs. After

much deliberation on what we learned in the programme, we formed the company, which would explore the field of biomass. We thought that this was a financially viable option for us since we are a start-up firm.”

VisViva was selected by the Centre of Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) at IIM Ahmedabad. The selection was done through CIIE’s research programme, which had sponsorship from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). Started in June 2009, the research programme had seen participation from entrepreneurs from all over India. It was aimed at encouraging

Biomass, though available in abundance, was never looked at as an alternative fuel source owing to the development procedures. A team of three young entrepreneurs took up the challenge to harvest such an innovative business idea and thus VisViva was born in 2009. Latin for living force, VisViva is a vision to establish alternative fuels as viable mainstream options for the industry. It aims to achieve this by solving key issues that restrict the growth of renewable energy and create pure economic incentive for the use of green energy.

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new ventures in the field. VisViva was one such venture, which was formed through the synthesis of the ideas of the founders, who met at the meet. All ventures were thoroughly evaluated by a panel which had bankers, venture capitalists, MNRE representatives and professors of IIM Ahmedabad. VisViva is one of the only two ventures from the programme, which were selected for incubation and further support.

STARTING FROM SCRATCHThe field is vast and scope unlimited… with an aim to reap these benefits, team VisViva started interacting with people related to the field, such as those involved in biomass power generation. The common dread that was running across was the lack of stable supply chain infrastructure – one of the core reasons why biomass, despite being economically viable, is not taking off in India. Making this the core of their business proposition, the team started working on a business model to supply reliable & good quality biomass fuel at a stable price to industrial users. Siddhartha adds, “Starting from there, we have got our own production facility now in Andhra Pradesh. We have also set up a trading network

through our marketing services across Andhra & Maharashtra. Currently, we are supplying fuel to boilers across the industry. We particularly cater to thermal applications and not power generation.” Switching over to using biomass-based fuels offers companies tremendous economic advantages. Apart from the price getting reduced to almost one-third, the resistance is more in terms of the fuel’s success. Once the advantages of the product in the long run are established, then the economic advantages become complementary, especially in today’s scenario where fuel prices are skyrocketing. Biomass is becoming competitive as a fuel.

HOW DID THE TEAM GET TOGETHER?Passionate about bringing sustainable paradigms in the way fuel is being developed today, the team came together to drive this mission forward. Siddhartha, after graduating from IIT in Metallurgical, was working for a couple of years. He reminisces, “That was when I got exposed to the industrial atmosphere. Subsequently, I

joined IIM Ahmedabad. From those days, I was keen to start my own venture. However, to get a bigger view of the industry, I joined a consulting company. I worked there for about three years. Since I was particularly dealing with the energy sector, I was trying to figure out what kind of company I would want to set up. Of course, it was a tough decision because consulting is a lucrative job. However, planning during the early stages of my career made the transition smooth.”

Talking about his two teammates, he says, “Harshal Kalamkar comes from an engineering background. He was working in the IT sector before he did his MBA from IIM Kozhikode. He also worked with Bloomberg before this project. During that time, he tracked the renewable energy sector. Srikar Reddy, on the other hand, is an

India is one of the largest producers of agricultural products in the world. As a direct consequence of the large produce of food grains and cash crops, there is a large generation of agro residue. The net energy potential of the biomass has been estimated at over 20,000 MW equivalents.

FACT

FACT

FACT

THE TEAM

Harshal Kalamkar, Director – Marketing

A graduate from IIM Kozhikode, Harshal has more than fi ve years of experience in the IT industry and fi nancial sector. His most recent assignment before the start of the venture was with Bloomberg (in London). This exposed him to the fi eld of renewable energy and the key issues. He had also been involved in pico-hydro power projects for a few months before joining this venture. Given his family background, Harshal also has deep understanding of rural Maharashtra thereby aiding the company in growing in Maharashtra.

Siddhartha Srivastava, Director – Operations (West)

Siddhartha has worked in the industry for more than fi ve years. An engineer from IIT Bombay and PGDBM, IIM A, he has spent the initial few years in an industrial marketing role; post which he moved on to consulting in the energy sector, with a focus on the renewable energy space. Given the skills developed as an industrial marketer and the experience as a consultant, Siddhartha would be focussing his efforts on developing the demand in the west and central parts of the country.

Srikar has worked as a fi nancial analyst with a focus on the energy sector for the last two years. A BTech from IT BHU, he had a career with IT consulting before moving over to fi nance. Through family and other associations, Srikar has strong ties with key persons in the rural parts of Andhra Pradesh. Srikar would be utilising these associations to help the company build robust operations in the southern parts of India as the Director – Operations (South).

Srikar Reddy,Director – Operations (South)



engineer from IT BHU. Like Harshal, Srikar also also had the vision to do something in the renewable energy space. That’s how our passion drove us to form this company together.”

Discussing the funding mechanism in India, he says, “Funding is difficult especially considering the stage where we are today. That is where incubators like IIM Ahmedabad play a crucial role. We have started with an investment of less than `50 lakh and we are looking at raising funds. It is very difficult to raise funds, especially in biomass.” Content with the business proposition and the responses they received in the initial months of their start-up, Siddhartha says, “That is the beauty of a biomass project. In a span of two months, we were able to get our first project. There is a lot of demand in the market. Once you are able to deliver, the success rates are quite high. We started selling in December 2010 and by October 2011, we have 7-8 key clients.”

WHAT’S IN A NAME?When the team sat down to name the venture, many ideas came up. However, names with ‘green’, ‘new’, ‘clean’, ‘environment’, etc., did not seem to find the right connect with the team. This led to a different approach – not to think of names being bandied around; not to force the renewable connection – but to take a fresh look at what the team was trying to achieve. The results varied from the mundane to the unique to the absolutely bizarre. But the one name that caught the attention of all the team members was VisViva.If you look up VisViva, you would find that it is latin for ‘living force’. In the meaning, it contains the inspiration to toil on and to continuously strive towards the ultimate goal. Moreover, it also signifies the power potential of

plants and agro-waste.

INITIAL HICCUPSAs is the case with all start-ups, this team was also confronted with several challenges during their initial days. “The initial hitch was related to product performance. But we carried out trials. Once we were able to build confidence, there was no issue at all,” Siddhartha informs, adding, “It is a completely new field, so there is a lot of research & development involved. When we got into making biomass briquets, the source of raw material was completely unorganised. Nobody has succeeded in collecting cotton stalks in India. Our journey till date has been on the path of lot of research and development. There is a lot of risk involved in this field as it is relatively new. The major hurdles faced were on the operational side. There were various logistical hurdles. As far as team coordination is concerned, we demarcated work so clearly that it does not result in tussles between us and work gets done smoothly.” The key success factor according to Siddhartha is the planning, which they had started a year before. That is the message they want to convey to the new age entrepreneur – plan much before taking a plunge. Also, as it is a nascent field, there is a lot of innovation possible; only the timing to get into the space has to be perfect.

KEEPING UP WITH INNOVATIVE SPIRITSArmed with enthusiasm and passion to drive, this young team is determined to transform the energy landscape in India. Keeping the innovative spirits high, Siddhartha discusses their ambitious expansion plans. The way we have charted out our journey, biomass is a huge field and we are working on just one aspect of it. Over the next 2-3 years, we are going to work on this space, achieve a scale,

which makes it self-sufficient. Beyond that, there are a lot of other innovations that are possible. We will be gradually moving towards those. Apart from that, there are innovations in product as well as to keep driving down cost. Small innovations will keep happening. We will keep increasing our scope of activities as we go forward. We have just set up one machine, which is more at a pilot stage. Our immediate plan is to set up a larger cluster of briquetting machines to augment production. Right now, we are producing close to 200 tonne. We plan to double the capacity from the same unit. At the same time, we plan to set up another cluster of machines, which will take our production to 2,000 tonne per month. Post monsoon, we will be setting up a similar set up in Maharashtra.

On an optimistic note, Siddhartha concludes, “The hidden value behind the theory once discarded, inspires us to question the conventional wisdom and unlock the value of sources which are not considered viable. Today, as we venture out, we aim, through VisViva, to make the so-called non-conventional sources of energy an economically viable alternative to current fuel sources. We have to make the whole supply chain possible so that the potential can be utilised. That is the major contribution that we plan to make.”

[email protected]

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As shown in the schematic diagram, these alliances run across all the activities of the supply chain


NEW AGE ENTREPRENEURS – GREEN HYDROCREATIVES

HYDROGEN POTENTIALCapitalising

On TheHYDROGEN POTENTIAL

A group of young enthusiasts have come together with an aim to provide complete turnkey hydrogen generation and are simultaneously working out solutions with the industry to fi x carbon emissions, thus, helping India meet the mandate of the 2025 scenario. A start-up company, founded by Mohit Chauhan, Rakendra Mishra and Sravanth Devabhaktini, Green Hydrocreatives, incubated at IIM-Ahmedabad, is entering the market through indigenised foreign technology on hydrogen generation equipment. The projects and products being offered by the newly found company claim to have potential to organise industrial hydrogen supply, minimise operational losses and reduce the carbon footprint during conventional means of hydrogen transportation.

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GREEN HYDROCREATIVES – NEW AGE ENTREPRENEURS

ith gradual modernisation in all sectors and opening up of trade barriers, the Indian market is soon likely to be set for cutthroat

competition. This will involve risks for those who are under acquired and benefits for those who churn out to be at par with any standards. Looking at the burgeoning demand for hydrogen in various sectors, a team of young enthusiasts have worked their way up for captive hydrogen generation and have set up Green Hydrocreatives to utilise waste and convert it into value-added products.

THE JOURNEY The team had concurrence in taking up product development and making it their career. “During our college days, we worked together on a number of ideas, and every time, we learnt what it takes for a product to sell. Our focus was on developing lab-scale processes, which could be a candidate for Intellectual Property Filing,” says Mohit Chauhan, Director – Technologies and Projects, Green Hydrocreatives.

“We were fortunate to be given a chance at a programme called RE Search at the Center for Innovation Incubation & Entrepreneurship, IIM–A, where we were exposed to the actual testing and execution modes for the first time,” he adds. In a period of three months, the residents of the programme were supposed to present a business plan related to renewable energy. This was one of the two teams selected for incubation and investment for the 2009-10 programme.

“The projects and products being offered by Green Hydrocreatives carry potential to organise industrial hydrogen supply among various sectors, minimise operational losses and reduce the carbon footprint during conventional means of hydrogen transportation by around 30-40 per cent,” elaborates Chauhan. Because the process is capable of using multiple fuels at a time with minor

or adaptable changes in the system, the industry will be flexible to hedge fluctuations and risks adhered to the availability of a single kind of fuel. The underdevelopment process for photo thermal splitting of hydrogen using solar energy holds the potential to significantly relieve the Indian economy from imported crude and will be a giant step towards ‘green’ means of transportation. This will definitely be in price parity to conventional energy sources, according to the young entrepreneurs.

THE INSPIRATION For the team, inspiration comes from the fact that for a rising economy like India – which is represented by various sectors as parameters of economic growth index – shall imbibe innovation and look to continuously improve features in manufacturing to suit environmental issues. “We wanted to set new generation benchmarks in the industry that we were beginning to address. In our case, it is the industrial hydrogen generation. We were looking for a technology to headstart with and something which was never introduced in the Indian market,” explains Rakendra Mishra, Director – Operations, Green Hydrocreatives.

Maturity from the conceptualisation, to taking a firm stand came only after 4-5 months after doing firsthand research in the market and receiving an acknowledging response from the potential clients. “Risks exist in any technology right from acceptance to even after operations, but we took performance guarantees from the technology suppliers to safeguard our investments; while we aggressively implemented cost cutting via domestic component integration and fabrication. Also, it was strictly ensured that no compromises were made in quality,” adds Mishra.

THE PROJECT IN A NUTSHELLThe company at its core is a clean tech entity, which commercialises and

executes projects to generate zero or neutral emission fuels and hydrogen for industries and energy companies. The company has its focus stretched on substitute natural gas projects under public private partnerships. Under this, they invest and develop projects on a long-term basis. The company has entered into commercial gas sales agreement with city gas majors.

“Due to a huge demand for hydrogen, the market is ripe for captive hydrogen generation. The company has interests from major glass manufacturers and is planning on setting up a long-term hydrogen supply agreement. The company and its promoters have serious interests in utilising wastes (organic and inorganic) and converting it into value-added products. A pilot-scale facility is under progress to manufacture surfactants. Though it is too early to mention the figures involved, we feel adequate capital has been raised to address the present needs,” says Chauhan.

TECHNOLOGY OFFERINGSTechnology provides a generic reactor to efficiently produce high-purity hydrogen using a range of hydrocarbons – like LPG, natural gas, biogas and bioethanol – and with minor adjustments, it is also capable of utilising bio-oil and biodiesel.

“We are also partnering with CSIR labs and contributing at the seed level to commercialise and develop futuristic technologies, which will play an imminent role if hydrogen is being adopted as a major energy carrier in the near future. The company offers hydrogen generators ranging from 25Nm3/hour to 250 Nm3/hour. We follow a turnkey and build-own-operate model for project development and we invest to supply hydrogen under long-term Gas Sales Agreement,” elaborates Sravanth Devabhaktini, Director – Finance & Project Development, Green Hydrocreatives.

Another product under development caters to bulk storage of hydrogen

W



amounting to more than 100 kg and above and is the safest means of transportation over long distances, which are as safe as transporting gasoline and diesel. The company plans to market products such as ‘bulk hydrogen bank’ for hydrogen handling sectors and future hydrogen-driven fuel stations anywhere across the world.

For a product or an idea to be widely accepted, it should essentially be competitive on costs involved. It may not be totally true, but, the industry accepts alternatives whether it is green-based on the financial impacts or under mandatory government orders to be environmentally neutral. The company believes in making products, which are self-sustainable and do not depend either on the government implementation orders or on subsidies.

HURDLES FACEDDuring the product development stages for the Indian market, reframing foreign technology and subjecting it to effective cost-cutting measures was one of the early hurdles that the team faced. “We achieved around 40 per cent reduction in capital costs of the system. But the major hurdles, which every company faces while developing projects with the government, are pace and insincerity in the response to undertake those projects, which in spite of being modelled under public private partnerships evoke the least interest among the government officials. In spite of adequate investments, projects have been delayed where government approval and prompt actions were needed,” comments Chauhan.

LOOKING FORWARD Some of the major plans for the company include successful demonstration of photo thermal hydrogen generation at an industrial scale, cost competitiveness for decentralised power generation, establishing a bulk hydrogen generation, and storage & supply facility for fertiliser industries. “Hydrogen is a

crucial factor for nitrogenous/urea fertilisers, which are presently obtained by cracking hydrocarbons like natural gas, fuel oil and naphtha. With the ever-increasing demand for natural gas and exhaustion of domestic gas sources in India, costlier imported spot LNG has raised concerns for prioritisation of gas pricing for fertiliser sectors. We aim to translate visible impact on hydrogen availability for the fertiliser sector,” explains Devabhaktini.

Low temperature industrial waste heat, which is abundantly available at a temperature below 70-800C, is impractical to be exploited due to the absence of a heat pump mechanism to reutilise that heat. The catalysts under development possess the capacity to harness that thermal energy to dissociate water into valuable hydrogen, which can be marginally fed back into the system as an energy carrier. “We will try to develop an array of systems and heat exchangers, which would efficiently channelise the low-temperature waste heat into hydrogen generation,” says Mishra.

THE REALITY OF MANUFACTURING“We believe that for India to grow and still be healthy, green and zero emission; it is necessary that concepts for the industry are unanimously accepted. We will put our efforts to make the technologies and products to be willingly accepted by the industry without the stick teaching from the hegemons of climate security,” explains Chauhan. The company is developing new age technologies in collaboration with CSIR. These technologies are expected to bring about a quantum change in the way major industries with the highest carbon emissions have been functional so far. “We being an industrial partner with CSIR are responsible for perfect product development and real-time feedback from the market,” adds Mishra.

With the escalating input cost parameters in India, cost-effective and competitive manufacturing is going to

be a challenge for the industry to post impressive index figures. Though more & more international and domestic companies are adopting India as a favourite destination for manufacturing, diluted environmental concerns and loosely enforced pollution compliance will take a deep toll on Indian environmental conditions. While reduced licencing and involvement of the bureaucracy, proposed induction of a single tax reform and continuously improving infrastructure ensure a healthy environment for manufacturing; delays in land clearances and improper land acquisition framework lead to a tussle for developing new SEZs, which reflect a bleak view of the future.

MANTRA FOR NEW AGE ENTREPRENEURS“If a business proposition can be developed with a first mover advantage, one has better cushion for hit and trials during conceptualisation. However, we have witnessed that if it involves the government, the execution and determination of real-time deadlines becomes impractical,” mulls Chauhan. “We realised that even though we got a quick chance to enter market projects of just around 5-6 months, getting approvals from the government have stretched them to over two years. We would suggest others to start with what can be called as ‘within your reach’. In short, irrespective of the aesthetics of an idea, one should only be concerned about going profitable to fuel daily and sustainable expenses,” he adds.

According to the team, start-up is a fancy thing, but one has to understand the necessity of the industry, and patience is the most essential requirement to face the uphill task of establishing a company. To achieve their vision, the team relies on merits and features like development of future technologies with focussed solutions and value creating models for commercialisation.

[email protected]

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SEARCH Jan 2012 Vol-I Ad Name: Nath Axis Pg No. 196


NEW AGE ENTREPRENEURS – REVERSE LOGISTICS COMPANY

Enabling WasteWith growing e-waste, companies are fast realising the importance of developing organised reverse logistics solutions. Hence, to help companies tackle this challenge, Hitendra Chaturvedi founded the Reverse Logistics Company, which is driven by an eco-friendly passion of a 4R approach – Reduce, Repair, Reuse and Recycle. Within the initial six months, the company became operationally profi table and has plans to become a $1 billion company in the next few years with operations spread all across the globe.

Reduce Wasteto

ARINDAM GHOSH

NEW AGE ENTREPRENEURS – REVERSE LOGISTICS COMPANY

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REVERSE LOGISTICS COMPANY – NEW AGE ENTREPRENEURS

ew and innovative technological solutions or products play a catalyst to rising levels of e-waste in the

country, thereby making customers or end users discard old or obsolete products or even return the defective ones to the company. Here comes the importance of reverse logistics, which is essentially the movement of a product from the customer or the end user to the manufacturer for reuse or disposal in an environment-friendly way. Realising the importance of reverse logistics in a country like India, Hitendra Chaturvedi, Founder CEO, Reverse Logistics Company (RLC), formed the company.

RLC is a pioneering, technology-enabled leader in end-to-end reverse supply chain management. “In very simplistic terms, we ask OEMs to focus on their forward logistics, distribution, fulfillment, marketing, product development, etc., while they outsource their entire reverse logistics process to us. Managing reverse logistics is far more complex and different from forward logistics and so, we have developed a proprietary IT platform and world-class infrastructure & processes that allow us to manage reverse logistics for companies and enable their growth,” Chaturvedi elaborates.

JOURNEY SO FAR… Explaining the idea, which prompted Chaturvedi to establish RLC, he says that today almost all the companies focus on providing new and innovative products to their customers, but, in the process, they forget that in order to do so, they need to develop a way to not only get those products to the customers fast, but also to get them back, in case there is any defect in the product. This happens at least five per cent of the times. “This five per cent return, if not corrected, can cause a lot of harm to the brand and research. Moreover, studies have indicated that

about 80 per cent of customers having a bad return experience would not buy a product of that brand again,” says Chaturvedi. Elaborating further, Chaturvedi explains, “Brands are also in a dilemma — they want to do the right thing, but the volume of return is so low that doing it right means incurring high costs.” “To resolve this issue, RLC was formed. The company allows brands to focus on their core competency while outsourcing their reverse logistics to RLC,” he adds. “My current ‘business plan’ idea took shape on a tissue paper. I thought trying and failing is acceptable rather than not trying and seeing someone else successfully execute the idea,” he says. RLC started in November 2008, when recession was at its peak.

Proudly making a point on the company’s growth, he says that he started the company in a small 800 sqft warehouse in Mumbai with five people onboard. The company became operationally profitable in only six months time. In the subsequent years, the revenue grew eight times and this year, the revenue will grow about 10 times along with a tally of over 400 people. Commenting on the company’s expansion plans, he states that in the next few years, he wants his company to “be a $1-billion company that will expand into South East Asia, South Asia, Middle East and Africa”.

CHALLENGES FACEDReverse logistics plays a key role in cost optimisation of the product. Expatiating on the challenges RLC faced before seeing the light of day, Chaturvedi avers, “The biggest challenge was educating companies about the value of reverse logistics. Most companies did not realise the strategic importance of revere logistics to their bottom line.” Given the amount of regulatory hurdles and other barriers that an entrepreneur has to face when seeking approvals for starting a venture in the county, he opines, “I have lived and worked in 65 countries. Unfortunately, India does

not have a conducive environment for entrepreneurs. In the US, all I needed was three signatures on a simple form to incorporate a company. In India, I have lost count of the documents and signatures I had to get just to incorporate my company.” “We need to create simpler processes and an environment that acts as a catalyst for these entrepreneurs. That is the reason why we do not see India as a seeding ground for companies that have become multi-billion dollar companies. All we see are small-time businessmen who are doing dhanda,” he avers.

GROWTH POTENTIALWhen asked to predict the future for the reverse logistics industry in India in the next few years, he opines, “If India has to compete globally and with FDI, which may soon become a reality, we will have to adopt key benchmarks for not only growth, but also for responsible governance, corporate responsibility and environment responsibility. Reverse logistics are standard processes in developed nations and Indian companies will have to adopt world-class processes not only for their own survival and growth, but also for legal reasons. Today, being green is a marketing ploy for many companies. Soon, this will be a mandate from the government with the new e-waste law. Foresighted leaders will see this as an opportunity and make changes. Short-sighted companies will not only lose market share, but also their customers, if they do not focus on this now.”

MESSAGE TO ENTREPRENEURSIn his message to all the new age entrepreneurs, quoting Mark Twain, Chaturvedi says, “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do rather than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

[email protected]

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PRODUCT INDEX

To know more about the products featured in this magazine, fax us on 022-3003 4499 or tear and post to us the ‘Product Inquiry Card’ by following the 5 easy steps given there. Alternatively, you

may also write to us at [email protected] or call us on 022-3003 4684, and we will send your inquiries to the advertisers/companies directly to help you source better.

35 Analogue modules 20

36 Appliance switches 27

37 Auto belts & oils seals 43

38 Automatic rolling shutters 25

39 Automation &

storage systems 51

40 Automation solutions 20

41 Automation systems 144

42 Back-geared autofeed

radial drills 117

43 Back-geared

finefeed machines 117

44 Ball bearings 28, 104

45 Ball check valves 185

46 Ball roller bearings 104

47 Ball screw actuators 169

48 Ball screws 93

49 Ball valves 178, 185

50 Band saw blades 161

51 Battery-operated

pallet trucks 71

52 Battery-operated

vehicles 115

53 BBL brake motors COC

54 Bearings 22, 104, 169

55 Bed mills 61

56 Bellow couplings 93

57 Belt sanders 223

58 Belts 165

59 Bench drill presses 223

60 Bevel gears 169

61 Billet shearing machines 224

62 Blowers 223

63 Bollards 25

64 Brake motors 106

65 Broaching machines 68

66 Brushless DC motors

& drives 181

67 Bushes 169

68 Butterfly valves 178, 185

S. No Product Pg No

1 Abrasive belt tools 26

2 Abrasive power tools 26

3 Abrasive systems 65

4 AC electric motors 196

5 AC gear motors 8, 24

6 AC motors COC

7 AC servo motors &

drives 181

8 AC servo motors 8, 24

9 AC servo 123

10 AC sync motors 169

11 AC variable frequency

drives 105

12 AC/DC modules 171

13 AC/DC panels 79

14 Accessories Box Branding

15 ACCL 201-203, 219

16 AC-DC power supplies 171

17 Adhesives 121

18 Advanced machines 9

19 Advanced TCA 9

20 Agitator seals 142

21 Air compressors 223

22 Air cooled heat

exchangers 21

23 Air purifiers 89

24 Air taping machines 191

25 Air treatment systems 129

26 Air-cooled steam

condensers 21

27 Alarms 184

28 All-geared autofeed

pillar drill machines 117

29 All-geared autofeed

radial drill machines 117

30 Alu-cera polymers 11

31 Aluma coat 11

32 Aluminium oxide

ceramic composites 11

33 Aluminium profiles 169

34 Aluminium worm

geared motors 106

S. No Product Pg No


PRODUCT INDEX

69 Cable carriers 22, 93

70 Cable conduits 27

71 Cable connectors 22

72 Cable glands 59

73 Cables & leads 51

74 Cables handling &

processing systems 51

75 Cables 51

76 Cables 51, 201-203, 219

77 Calendering machines FGF

78 Carbide rods 67

79 Casting 69

80 Ceramic adhesive cement 11

81 Ceramic electrical

heater parts 11

82 C-frame power presses 224

83 Chains 22, 43

84 Chillers 91

85 Circular saws 223

86 Clamping & braking

elements 169

87 Cleaning equipment 131

88 CNC lathes 29, 52

89 CNC machines 23, BIC

90 CNC turning centres BIC

91 CNC vertical

machining centres BIC

92 Cold storage dockhouses 25

93 Cold storage doors 25

94 Cold storage systems 217

95 Communication platforms 9

96 Compact PCI standard

& rugged boards 9

97 Complete foundry 49

98 Compound miter saws 223

99 Compressed air

system fittings 41

100 Compression fittings 116

101 Compressors 187, FIC

102 Connectors accessories 51

103 Connectors 22, 59,

Box Branding

104 Contactors 201-203, 219

S. No Product Pg No

105 Control panel

accessories 27, 125

106 Control valves 178

107 Controllers 151

108 Conventional &

monoblock pumps 98

109 Conventional precision

lathes 29

110 Conveyor chains 113

111 Conveyors &

automation systems 25

112 Conveyors & material

handling equipment 211

113 Coolant accessories 98

114 Coolant pumps 98

115 Cooling systems 63, 184

116 Cooling tower motors 106

117 Cooling towers 21, 129

118 Cordless tools 223

119 Core technology 49

120 Cost-effective

stepper motors 169

121 Counter balanced

pallet trucks 71

122 Counters & power

supplies 7

123 Couplings 169

124 CPU boards 9

125 Crane-duty motors 106

126 Cranes 160, 163, 172

127 Crates 99

128 Crimp contact & tools 51

129 Cross connection

accessories Box Branding

130 Cross roller rings 169

131 Cross shaft presses 18

132 Curvic 169

133 Cushion dock shelters 25

134 Customised solutions 171

135 Custom-made cables 51

136 Cutoff machines 223

137 Cutters 223

138 Cutting heads 65

139 Cutting systems 65

S. No Product Pg No


PRODUCT INDEX

140 Cutting tools 57, 67, FGF

141 Cylindrical grinders 52

142 Data cables 51

143 DC motors COC

144 DC servo motors & drives 181

145 DC switch disconnector 55

146 DC/DC converters 171

147 DC-DC converters

& noise filters 171

148 Dehumidifiers 189

149 Demand controllers 179

150 Demolition hammers 223

151 Desktop accessories 109

152 Detectors 184

153 Dew point meters 184

154 Diaphragm valves 185

155 Diesel/battery powered

platforms & tow trucks 115

156 Digital laser meters 223

157 Digital modules 20

158 Digital panel metres 179

184

159 Digital temperature

controllers 207

160 Dip-pipes 185

161 Disc grinders 223

162 Discs 165

163 Distribution boards 14

164 Dock levellers 25

165 Dock shelters 25

166 Doors 25

167 Dosing pumps 151

168 Double beam EOT

cranes 70

169 Drill machines 117

170 Drills 223

171 Drives 207

172 Drum lifters 115

173 Dual channel with

modbus 207

174 Dual wall polyolefins 195

175 Dynamic controllers 207

176 Earth leakage relays 179

177 Elbows 185

S. No Product Pg No

178 Electric actuators 178

179 Electric chain saws 223

180 Electric forklift trucks 25

181 Electric geared motors 196

182 Electric motors 196

183 Electric wire rope hoists 70

184 Electrical enclosures 125

185 Electrical measuring

instruments 79

186 Electrical products

cable ties 59

187 Electrical products 105

188 Electromechanical linear

actuators 169

189 Electronic dosing pumps 151

190 Electronic energy metres 179

191 Electronic timers 32-38

192 Electronics products 59

193 Elevators 211

194 ELMCBS 30

195 Embedded box pcs 9

196 Embossing rolls FGF

197 Encoders 7, 181

198 End clap/shops Box Branding

199 End plates Box Branding

200 Energy conservation 175

201 Energy management

solutions 179

202 Energy savings cogged &

poly-V belt drives 43

203 Energy-efficient

motors 106, 196

204 Engineering class

chains & sprockets 113

205 Engineering plastic

plugs & sockets 32-38

206 EOT jib cranes 160

207 Expansion bellows 185

208 Extruding 69

209 Feeders 211

210 FHP AC geared motors 181

211 Files 109

212 Filter solutions 49

213 Fire shutters 25

S. No Product Pg No


PRODUCT INDEX

214 Flameproof motors 106

215 Flameproof motors COC

216 Flange mounting motors COC

217 Flap wheels 165

218 Flat cables for

submersible pumps 51

219 Flat high tension single-twin

igniting electrodes 11

220 Flexible cables & wires 51

221 Flexible couplings 169

222 Floor cranes & forklift trucks 115

223 Fluid 12

224 Flush bottom valves 185

225 Forging presses 224

226 Forging 167, Box Branding

227 Form measurement 177

228 Frequency meters 79

229 Friction drop hammers 224

230 Friction screw presses 224

231 Gantry cranes 160

232 Gas conditioning &

fire protection 205

233 Gas springs 152

234 Gear motors 12, 183, 196, 196

235 Geared & flexible couplings 12

236 Geared boxes 12, 106 183, 196

237 Geared motors COC

238 Gears 12, 169, 196

239 Goliath cranes 70

240 Gomet bearings 28

241 Goods lifts 160

242 Goss laminated films 99

243 Grinding media 11

244 Grinding mills 211

245 Grooving & parting tools 67

246 Group marker holders Box Branding

247 Hacksaw blades & frames 161

248 Haconan-free cables 51

249 Hammers 224

250 Hand grinders 223

251 Heat shrink tubing 59

S. No Product Pg No

252 Heating 144, 184

253 Heavy-duty cycling bearings 28

254 Heli-bevel 106

255 Heli-worm geared motors 106

256 H-frame power presses 224

257 High alumina wear

resistant ceramic tiles 11

258 High discharge pumps 98

259 High MTBF &

efficiency approvals 171

260 High-efficiency

standard motors 106

261 High-pressure pumps 65

262 High-pressure tubes 65

263 High-speed doors 25

264 High-speed precision centre lathes 61

265 High-voltage insulation

wall polyolefins 195

266 HMI-human machine interfaces 9

267 HMM technical guidelines 106

268 Hoists 172

269 Hollow saw kits & accessories 161

270 Home appliances 201-203, 219

271 Horizontal CNC lathes 61

272 Horizontal CNC machines BIC

273 Horizontal machining

centres 23, BIC

274 HRC fuse bodies 11

275 HSS tools bits & cutoff blades 161

276 Human machine interface 105

277 Hybrid steppers & drives 169

278 Hydraulic & pneumatic

valves and fittings 116

279 Hydraulic adapter sleeves 124

280 Hydraulic components 41

281 Hydraulic cylinders 68, 133

282 Hydraulic dock levellers 25

283 Hydraulic dock shelters 25

284 Hydraulic elevating tables &

industrial lifts 115

285 Hydraulic equipment 68

S. No Product Pg No

286 Hydraulic hoists 133

287 Hydraulic legs 133

288 Hydraulic manual pallet trucks 71

289 Hydraulic power packs 68, 133

290 Hydraulic presses 68

291 Hydraulic probes 133

292 Hydraulic rams 133

293 Hydraulic seals 111

294 Hydraulic systems 133

295 Hydraulic units 133

296 IC counterbalanced forklifts 25

297 Impact drills 223

298 Impact wrenches 223

299 Impactors 211

300 Inductive proximity switches 27

301 Industrial automation products 105

302 Industrial belts 43

303 Industrial ceramics 11

304 Industrial connectors 51

305 Industrial control &

sensing devices 7

306 Industrial coolers 129

307 Industrial doors 217

308 Industrial electric power

distribution system 14

309 Industrial fittings 125

310 Industrial grinding & cutting 69

311 Industrial hoses 43

312 Industrial moulded products 99

313 Industrial overhead doors 25

314 Industrial PCs 159

315 Industrial rack mount systems 9

316 Industrial shock absorbers 169

317 Industrial shoes 47

318 Inline helical geared motors 106

319 Innovative locking systems 125

320 Instrumentation & controls 16-17

321 Instrumentation cables 51

322 Insulated doors 25

323 Interface modules acc Box Branding

324 Interface modules Box Branding

S. No Product Pg No


PRODUCT INDEX

325 Interlocking doors 25

326 Inverter duty motors 106

327 Inverter/variable frequency drives 7

328 Inverters 123

329 Isolators & DBs 30

330 Isolators 53

331 Jaw crushers 211

332 Jig saws 223

333 Knuckle joint presses 10

334 Kuman machine interface 123

335 Laptop accessories 109

336 Large helical 106

337 Latching & hinging systems 125

338 Lathes 23

339 LED egress route

lighting solutions 45

340 LED emergency lighting

solutions 45

341 LED flash lights 45

342 LED signal tower lights 32-38

343 LED solar street lights 45

344 LEDs 27

345 Level controllers 7

346 Lift & conveyor cables 51

347 Limit switch boxes 178

348 Limit switches 32-38

349 LLDPE tubes 41

350 LM guideways 93

351 Load break switches 27

352 Load managers 179

353 Loading bay equipment 25

354 Lock nuts 124

355 Lock washers 124

356 Low lift pallet trucks 25

357 Machine tools accessories 93

358 Manual pallet trucks 25

359 Marker plotters Box Branding

360 Markers Box Branding

361 Material handling equipment 71

362 Material testing machines 177

363 MCBs 30, 53

S. No Product Pg No

364 MCCBs 201-203, 219

365 Measurement equipment 177

366 Measuring & monitoring relays 7

367 Measuring instruments 79

368 Mechanical seals 142

369 Medical 217

370 Metal cutting systems 65

371 Metal cutting tools 141

372 Meters 79

373 Metric adapter sleeves 124

374 Metrology equipment 177

375 MGM brake motors 87

376 Micro milling beads 11

377 Micro PLCs 123

378 Micro switches 32-38

379 Mil/aero rugged systems

& enclosures 9

380 Mill lining blocks 11

381 Milling centres 23

382 Milling cutters 67

383 Milling-cum-drilling machine 117

384 Modular boring systems 191

385 Modular PLCs 123

386 Modules & ETX modules 9

387 Molding solutions 49

388 Mops 165

389 Motherboards 9

390 Motion control products 7, 123

391 Motor & servo motors 83

392 Motor protection circuit breakers 27

393 Motor protection systems 179

394 Motorised boom barriers 25

395 Motorised metering pumps 151

396 Motors & controls 68

397 Motors COC, 196

398 Moulded furniture 99

399 Moulding machines 69

400 Moulds 99

401 Mounting brackets Box Branding

402 Mounting rails Box Branding

403 Multi-axis motion controllers 181

S. No Product Pg No

404 Multi-function metres 179

405 Multi-functional tools 67

406 Multimedia unions 152

407 Multi-speed motors 106

408 Multi-stage pumps 98

409 TCA & CPCI 9

410 Needle roller bearings 28

411 Nibbler polishers & sanders 223

412 Office lighting systems 201-203, 219

413 Ohms meters 79

414 Oil coolers 91

415 Oil seals 124

416 ON/OFF ball/butterfly/

control & plug valves 178

417 Online B2B marketplace 209, 218

418 Open 9

419 Optical measurement 177

420 O-rings 111

421 Overhead doors 25

422 Packaging films 99

423 Paint & plating instruments 200

424 Painting machines 144

425 Pallet stackers 25

426 Pallet trucks 71, 115

427 Panel coolers 91

428 Panel PCs 9

429 Panels 79

430 Parallel shaft helical

geared motors 106

431 Part ejectors 149

432 Partition plates Box Branding

433 PC-based automation 159

434 Pedestrian & rider-operated

pallet trucks 71

435 Pedestrian low lift pallet trucks 25

436 Pedestrian pallet stackers 25

437 Peristaltic pumps 119

438 Petrochemicals polytyscne 99

439 Photo electric sensors 7

440 PID controllers 207

441 Pillar-mounted jib cranes 70

S. No Product Pg No


PRODUCT INDEX

442 Pilot lights 27

443 Pipe tube fittings 41

444 Piping systems 41

445 Planetary gear heads 93

446 Planners 223

447 Plastics piping systems 99

448 Platforms 9

449 PLCs 181, 207

450 Plotter accessories Box Branding

451 Plug valves 178, 185

452 Plugs & sockets 27

453 Plumbing pipes & fittings 41

454 PMCs & slot CPUs 9

455 Pneumatic actuators 178

456 Pneumatic components 41

457 Pneumatic cylinders 133

458 Pneumatic nailers 223

459 Portable coolant purifying

systems 149

460 Portable oil skimmers 149

461 Power chucking cylinders 52

462 Power generation systems 88

463 Power presses 10

464 Power systems 63

465 Power transmission accessories 43

466 Power transmission chains

and sprockets 113

467 Precision locknuts 93

468 Precision switches single

& multiple 27

469 Precision switches 27

470 Process coolings 88

471 Process equipment

mechanical seals 142

472 Profile controllers 207

473 Programmable logic controllers 7

474 Programmable terminals 7

475 Protective covers Box Branding

476 Protective packaging 99

477 Protective-conduit systems 51

478 Proximity sensors 7, 32-38

S. No Product Pg No

479 PTFE lined pipings 185

480 PTFE lined systems 185

481 Pump seals 142

482 Pumps 68, 197

483 Pumps BC

484 Pure water fittings 41

485 Push buttons 27

486 PVC flap doors 25

487 PVC strip doors 25

488 Quick release coupling 116

489 Radial drill machines 117

490 Random orbital sanders 26

491 Rapid flexible doors 25

492 Rapid roll-up doors 25

493 RCCBs 53

494 Reach trucks 25

495 Reciprocated oil free

compressors 61

496 Reciprocating & jigsaw blades 161

497 Reciprocating lubricated

compressors 61

498 Reciprocating saws 223

499 Re-crystallised allumina tubes 11

500 Reducers 185

501 Reducing flanges 185

502 Renewable & chp 88

503 Retrofit 49

504 RFIDs 7

505 Rice rubber rolls 43

506 Right angle buffers 26

507 Right angle die grinders 26

508 Rigid PVC films 99

509 Rings 167

510 Robotic cables 51

511 Rod latch systems 125

512 Rolls 165

513 Rotary dampers 152

514 Rotary hammers 223

515 Rotary joints & unions 152

516 Rotary joints 133

517 Rotary shaft seals 111, 124

S. No Product Pg No

518 Rotary switches 27

519 Rotary 23

520 Rotating unions 152

521 Routers 223

522 Rubber profiles 125

523 Safety equipment 184

524 Safety light curtains 7

525 Safety protection devices 27

526 Safety shoes 47

527 Salt spray chambers 200

528 Sampling valves 185

529 Sand preparation 49

530 Scissor lifts 25

531 Screens 211

532 Screw compressors 31

533 Screw drivers 223

534 Scroll-type oil-free compressors 61

535 Sealants 121

536 Sectional overhead doors 25

537 Security consoles 171

538 Security systems 89

539 Sensitive part loading/

unloading 149

540 Sensors 184

541 Separator plates Box Branding

542 Servo drives 105

543 Servo motors 105

544 Servo systems 63

545 Shaft loading systems 149

546 Shears 223

547 Sheet metal dies 18

548 Shock absorbers 152

549 Shot blasting machines 49

550 Shunts 79

551 Side holding plates Box Branding

552 Single beam EOT cranes 70

553 Single board computers 9

554 Single limit switches 27

555 Single point braze carbide tools 161

556 Siphon systems 152

557 Sleeve bearings 28

S. No Product Pg No


PRODUCT INDEX

558 Sleeves 124

559 Slide compound miter saws 223

560 Slipring crane duty motors COC

561 Small size ball bearings 28

562 Smart turn electronic lathes 61

563 SNU worm gears 12

564 Sockets & switches Box Branding

565 Solderless terminals 59

566 Solid carbide drills 141

567 Solid carbide mills 141

568 Solid carbide reamers 141

569 Solid carbide special drills 141

570 Solid carbide special mills 141

571 Solid carbide special reamers 141

572 Solid state relays 221

573 Spare parts 65

574 Special application motors 106

575 Spindle nose toolings 67

576 Spirac cables 51

577 Spiral-cum-helical gearboxes 12

578 Spray analysis 205

579 Spray controls 205

580 Spray fabrication 205

581 Spray nozzles & accessories 205

582 Squeezing rolls FGF

583 Stackers 115

584 Stationary products 109

585 Steam engineering 175

586 Step motors 83

587 Stepped motors & drives 181

588 Stirrers 185

589 Super precision bearings 28

590 Surface treatment 121

591 Swing check valves 185

592 Swing handles 125

593 Switch disconnectors 55

S. No Product Pg No

594 Switch 53, 201-203, 219

595 Switchboard meters 79

596 Switches & network platforms 9

597 Switchgears 55

598 Switching relays 7

599 Tail lifts 25

600 Technical ceramics 11

601 Tees 185

602 Teflon coatings 185

603 Tefzel coatings 185

604 Telescopic doors 25

605 Temperature & humidity

transmitters 184

606 Temperature controllers 7, 207

607 Temperature transmitters 184

608 Temperature-resistant cables 51

609 Terminal blocks Box Branding

610 Testers 79

611 Therm drills 191

612 Thin clients 9

613 Thin wall polyolefins 195

614 Thrust ball bearings 28

615 Timers 7

616 Tool bits 161

617 Tool clamping 191

618 Torque motors 106

619 Total cooling solutions 88

620 Touch screens 159

621 Transformers 79

622 Transmitters 184

623 Trolleys 115

624 Turbine-driven pencil grinders 26

625 Turning centres 61

626 Turning holders 67

627 Turnkey systems for

dust suppression 205

S. No Product Pg No

628 Turnmill centres 61

629 Turret mills 61

630 Turrets 52

631 Twin spin bearing reducers 93

632 Universal controllers 207

633 Vacuum cleaners 89

634 Vacuum disc sanders 26

635 Valve positioners 178

636 Valves 116, 185

637 Velocity & feed controllers 152

638 Vertical machining centres 23, 52

639 Vertical order pickers 25

640 Vibrating reed 79

641 Vision sensors & surface

inspection systems 137

642 Vision sensors 7

643 Vision software 137

644 Vision systems 137

645 VME standard & rugged products 9

646 VPX standard & rugged products 9

647 Water faucet & tap parts 11

648 Water purifiers 89

649 Waterjet cutting machines FGF

650 Waterjet cutting systems 65

651 Wear parts 67

652 Wearhouse & distribution 217

653 Winches 160

654 Wind mill gearboxes 12

655 Wiper seals 124

656 Wire connectors 59

657 Worm gears 12

658 XMC/PMC 9

659 Y-type strainers 185

660 Zirconia polycrystal ceramics 11

S. No Product Pg No

Our consistent advertisers


ADVERTISERS’ LIST

Adaptek Automation Technology 159

T: +91-44-43201005

E: [email protected]

W: www.adaptektechnologies.com

Ambica Crushtech Pvt.Ltd. 211

T: +91-265-2643575


W: www.kohinoorjawcrushers.com

Amsak Cranes Private Limited 160

T: +91-44-26273486


W: www.amsakcranes.com

Apex Precision Mechatronix Pvt.Ltd. 169

T: +91-22-61464444


W: www.apexprecision.co.in

Asian Cranes & Elevators 70

T: +91-161-2491053


W: www.asiancranes.com

Atlas Copco (India) Ltd .FIC

T: +91-20-30722222


W: www.atlascopco.com

B S Hydro-Pneumatic Pvt Ltd 116

T: +91-22-26861361


W: www.bshydro.com

Basant Mechanical Works (Regd) 10

T: +91-161-2530529


W: www.basantgroup.com

Bry Air (Asia) Pvt Ltd 189

T: +91-11-23906777


W: www.bryair.com

To know more about the advertisers in this magazine, refer to our ‘Advertisers’ List’ or write to us at [email protected] or call us on +91-22-3003 4640or fax us at +91-22-3003 4499 and we will send your enquiries to the advertisers directly to help you source better

Advertisers’ Name & Contact Details Pg No Advertisers’ Name & Contact Details Pg No Advertisers’ Name & Contact Details Pg No

C&S Electric Ltd. 53

T: +91-11-30887520-29

W: www.cselectric.co.in

Ceratizit India Pvt Ltd 67

T: +91-33-24947146


W: www.ceratizit.com

Cheng Day Machinery Works Co., Ltd 172

T: +886-4-2688-1581


W: www.chengday.com.tw

CICB Compressor Pvt Ltd 187

T: +91-80-23491227


W: www.fscurtis.in

Cognex Singapore Inc 137


W: www.cognex.com/trackandtrace

Connectwell Industries Pvt Ltd box branding

T: +91-251-2870636


W: www.connectwell.com

Control Engg Co 105

T: +91-33-2248 0192


W: www.cecoelectronics.co.in

Crane-Bel Hydraulics 68

T: +-91-120-3263281


W: www.crane-bel.com

Darling Pumps Pvt Ltd 197

T: +91-731-2720558


W: www.darlingpump.com

Dirak India Panel Fittings Pvt Ltd 125

T: +91-80-28372980


W: www.dirak.de

Disa India Limited 49

T: +91-80-40201435


W: www.noricangroup.com

Durga Bearing Pvt Ltd 28

T: +91-22-6876073


W: www.durgabearings.com

Dynabrade India 26

T: +91-22-2763 2226


W: www.dynabrade.com

EL Measure India Pvt Ltd 179

T: +91-80-32904489


W: www.elmeasure.com

Elecon Engineering Company Limited 12

T: +91-2692-236469


W: www.elecon.com

Electromech Material

Handling Sys Pvt Ltd 163

T: 91-20-66542222


W: www.emech.in

Electronic Relays(India)Pvt.Ltd 221

T: +91-80-22354189


W: www.electronicrelaysindia.com

Eureka Forbes Limited 89

T: +91-80-30251500


W: www.eurekaforbes.com

Name:___________________________________________________Designation:_________________________________________

Company:_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Address:_______________________________________________________________________________________________

City:_________________________________________Pin:_______________________State:__________________________

Tel:________________________________________Mob:_______________________________Fax:_________________________

Email:__________________________________________________Web:_______________________________________________ 01/2

012

EASY STEPS TO GETPRODUCT INFO

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FILL IN THE BOXES

WITH PRODUCT

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CHOICE AND SEND

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Product Sourcing Just Got Simpler

1 See the index page in this issue. Every product carries a number.2 Choose products of your choice from the list.3 Write their serial numbers (as per the index page) of your chosen product/s one-by-one in the boxes.4 Fill in your complete contact details. 5 Send it to us at the address printed overleaf.

PLEASE ENSURE

THAT YOU FILL IN

ALL THE DETAILS

REQUIRED

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Bhavani Shankar Post Office,Mumbai 400 028.

“search”

Ruby House,1st FloorJ K Sawant MargDadar (W), Mumbai 400 028INDIA

INFOMEDIA 18 LIMITED


ADVERTISERS’ LIST

Goliya Electricals Pvt Ltd 79

T: +91-22-24120456


W: www.goliya.com

Grundfos Pumps India Pvt Ltd .BC

T: +91-44-24966800


W: www.grundfos.in

Haas Automation India Pvt Ltd 23

T: +91-20-32935433


W: www.HaasCNC.com

Havells India Ltd. 201-203, 219

T: +1800-11-0303;011-41660303


W: www.havells.com

Heidelberg Prominent Fluid Controls 151

T: +91-80-23578872


W: www.prominentindia.com

Henkel Adhesives Technologies India 121

T: +91-80-25357771


W: www.loctite.com

Hensel Electric India Pvt. Ltd. 14

T: +91-44-24541669


W: www.hensel-electric.de

Hi-Fab Engineers Pvt Ltd 142

T: +91-22-40766555


W: www.hi-fab.com

Hi-Fab Valve Automation 178

T: +91-22-40766539


W: www.hi-fab.com

Fenner India Ltd 43

T: +91-44-24312450


W: www.fennerindia.com

Filex Systems Pvt Ltd 109

T: +91-9899258121

E: sales@filexindia

W: www.filexindia.com

Forbes Marshall Pvt Ltd 175

T: +91-20-27145595


W: www.forbesmarshall.com

Forging Machinery

Manufacturing Co 224

T: +91-161-5011755


W: www.nkhhammers.com

Freeze Tech Equipments Pvt Ltd 91

T: +91-44-42152387


W: www.freezetechequip.com

G W Precision Tools India Pvt Ltd 141

T: +91-80-40431252


W: www.gwindia.in

Gandhi Automations Pvt Ltd 25

T: +91-22-66720200


W: www.geapl.co.in

Gem Equipments Ltd 129

T: +91-422-3267800


W: www.gemindia.com

Gem Telergon Switchgears Pvt Ltd 55

T: +91-422-4392648


W: www.gtswitches.com

Advertisers’ Name & Contact Details Pg No Advertisers’ Name & Contact Details Pg No

Hindustan Motor Mfg Co 106

T: +91-22-42500500


W: www.hindmotors.com

Hitachi Koki India Limited 223

T: +91-80-41170777


W: www.hitachi-koki.in

Hi-Tech Applicator 185

T: +91-79-25833040


W: www.ptfeindia.com

Igus India Pvt Ltd 22

T: +91-80-39127800


W: www.igus.in

IndiaMART InterMESH Ltd 209, 218

T: +1800-200-4444 / 91-120-3911000


W: www.indiamart.com

J V Machine Tools Pvt Ltd 18

T: +91-09818322298


Jaibalaji Control Gears Pvt. Ltd., 32-38

T: +91-44-26251279


W: www.jaibalaji.firm.in

Jyoti Ceramic Industries Pvt Ltd 11

T: +91-253-2350120/338


W: www.jyoticeramic.com

Jyoti Cnc Automation Pvt. Ltd. .BIC

T: +91-2827-287081


W: www.jyoti.co.in

Advertisers’ Name & Contact Details Pg No




ADVERTISERS’ LIST

K Engg Products 191

T: +91-20-66755862


W: www.kenggproducts.com

Karcher Cleaning Systems Pvt Ltd 131

T: +91-120-4661800


W: www.karcher.in

Karolin Machine Tool Pvt Ltd 65

T: +91-22-28572494


W: www.kmt-waterjet.com

Kontron Technology India Pvt Ltd 9

T: +91-80-40831000


W: www.kontron.in

Lapp India Pvt Ltd 51

T: +91-80-7826000


W: www.lappgroup.com

Larsen & Toubro Ltd 30

T: +91-22-67525656


W: www.larsentoubro.com

Liberty Shoes Ltd 47

T: +91-1748-251120


W: www.libertyshoes.com

Luthra Pneumsys 41

T: +91-09821128362


W: www.pneumsys.com

Maco Corporation India Pvt Ltd 152

T: +91-33-24758371


W: www.macocorporation.com

Macro Tech Equipment Pvt Ltd 71

T: +91-33-24666261


W: www.macrotechcal.com


Mahindra Stiller Auto Trucks Ltd 115

T: +91-129-4048254


W: www.mahindarstiller.com

Metaflex Doors India Pvt Ltd 217

T: +91-120-4751000


W: www.metaflexdorrs.in

MGM-Varvel Power

Transmission (P) Ltd 87

T: +91-44-64627008


W: www.mgmvarvelindia.com

Micromatic Machine Tools 52

T: +91-80-41492285


W: www.acemicromatic.com

Mifa Systems 207

T: +91-79-26870825


W: www.mifasystems.com

MIM Plastics 124

T: +91-11-41034440


W: www.tckmim.com

Mitsubishi Electric Asia Pte. Ltd. 123

T: +91-124-4630300


W: www.mitsubishielectric.asia/india/

Mitutoyo South Asia Pvt Ltd 177

T: +91-11-26372090


W: www.mitutoyoindia.com

N S W India Ltd 144

T: +91-124-2372859


W: www.nswindia.com

Nath Axis Controls 196

T: +91-11-29949306


W: www.bonvario.com


NI Systems India Pvt Ltd 16-17

T: +91-80-41190000


W: www.ni.com

Ningbo Xinda Screw

Compressor Co., Ltd 31

T: +86-574-8833-6868


W: www.augustcompressor.com

Omron Automation Pvt. Ltd. 7

T: +91-80-40726400


W: www.omron-ap.com

OSG India Pvt Ltd 69

T: +91-20-66304407/08

W: www.osg-india.com

Paharpur Cooling Tower 21

T: +91-33-24792050


W: www.paharpur.com

Powertec Supplies India Pvt Ltd 171

T: +91-120-42469300


W: www.cosmotecindia.com

Precihole Machine Tools Pvt Ltd 8

T: +886-3-329-9968


W: www.peei.com.tw

Premium Transmission Ltd 183

T: +91-20-66314100

W: www.premiumtransmission.com

Presto Stantest Pvt Ltd 200

T: +91-129-4272727


W: www.prestogroup.com

Prolite Autoglo Limited 45

T: +91-22-26763090


W: www.prolite.in




ADVERTISERS’ LIST

Pshtech Technology Inc. 24

T: +886-3-329-9968


W: www.peei.com.tw

Rajamane Industries Pvt Ltd 98

T: +91-80-43659000


W: www.rajamane.com

Ravel Hiteks Pvt Ltd 119

T: +91-44-24961004


W: www.ravelhiteks.com

Rigil Techno (I) Pvt. Ltd. 195

T: +91-11-41641194


W: www.rigilindia.com

Ring Forgings Private Limited 167

T: +91-80-40201704


W: www.ringforging.com

Roto Linear Systems 93

T: +91-80-23572855


Salzgitter Hydraulics Pvt Ltd 133

T: +91-40-23088578


W: www.shplcylinders.com

Sanyo Denki Singapore Pte Ltd 63

T: +-91-44-42038472


W: www.sanyodenki.com/ad/search1201

Satyabhumi Machine Tools 117

T: +91-278-2438241


W: www.prakashmachines.co.in

Seco Tools India Pvt Ltd 57

T: +91-2137-667300


W: www.secotools.com/in


Softlink Automation System Co., Ltd. 20

T: +86-755-2533-6812


W: www.softlink.cn

Spareage Seals Ltd 111

T: +91-22-25800972


W: www.spareage.com

Spares & Components Co 104

T: +91-22-25800972


W: www.spareage.com

Spraying Systems (India) Pvt Ltd 205

T: +91-80-39853200 / 01


W: www.spray.com

Sri Yantra Engineering Agencies (P) 61

T: +91-80-40710555


W: www.yantraengineers.com

Strategi Automation

Solutions Pvt Ltd 181

T: +91-80-32489798


W: www.strategiautomation.com

Sumitron Exports Pvt Ltd. 59

T: +91-11-41410631


W: www.sumitron.com

Swajit Abrasives Pvt Ltd 165

T: 91-240-2553787


W: www.abracutindia.com

Techaids .FGF

T: +91-172-4379995


W: www.techaids.in

Teco Electro Devices Co., Ltd 83

T: +886-3-452-5031


W: www.tedmotors.com.tw


Teknic 27

T: +91-22-26592392


W: www.tecknic.co.in

The Indian Electric Co .COC

T: +91-20-24475845


W: www.indianelectric.com

The Supreme Industries Limited 99

T: +91-22-404130158

W: www.supreme.co.in

TIDC India 113

T: +91-44-42235509


W: www.tidcindia.in

Trident Tools Pvt Ltd 161

T: +91 22 2884 7191


W: www.magicut.net

Tussor Machine Tools Ind P Ltd 29

T: +91-422-3200183


W: www.pinachoindia.com

U-Tech Associates 149

T: +91-80-23390309


W: www.u-techindia.com

Van Spall Associateds (Cmp) Pvt.Ltd 88

T: +91- 9176681158


W: www.vanspall.co.uk

Weltec Enterprise Co.,Ltd. 184

T: +886-2-2223-5889


W: www.aecl.com.tw


RNI No: 67827 /98 Postal Regd No G 2 / NMD / 81 / 2011 -13Posted at Mumbai PatrikaChannel Sorting Office- GPO, Mumbai 400 001

on 22nd & 23rd of Every Previous Month Date Of Publication: 18th of Every Month

226

RNI No: 67827 / 98 Licensed to Post without prepayment License No: WPP - 246Postal Regd No: KA / BG GPO / 2564 / 2011-13Posted at MBC, Bangalore GPO on 25th & 26th of Every Previous MonthDate of Publication: 18th of Every Month.

Vo

l 15 No

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