India has the potential to lead fourth Industrial Revolution; PM Modi

Tags: National Economy/Finance Summits

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India has the potential to lead the 4th Industrial revolution and the government is working to make the country a manufacturing hub. 

The message of the Prime Minister was read out at the “Conference on Industry 4.0: Challenges Ahead and Way Forward”, held at Kevadia, Gujarat on 7 October 2022.

The Conference was organised by the Union Ministry of Heavy Industry and was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Heavy Industries Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey.

On the occasion, Union Minister for Heavy Industries Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey and Minister of State for Heavy Industries Krishan Pal Gurjar flagged off 175 e buses, 75 from Gujarat and 100 from Karnataka under FAME Scheme

He also inaugurated a Centre for Industry 4.0 (C4i4) Lab in Pune.

In 2019, Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II (FAME India Phase II)' for promotion of Electric Mobility in the country was approved. Through the scheme, it is planned to support 10 Lakhs e-two wheelers, 5 lakh e-3 wheelers, 55,000 4-wheelers and 7,000 e-buses.

Fourth Industrial Revolution 

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is a term coined in 2016 by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.  

Incorporating advanced digital production (ADP) technologies into industrial production processes has given rise to the concept of Industry 4.0, also known as the Smart Factory.

In the 4IR, computers are connected and communicate with one another to ultimately make decisions without human involvement. 

A combination of cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things and the Internet of Systems make Industry 4.0 possible and the smart factory a reality. 

Ultimately, it's the network of these machines that are digitally connected with one another and create and share information that results in the true power of Industry 4.0.

Industrial Revolutions

Industrial revolution refers to the change in human history from an agrarian society/economy to an economy/society dominated by Industry and machine manufacturing.

The First Industrial revolution started in England in about 1750-60. It was based on the use of machines for production which were driven by water and steam.

The second Industrial revolution which started in the late 19th century and early 20th century was characterized by the mass production of goods through assembly lines using electricity.

The third Industrial revolution was triggered by the use of computers which led to automation in production systems and development of smart and autonomous systems fueled by data and machine learning.