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The task is cut out for MSME Ambitious The Ministry of Micro Medium and Small Enterprises (MSME) has set a 2030 target target of accounting for 50 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2025. As India gears to become a USD for exports five trillion economy, the focus must shift on productivity overproduction as per Union Minister Jitendra Singh. “Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) will be the foundation for bigger industries in the country,” averred the minister at the 7th India International MSME Expo Summits 2021. “With around 36.1 million units, MSMEs contribute around 6.11 per cent of the manufacturing GDP and 24.63 per cent of the GDP from service activities. Moreover, it is the secondlargest employment generating sector after agriculture as it employs around 120 million persons in India,” he explained. Citing the heavy dependence of new business enterprises on scientific technology, the minister called for the need to adopt a scientific temper and scientific attitude deemed crucial for the industry to realise their optimum utilisation in contemporary India. The scientific community must share successful research and development outcomes with the industry and corporate houses, he concluded. The share of the MSME manufacturing in All India manufacturing gross value output during the year 2018-19 and 2019-20 are known to be 36.9 per cent and 36.9 per cent respectively. As per a statistic of the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, the share of export of specified MSME related products to all India exports during 2019-20 and 2020-21 was 49.8 per cent and 49.5 per cent respectively. The Minister of Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal, asked exporters to rise to the ambitious challenge of the USD 400 billion export target for 2021-22. He asked exporters to target USD two trillion exports by 2030. In line with the vision, “Local goes Global: Make in India for the World”, the minister said, “The target has been generated through a bottomup and consultative approach, wherein specific targets for each country, product, Export Promotion Council and foreign mission has been set.” Calling for the need to maintain the export momentum for the next eight months, setting a USD 34 billion exports per month target to achieve the goal, the minister expressed that while the goal is ambitious, it could be realised with the EPCs and their members working in unison. The Minister also asked the export community to target USD two trillion exports by the year 2030, comprising USD one trillion merchandise exports and USD one trillion of services exports. He also announced the setting up of two separate divisions in the Commerce Ministry focused on the services sector, to achieve the target. New FTAs are slated for an early conclusion, he informed. The industry was directed to study both domestic and international quality standards and work towards aligning with the standards. “Let us accept and adopt quality standards voluntarily and happily and build our industries to meet global quality standards,” he stated. Semiconductors, he opined, would occupy a prominent role in the industrial landscape.
Motherson Group joins UN Global Compact
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Motherson Group has joined the United Nations Global Compact (UN Global Compact). As part of the strategic initiative to support global companies with the development, implementation, and disclosure of responsible business practices, Motherson is looking to build on its commitment to its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) program as a long term strategy. Averred Vivek Chaand Sehgal, Chairman, Motherson Group, “To set new standards in good corporate citizenship has been part of our mission since 1995. Motherson is proud to join the U.N. Global Compact and as a signatory, we will be integrating the principles of the Compact into our business practices, to create mindfulness in the world that we all want.” Aimed at living up to the expectations of all the stakeholders like employees, customers, communities, and investors, the company will look at ways of improving the environment, cultivating greater social inclusion and embodying the highest standards of governance. The UN Global Compact requires companies to align their culture, strategies, and operations with its ten core principles in the areas of human rights, labour standards, environment, and anti-corruption.
The incorporation of Minda Infac
To comply with Regulation 30 of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, Minda Corporation Ltd., announced the Joint Venture (JV) Agreement signed with Infac Elecs Co Ltd., the Republic of Korea on June 08, 2021. A new JV company Minda Infac Pvt. Ltd. was incorporated on August 10, 2021, in which 51 per cent would be held by Minda Corporation Ltd. and 49 per cent by Infac Elecs Co Ltd., Republic of Korea. The new JV company will engage inter-alia in the business of design, develop, manufacture, install, assemble, produce, conceptualise, test, service, distribute, import or export, market, to act as principals, dealers, agents, sub-agents, promote, franchise, offer and sell (either by wholesale or retail) the automotive combi shark fin antenna, combi pole antenna, micro pole antenna, LF antenna and switch assembly. It also extends to GPS antenna and other advanced antenna products including all other antenna accessories and fittings.
Varroc Engineering and Candera GmbH MoU
Varroc Engineering Ltd. (Varroc), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Candera GmbH. A strategic association to integrate the Human Machine Interface (HMI) technology in Varroc’s Thin-FilmTransistor (TFT) Instrument Cluster. Varroc will develop the hardware and base software of the product, while Candera will provide the software solution for the HMI. The MoU is expected to enable both the companies to respond to automotive application opportunities in India and the global markets with shorter lead time and cost-optimised solutions. Arjun Jain, Wholetime Director and the President - Electrical and Electronics Business Unit at Varroc, said “At Varroc, we look to drive growth leveraging sustainable automotive trends such as the desire to be greener, safer, smarter, and more connected. We are delighted to partner with Candera to comprehensively build out our capability set to deliver next-generation TFT instrument clusters that meet our customers evolving technology needs.” Reinhard Füricht, CEO of Candera added, “This MoU now takes our partnership to the next level and we’re looking forward to supporting our mutual, worldwide customers to be successful in their business by creating powerful HMI solutions together with Varroc’s TFT clusters.”
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New R&D Head at Continental Automotive
Continental Automotive India has appointed Latha Chemrakalam as the new Head - R&D Technical Center India. To succeed Alexander Klotz, credited for TCI scaling up to become one of the largest engineering centres for Continental, globally, Chemrakalam’s task is cut out. She is expected to be instrumental in leading TCI to the next level of growth and innovation, including on fronts like infrastructural expansion, headcount growth, and expansion of engineering competence for both global and local markets. As stated by Juergen Heim, Senior Vice President and Head of Holistic Engineering & Technology Locations Management, in a company release, “I am glad to welcome Latha as the new head of TCI and also extend my thanks to Alex, who oversaw many successful projects, expansions, and milestones. The race for the future mobility ecosystem has only just begun, and as the R&D arm for Continental, our Holistic Engineering & Technology unit and key centres like TCI have the responsibility for future technologies and solutions for the automotive sector. We continue to invest in R&D and our growth in India.” Prashanth Doreswamy, Country Head, Continental India and Managing Director, Continental Automotive Components (India) Pvt Ltd., added, “ I am confident that Latha’s leadership, experience, and expertise will ensure TCI continues to grow in competence, innovation potential and capacity, touching new milestones. Additionally, Latha is our first woman head of TCI, and a welcome addition to our women executive leadership pool.” Chembrakalam has nearly three decades of experience and has held many leadership roles in an illustrious career. Before Continental, Latha was the Vice President at Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd, where she was responsible for the complete powertrain and electrification area. Her other notable stints include a stint with Siemens Information Systems Ltd, where she is known to have incubated the automotive business in India after her stint in Siemens Automotives, Germany. She was later responsible for business development in South Africa, handling embedded systems, BFSI, Security solutions, and IT services.
Maxxis Tyres performance range
Maxxis India has introduced an exclusive range of tyres for the sports segment, Maxxis M6311/ M6312 under the MAXXCEED series. The M6311/ M6312 tubeless tyres are claimed to provide significant control while riding along with higher resistance. The tyres are currently available for the aftermarket across leading two-wheeler line-ups like for the Bajaj Pulsar (150,160, 180, 200, 220), TVS Apache (160, 180, 200), Yamaha R15, Yamaha FZ, Honda Hornet amongst others. More offspring are expected from the series in the near term. The M6311/M6312 is supported by the five plus one unconditional warranty with Maxxis two-wheeler tyres. This unconditional warranty is claimed to be a no-questions-asked offer that applies to all unserviceable and unrepairable tyres. The tyres are available pan India across all Maxxis dealer outlets.
Jindal Aluminium launches SAHAY
Aluminium extrusion company Jindal Aluminium Ltd. launched ‘SAHAY’ a psychological wellness program to address the emotional and mental well-being needs of 7000 people including employees and their families. SAHAY is claimed to provide safe and approving space with a specialist to discuss psychological conditions related to anxiety, stress, or emotional difficulties. Of the opinion that a psychologist can better address any emotional and mental well-being issues that employees or their family members may be facing, it will enable people to have and give better life experiences. The free consultation facility has been made available two days a week with prior appointments. As part of SAHAY, Jindal Aluminium plans to hold sessions on mindfulness, dealing with stressful conditions, parenting tips, being considerate and caring for the aged, mental and emotional well-being for its employees in the days to come. Software-development company KPIT integrated with the automotive and mobility industry has joined the Automotive Vehicle Computing Consortium (AVCC). AVCC is a global collaboration of automotive and technology industry leaders focused on automated and assisted driving compute solutions. The way autonomous driving solutions are developed is changing rapidly both from the hardware and software perspectives. AVCC is helping bring organisations deeply invested in this space to discuss and find solutions for the future. KPIT’s expertise and insights from Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Autonomous Driving (AD) development for more than a decade with experience on 50 plus vehicle production programs are expected to be a valuable addition for the consortium on software architectures, platforms, and components. With this, KPIT joins leading OEMs, tier1s, and semiconductor companies, such as General Motors, Toyota, Subaru, Veoneer, ARM, Bosch, NXP, Renesas already onboard.
Jammu Udhampur Highway, Jammu, India
Jammu Udhampur Highway, Jammu, India Jammu Udhampur Highway, Jammu, India
Milestone in semiconductor R&D
As the automotive world grapples with the semiconductor chip shortage, a new breakthrough has been made on the manufacturing front. With foundries known to mass-produce these chips, the need for manufacture standardisation was felt. Any variations are known to produce tiny offsets which are revealed on testing. These tiny offsets render a large fraction of the chips useless. In a breakthrough finding, the tiny offset may be stored in memory once and applied to the output retrospectively to perfect such imperfect chips. It is expected to make expensive custom chip design redundant, and help stakeholders save on time and expenses. “The partnership between IIT Bombay and SCL to establish this memory technology for the first time demonstrates the augmented potential for semiconductor research in the country”, opined Prof. K. VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Government of India. The team at IIT Bombay was supported by the Department of Science and Technology’s Intensification of Research in High Priority Area (IRHPA). Aspects of the work were funded by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY) and Department of Science and Technology (DST). Nanoelectronics Network for Research and Applications (NNetRA) supports the memory application. DST-Advanced Manufacturing Technologies, and the Office of PSA for hardware security. The team at IIT Bombay partnered with IIT Delhi, SETS Chennai, and DRDO for hardware encryption. It is testimony to the development of standards, product design or IP development, and semiconductor manufacturing fast assuming significance for future developments. “The OTP memory technology adoption for trimming applications by the joint IIT Bombay - SCL Chandigarh teams is a pioneering step in this direction. It will be a gamechanger by enabling secure memory and encryption hardware for the country,” concluded Dr V.K. Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog.
Defence India Startup Challenge 5.0
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the fifth edition of the Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC). DISC 5.0 targets self-reliance, fostering innovation and technology development in the defence and aerospace sectors. Falling under Innovations for Defence Excellence - Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO), the official statement mentioned thirty-five problem statements. This is further broken down to 13 from the Services and 22 from Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs). The challenge extends to situational awareness, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, aircraft-trainer, non-lethal devices, 5G network, underwater domain awareness, drone swarms and data capturing. “A platform like iDEX provides a foundation for innovation, research and development to the industry. Initiatives like iDEX form a link between our youth, academia, R&D, start-ups and the armed forces,” expressed the minister. The previous edition of the DISC hosted over eighty startups, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and individual innovators as winners in over forty technological areas.
BHEL solar EV charging station
As the penetration of emobility grows across automotive segments, the supporting infrastructure is also growing in parallel. The Delhi-Chandigarh highway has become the first EV friendly highway in the country with a network of Solar-based EV Charging stations (SEVCs) set up by Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAMEI) scheme of the Department of Heavy Industries. In a strategic development, BHEL has set up the charging station at Karna Lake resort which is the midpoint between the two cities. It is said to be equipped to cater to all EVs plying across the country and would draw power from the individual grid-connected rooftop solar power panels. The company is working on strengthening the charging network on this highway this year as setting up more stations at every 20-30 km interval is expected to instil more confidence among EV owners plying interstate.
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First public EV charging station for Mumbai
Building on the charging ecosystem in Mumbai, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has set up Mumbai’s first public EV charging station at the parking lot of Kohinoor Square, in Dadar West. Inaugurated by Aditya Thackeray, Minister of Tourism and Environment, Maharashtra, this EV charging station is known to have been developed as a public centre. To be operational 24x7, it has seven charging ports with four dedicated fast charging ports. As of now, BMC will scale up this project to extend to other pockets of the city and serve the growing population of EVs. “It is heartening to witness great efforts being put in from all key stakeholders to make Maharashtra EV friendly. We had announced our state’s EV policy about a month ago and it is encouraging to see the active participation from all stakeholders to realise this vision,” said the minister on the sidelines of the launch.
Mercedes Benz India partners DSEU for advanced diploma
Mercedes-Benz India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University (DSEU) to provide a oneyear Advanced Diploma In Automotive Mechatronics (ADAM). In line with the ‘Skill India’ movement, the course will fulfill the requirement for superlative service in the automotive sector. Students can look forward to hands-on experience on the latest tools and equipment. First conducted since 2006 across government institutions in Pune, Aurangabad, New Delhi, Noida, Trivandrum, Bangalore, Ghaziabad and Bhubaneshwar, over 650 students have been trained. Notably, only 20 students qualify to take the course per batch of the course that offers placement across the automotive network in the country.
New Sterlite Copper SDC
Sterlite Copper is aiming to provide training to 600 youth, which will be scaled up to 1500. Through a new Skill Development Centre (SDC), in Thoothukudi, the company will offer courses focusing on diverse trades including sewing machine operation, electrician, and Logistics-Inventory clerk among others identified as priority areas through the skill gap assessment report of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). With the 300-400 hours of training imparted, the course material will be further developed to meet the community requirements. A hybrid model, combining online and offline, the centre will aim at making people selfreliant by providing them with vocational training to make them job ready. The SDC is supported by the Vedanta Foundation and Birla Edutech Ltd.
