Domestic manufacturing of electrical equipment will be boosted by technology and capital

Leading experts from the electrical equipment and lighting sector briefly discuss the perks of recent budgetary allocations, along with the implementing IoT and other digital technologies to enhance the performance efficiency of electrical equipment. 

Slug Smart cities are the future, and as a rapidly growing economy, India must also get on board the smart city bandwagon. India has the potential to innovate and use the latest technologies to advance its urban spaces into smart cities. In its effort to fast track this, the government has almost doubled its fund allocation to the Smart Cities Mission in Budget 2022.

Financial allocations for electrical equipment accessories

 Opining on the recent union budget Gautam Seth, Joint Managing Director, HPL Power and Electric Ltd., said, “The government’s interest in standardising domestic manufacturing of electronic smart metres, wearable devices, and hearable devices is a boon for India’s ambitions to become an electrical manufacturing powerhouse. This will allow for domestic production of high-growth electronic items. Looking towards the development of urban areas will enable the realisation of the country’s economic potential, including employment opportunities for the demographic dividend.” 

According to Anil Saboo, CMD, Elektrolytes Ltd., “The PLI on solar modules will benefit the electrical and power industries. The private sector will be encouraged to create sustainable and innovative business models for batteries and energy as a service and improve the efficiency of the EV ecosystem.” 

According to Kishan Jain, Director, Goldmedal Electricals Pvt. Ltd., “This is a much-needed boost from the government as it will encourage the growth of smarter, more efficient, and eco friendly urban spaces. Lighting is a key piece in the grand network system of any urban space. As the smart city mission takes off, the lighting sector, especially the smart lighting domain, should also grow and evolve.”

Improving efficiency and risk management with modern technologies 

Integration of renewable energy and optimisation of energy use are key enablers of sustainable energy transitions and mitigating climate change. Modern technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and digitalisation offer a wide number of applications in the energy sector for improving energy efficiency, increasing the share of renewable energy, and reducing the environmental impacts of energy use.

IoT is an emerging technology that uses the Internet and aims to provide connectivity as well as for small businesses. This increasing reliance on the Internet of Things represents a type of industrial revolution, with 80 percent of businesses currently using an IoT platform of one kind or another. 

On this note, Gautam highlights that implementation of the IoT can significantly help in the optimisation of production quality. Several costs can be saved by incorporating IoT devices into manufacturing machinery. “In 2021, we have announced the launch of smart meters with Narrow Band-Internet of Things (NBIoT) communications, a new technology that is both 4G and 5G compatible, providing a dedicated channel for smart metering and avoiding any failures caused by interference or obstruction on the public network”, he adds. 

By 2025, the number of connected IoT devices in the world will be 31 billion, up from 10 billion in 2019. Looking at the numbers, and its impact on industries, Anil believe that this surge of technology and digitalisation provide opportunities to expand their digital capabilities and also a chance to use IoT technology to better their operations and become more productive, protected, and profitable.

Discussing the same, Kishan adds digitalisation and IoT have only improved safety, accessibility, efficiency, and the overall output of energy systems. “This is true not only with respect to manufacturing but also at the policy-making and decision-making levels. These technologies have simplified and accelerated the required process to build large infrastructure in smart cities”, he adds.

Increased imports impacting the electrical accessories market 

There are two sides to this. On one hand, these imports are giving stiff competition to the budding domestic electrical equipment manufacturers. On the other hand, it makes international standard equipment and accessories easily accessible. 

Here, Gautam is concerned that increased imports of electrical equipment and accessories may impact the market players in a way that may be coupled with supply chain disruption. Also, this increase in import prices is likely to impact the constant demand for equipment in terms of an increase in their production costs.

“The country is already the world’s third-largest consumer of electricity and is adding capacity under the “Power for All” initiative”, says Anil. Moreover, sluggish growth in the power sector and the escalating imports of electrical equipment are significantly impacting the commercial viability of the domestic electrical equipment industry and its players and will have severe long-term consequences. He further adds that all three segments of the power sector—generation, transmission, and distribution—are facing several challenges which need to be addressed expeditiously.

Whereas, Kishan notes that the pandemic has been an eye-opener, which further enabled us to look at the impacts of import dependency on domestic markets. Moreover, according to him, this as an opportunity to encourage investments in local manufacturing to reduce imports of parts and equipments; as this will further support the Indian enterprise, as a part of Atmanirbhar Bharat

Regulatory support to boost domestic manufacturing of electrical equipment and accessories 

The government’s focus is to facilitate domestic manufacturing with the ambitious goal of 280 GW of installed solar capacity by 2030. A further allocation of ₹19,500 crores will be made for the Production Linked Incentive for the manufacture of high efficiency modules, with preference given to fully integrated manufacturing units from polysilicon to solar PV modules. “This will help the industry to increase localisation and domestic manufacturing of electrical equipment and accessories”, adds Gautam.

As part of the government’s ₹2.3 lakh crore policy push for a self-reliant India, the domestic electronics manufacturing industry is expected to see 30 percent growth in the next fiscal, making it worth nearly ₹7.6 lakh crore. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has given his approval to introduce the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Enhancing India’s Manufacturing Capabilities, Enhancing Exports, and Making India an Atmanirbhar Bharat.

In PLI, wherein under the USD 200 (about ₹15,000 Cr) segment is reserved for Indian companies, a slew of other support measures are also being planned. With this aspect, Anil is optimistic that this will not just increase the share and contribution of Indian companies in the market, but pave ways for us to emerge as global champions.  

Even Kishan is positive about this progress, because Government recognises the potential of the Indian manufacturing sector and has designed schemes to provide the necessary push for growth. The Make in India, Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and Production linked incentive (PLI) are key policies reshaping the LED manufacturing industry through investments in infrastructure, technology and aid. 

The PLI scheme, in particular, has presented opportunities for domestic electrical manufacturing to expand their abilities and make quality products easily accessible locally. Furthermore, the recent hike in the import duties on certain electronic goods, parts, and components will definitely force companies to look for easily accessible local alternatives.

Emergence of advanced electrical and lighting systems in the near future  

India is committed to having installed renewable energy (RE) generation capacity of 500 GW by 2030 and has promised to meet 50 percent of its energy requirements from RE sources by 2030.

To make the best use of power, equipment that can use both conventional and renewable energy will be required. Looking at the growth and increasing popularity of green technologies and smart lighting systems, Anil projects that the electronics and IoT-based equipment will be developed for the integration of green energy with conventional energy in the existing grid.

Gautam, on the other side, briefs us on HPL’s LED product and offerings in various smart cities, including LED spotlights, LED lamps with high quality diffusers for glare-free distribution, LED panels, etc. with advanced illumination technology. “We will keep on working on the growth of our products and are looking forward to more advance lighting systems in the coming years”, Gautam adds.

Concluding the discussion, Kishan positively looks forward for a future that is completely automated, smart sensor-enabled lighting system that delivers more than just remote control.

Closing note 

Global energy needs are at an all-time high and they are only going to rise. Exploring and adopting green, clean, and smart alternatives is the need of the hour. Recently, there have been many developments in lighting technology. The use of IoT and automation technology in lighting solutions has picked up the pace. Smart lights are likely to evolve and be more intelligent and accessible with features like mood settings, colour, temperature and dimming control, etc. With the boost to solar energy from the government this year, we can expect solar-powered lighting systems to become more common, especially in public spaces.