Initiative can complement industrial growth.

June 29, 2015 12:21 pm

To ensure we make India a serious manufacturing hub, we must ‘perform consistently’.  Indians are good at performing but performing consistently is a more desirable trait.
Vikas Kundra, MD, ZAIPL______________________________________________
 ZIEHL-ABEGG India Private Limited, is a 100 per cent subsidiary of ZIEHL-ABEGG SE, Germany, a company with more than 100 years of history of innovation based growth. ZIEHL – ABEGG offers a variety of fans that are from its facility in Chakan, Pune.
In an interview with OEM Update, Vikas Kundra, MD, ZAIPL Pune, India shares his views on the “Make in India” and what the government should do in a broader sense.
A great mission statement, but lots to be done“Make in India” is a good initiative promoted by the government. We have a mission statement but a lot of initiatives need to be taken at the ground level before it can become a reality. For the  engineering industry to make a difference in the global market, we should strive towards becoming a global engineering hub, as we have resource of a young manpower that has the drive to achieve success, coupled with engineering skills and the ability to communicate in English. However, India needs a conducive environment for ‘Make in India’ to become a success in the next decade.
Allow single window clearanceMr Kundra suggests, “The most important aspect, I strongly believe, which should be the first priority of the government is “Making-It-Easy” to conduct business India. The regulatory framework should include a real single window clearance for a new factory to be set-up. We need labour law reforms to ensure that the draconian laws do not hamper the industry. We need simplified tax laws that the government is working to implement the GST, which should help eliminate the complex tax structure so that the business in India is not hampered. India requires a focused approach on providing basic infrastructure like power, drinking water, sewage lines and treatment plants, roads, airports and waterways, Internet connectivity.”
‘Perform consistently’ more significant than ‘Performing’“To ensure we make India a serious manufacturing hub, we must ‘perform consistently’.  Indians are good at performing but performing consistently is a more desirable trait. We need the resources and there are challenges against each one of them,” Mr Kundra opines.
Slew of reforms required for success of IndustryThere are several issues which should be addressed to ensure growth. The land acquisition should be more transparent and non-complex. The manpower should be “employable” by providing hands on training rather than theoretical education. There should be a strict curb on the theft of resources like electricity, water, sewage. There should be incentives to those who invest in high efficiency machines and equipment to reduce power consumption or conserve water and recycle sewage water. “Focus should be on saving the precious natural resources as they cannot be recreated,” Mr Kundra adds.
Develop infrastructure like the developed worldHe also adds, “There should be Infrastructure development to be done starting with roads, railways, waterways and airports. All this is to ensure smooth movement of goods and people from one location to another. Our industry in India is still not focused on investing in R&D, and without investment new technologies cannot be developed. I believe we will have to take two approaches.”
He suggests, “A more short-term option is to go for technology transfer from overseas partners but ensure that quality and systems are implemented so that ‘Make in India’ generates more jobs and ensures growth. In a long term option, we need to develop new technologies by investing in the right way in R&D. This is a long drawn way but success could be really long lasting. A country like Germany is a case in point.”
IT governance can reduce corruptionMr Kundra adds an important point. He says, “Our country is globally acknowledged as an IT hub. Why can’t we utilise this positives of IT to eliminate corruption, right to access of information, implementation of plans and other activities which can make us productive and give more jobs and in turn deliver a growth that is consistent. The banking sector, has undergone a sea change over the past years after utilising IT . We can replicate the same in our Infrastructure development, approvals of plans, and a plethora of activities. This will help us cut down red-tapism and corruption, which are the biggest bane of our society today.”Struggle and growth for Ziehl Abegg in the past seven years“We went through a standard routine of setting up a subsidiary in India in the year 2007 to 2008 with lots of pain and wasted time. We believed that the customers in India are looking for high efficiency and reliable fans and worked hard towards meeting those objectives with the available infrastructure and went through a lot of hassles and pains,” asserts Mr Kundra.
Over the past 7 years, ZIEHL-ABEGG invested time and efforts to educate and support a list of Indian customers who wanted to save precious energy.
Mr Kundra  also adds, “In the year 2013, we invested in setting up a German Standard Facility at Chakan, Pune to support erstwhile customers. I am proud to say that 2 years down the line, with all the challenges that every factory faces in India, we are here today with extended investments in machinery and human resources. We are happy to support our erstwhile customers locally from our  Indian Factory, thereby addressing the core subject of Make in India.”
Low ownership cost has been the trend in IndiaThere is a great amount of change observed at the customers end from the technology front. Mr Kundra says, “We are taking steps to enhance our presence in India wherein customers are helping us by selecting real high efficiency products which are selected based on the lowest ownership cost rather than the lowest first cost, which has been the historical trend in India.”