Speech by CG during the Opening Ceremony of the State of Art facility of Ace Micromatic - Shanghai

[24.10.2018 at 0900 hrs] 

Namaskar, Zaoshang Hao, Good Morning!!

Distinguished Guests, 

Mr. Li Wei – Vice General Manager Wai Gao Qiao Group

Mr.P.Ramadass- President IMTMA (Indian Machine Tools Manufactures Association)

Mr. Shrinivas G. Shrigurkar– Chairman of Micromatic Machines and MD of Ace Designers

Mr. Han Yuanzhi – General Manager ITOC

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 I am extremely happy to be among you at the inaugural event of the state of the art “Technology & Centre of Experience” of Ace Micromatic Group Company in Shanghai. This event reflects the success story of Ace Micromatic in China and confidence of Indian industries in the Chinese growth story.

2. Micromatic Machine Tools, Shanghai belongs to Ace Micromatic Group Company which is a highly respected and the largest machine tool group in India and ranks among top 50 machine tool companies globally. This group has distinction of being a trend setter in CNC machine tool manufacturing which supports industries like automotive, energy, health, defence, fluid handling, aerospace; among others. I am happy to note that the objective of the new state of art “Technology & Centre of Experience” is to display and demonstrate the wide range of products and innovations, new designs so as to enable the Chinese customers to choose right products for their industry.

3. Most of you are industry experts and businessmen who have spent large part of career in this field and possess in-depth knowledge of the industry and business. Therefore, I would be more interested to learn from you on this subject and would restrict my views on general issues.

4. As you all know, India and China are two great civilizations of the world, and share millennia-old relationship. Today, we together, represent more than one-third of the Global population. Also, the two countries are the fastest growing economies of the world and engines of global economic growth. While India is known all over the world for its software prowess and IT industry, China is famous as the manufacturing hub, the factory of the world and now emerging as center for excellence in the field of renewable energy, financial technology, and Research. A partnership based on the spirit of mutual cooperation and reciprocity between India and China is the need of the hour.

5. The Government of India, under visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has undertaken major reforms to sustain the momentum of rapid economic growth and has launched flagship programmes like 'Make in India' and 'Start Up India', among others, with an aim to boost the manufacturing sector of Indian economy, double farmers income by 2022, increase the purchasing power of an average Indian consumer, which would further boost demand, and hence spur development, in addition to benefiting investors. Machine tools form an important component of “Make in India” strategy and as a result; this sector has witnessed over 26% growth in last year and has registered an annual exports growth of over 22%. Special Machine Tool Parks for promotion of machine tooling has come piloted at Tumkur in Karnataka.

 6. Since Chinese companies have enormous experience and expertise in manufacturing sector, Make in India initiative presents a great opportunity to explore the possibility of economic engagement and invest in India.

7. Chinese companies can take advantage of favourable policy regime, relatively lower wages, special investment privileges such as tax exemptions, and robust business environment. In recent years FDI norms in India has been substantially relaxed across the sectors. Due to the concerted efforts made over a period of last 4 years, India has now emerged as one of the most open economies in the world for receiving foreign direct investments (FDI).

8. India has emerged as the fastest growing major economy in the world and is expected to be one of the top three economic powers of the world over the next 10-15 years, backed by its strong governance and partnerships. India’s GDP is expected to grow @ 7.5 per cent in 2018-19. In April-July quarter of 2018-19, the GDP grew by 8.2 %. India has retained its position as the third largest startup base in the world with over 4,750 technology startups, with about 1,400 new start-ups being founded in 2016.

9. India is expected to have 100,000 startups by 2025, which will create employment for 3.25 million people and US$ 500 billion in value. The World Bank has stated that private investments in India is expected to grow by 8.8 per cent in FY 2018-19 to overtake private consumption growth of 7.4 per cent, and thereby drive the growth in India's gross domestic product (GDP) in FY 2018-19.

10. India's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to reach US$ 6 trillion by FY27 and achieve upper-middle income status on the back of digitisation, globalisation, favorable demographics, and reforms. India's revenue receipts are estimated to touch Rs 28-30 trillion (US$ 385-412 billion) by 2019, owing to Government of India's measures to strengthen infrastructure and reforms like Goods and Services Tax (GST).

11. India is also focusing on renewable sources to generate energy. It is planning to achieve 40 per cent of its energy from non-fossil resources by 2030 which is currently 30 per cent and also have plans to increase its renewable energy capacity from to 175 GW by 2022.

12. India is expected to be the third largest consumer economy as its consumption may triple to US$ 4 trillion by 2025.

13. Organised manufacturing is the biggest private sector employer in India. Overall, more than 30 million people are employed by the sector (organised and unorganised) and will become the engine of growth as it tries to incorporate the huge available workforce in India most of which is semi-skilled. Large international industrial producers such as Cummins and Abbott already have manufacturing bases in the country.

14. India’s manufacturing industry is already moving in the direction of industry 4.0 where everything will be connected and every data point will be analysed. Indian companies are at the forefront of R&D and have already become global leaders in areas such as pharmaceuticals and textiles. Industry is adopting to new trends like IE 4.0, automation through application of robotics, Artificial Intelligence, deep machine learning etc.

15. Necessary support infrastructure is being developed with areas such as power being the prime focus. Government incentives like free land to set up base and 24*7 power supply are making India competitive on a global scale.

16. In the fast improving business environment large numbers of investors are looking towards India. In such a situation, would you be interested to grab this opportunity before the competitors get there first or you would like to wait & watch and then follow the trail!! You have to take a decision.

17. If you are looking for diversification of your product range, balancing your market risks, repeating the model of supply-chain ecosystem of China; India offers best opportunities for replicating such success.

18. Experts feel that companies that do not have strategy for market share; they carry risk of becoming irrelevant. I am sure that you would not like to fall under that category and certainly look for commanding reasonable market where so ever you start your business in India. We have strong competition law which encourages, promotes and supports competition through strong legal support.

19. If you believe in value of your brand, want to command influence and significance of your business and looking for mid to long term returns, then there is no better market than India. You have to take a call now…!!

20. India looks for cooperation and investments from China with the spirit of mutual gains. The investment from China is most welcome and will get rule based fair and equitable treatment in India. Meanwhile, it is useful to mention that Indian Industries also expects similar treatment, based on the principles of reciprocity, equal treatment, protection against discrimination and prejudices from state and non-state actors.

21. I would also like to take this opportunity to inform you about the e-Visa facility is available for the Chinese national, wherein you can apply for visa sitting at home and get it within 72 hours of application. In addition, if there is any assistance or support needed from us, we are just a call or email away from you. We will try to provide all kinds of support and assistance needed by you.

22. I wish great success to Ace Micromatic Group Company in Shanghai and request the local government of Shanghai, its business partners for continued encouragement and support.

Thank you!