Manufacturers said to focus on value addition, design innovation and technology ownership

The inaugural session of the CII Telangana State Conference on Advanced Manufacturing is being held in Hyderabad on Wednesday (October 28). | Photo credit: SIDDHANT THAKUR

Speakers at the CII Conference on Advanced Manufacturing here on Wednesday emphasized the need for India to move beyond scale manufacturing towards greater domestic value addition, design-led innovation, technology ownership and globally competitive manufacturing ecosystems.

Addressing the inaugural session, Special Chief Secretary to the State Government Navin Mittal highlighted the significant opportunities emerging at the intersection of advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, energy storage, electric mobility and data centers. “We are literally on the threshold of major revolutions in the energy sector,” he said.

Mr. Mittal emphasized the need to strengthen domestic manufacturing across the solar value chain, develop energy storage capabilities and use AI, IoT, digital twins and robotics to improve operational efficiency, CII said in a report.

CII Special Taskforce on Advanced Manufacturing Chairman Rahul Garg highlighted the growing role of AI, robotics, Industrial Internet of Things and digital twins in enhancing productivity, product quality and export competitiveness. Cyient founder and chairman BVR Mohan Reddy said India’s next phase of manufacturing needs to focus on ownership of technology and design-led innovation rather than sheer scale of production.

Micron India CEO Anand Ramamurthy spoke about the importance of leapfrogging technologies, strengthening infrastructure, creating predictable policy frameworks and developing specialized talent to attract and expand advanced manufacturing in India. CII Telangana Chairman M. Goutham Reddy said advanced manufacturing should be geared towards sustainability.

Published – 28 Oct 2026 21:29 IST