Mr Dilip Sawhney
Chairman, CII National Committee on Smart Manufacturing; Managing Director
Rockwell Automation India Pvt. Ltd.
Summit FlagshipConcludedIn-Person
10th CII Smart Manufacturing Summit 2025
Frontier Technologies: Driving Competitiveness and Powering Growth
15 Dec 2025New Delhi9:30 am – 4:00 pmManufacturing and MSME
Summit overview
Frontier Technologies: Driving Competitiveness and Powering Growth
As manufacturing becomes increasingly technology-driven, the National Manufacturing Mission provides an important opportunity to accelerate India’s transition to advanced manufacturing. Built on five pillars—ease of doing business, a future-ready workforce, a vibrant MSME sector, availability of technology and quality products—the mission places smart and advanced manufacturing at the centre of India’s industrial growth strategy.
The Confederation of Indian Industry organised the 10th edition of the CII Smart Manufacturing Summit 2025 on 15 December 2025 in New Delhi. The Summit brought together industry leaders, policymakers, technology providers and domain experts to deliberate on strategies, opportunities, case studies and best practices for positioning advanced manufacturing as a strategic priority for India.
Discussions examined how artificial intelligence, digital twins, robotics and automation can improve procurement, product design, production, quality, supply chains and customer experience. Particular attention was given to predictive maintenance, production optimisation, real-time simulation, augmented reality, resource efficiency and resilient manufacturing operations.
The Summit also explored the servicification of manufacturing, through which manufacturers combine products with value-added services and integrated solutions. This transition can strengthen India’s participation in global value chains, improve customer-centricity and enable resilient, high-value business models.
India’s competitiveness will depend on how effectively MSME clusters transition to advanced and digitally driven production models. India’s strong information technology capabilities provide a natural advantage as manufacturing increasingly incorporates software, data and service layers.
Building a future-ready workforce was identified as essential for this transition. Discussions highlighted the need for advanced skills in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and smart manufacturing.The PM SETU scheme and its industry-led Hub-and-Spoke model, upgraded ITI clusters, Centres of Excellence, expanded apprenticeships, district-level planning and AI-driven skill mapping were highlighted as important enablers.
Key insights
Summit Insights and Takeaways
Edition
10th
Content sessions
6
Industry speakers
28
Primary focus
Advanced manufacturing
Clusters covered
Advanced manufacturing for Viksit BharatArtificial intelligence in manufacturingServicification of manufacturingFuture-ready workforce and skillingMSME digital transformationSmart manufacturing use cases
Main Takeaways
- The National Manufacturing Mission can accelerate India's transition to advanced manufacturing through technology adoption, workforce development, MSME competitiveness, quality mprovement and ease of doing business.
- Artificial intelligence, digital twins, robotics and automation can improve productivity, quality, resilience, resource efficiency and supply-chain performance.
- Indian manufacturers must transition from labour-led production models to technology-enabled smart factories to compete on speed, quality and cost.
- AI can support predictive maintenance, production optimisation, quality control, personalised products, resource efficiency and supply-chain resilience.
- Servicification can help manufacturers evolve from product suppliers into providers of integrated, customer-focused solutions.
- A future-ready workforce requires industry-led skilling, upgraded training infrastructure, apprenticeships and competencies in AI, cybersecurity and smart manufacturing.
- MSMEs require practical technologies, proven use cases and measurable returns on investment to accelerate digital transformation.
- India's information technology capabilities provide a natural advantage as software, data and service layers become integral to manufacturing.
Programme
Summit Agenda
- 09:30–10:30· RegistrationRegistration
- 10:30–11:15· Inaugural SessionFrontier Technologies: Driving Competitiveness and Powering Growth
- 11:15–11:45· Spotlight SessionAdvanced Manufacturing for Viksit Bharat
- 11:45–12:30· Panel DiscussionAccelerating AI in Manufacturing
- 12:30–13:15· Panel DiscussionDriving Servicification of Manufacturing
- 13:15–14:00· NetworkingNetworking Lunch
- 14:00–14:45· Panel DiscussionDevelopment of a Future-Ready Skilling Ecosystem
- 14:45–16:00· Use CasesAdoption of Smart Manufacturing: Potential Use Cases
- 16:00 onwards· NetworkingEnd of the Summit and Networking Tea
Industry leaders
Summit Speakers
Mr Ravi Raghavan
Co-Chairman, CII National Committee on Capital Goods and Engineering; Managing Director and CEO
Bharat Fritz Werner Ltd.
Mr C V Raman
Member of Executive Committee and Former Chief Technology Officer
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.
Mr Tejpreet Singh Chopra
Chief Executive Officer
Bharat Light & Power Ltd.
Ms Debashree Mukherjee
Secretary
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India
Mr Neeraj Huddar
Resident Fellow and Lead Architect, NITI Frontier Tech Hub
NITI Aayog
Mr Vikrant Deoras
Chief Digital and Information Officer
Tata Chemicals Ltd.
Mr Chandrasekhar Bharathi
Managing Director
AceMicromatic Group
Mr Chandra Sekhar Davuluri
Chief Digital and Technology Officer
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd.
Prof Sunil Jha
Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department
IIT Delhi
Mr Sudipta Ghosh
Partner
PwC India
Mr Sandeep Chittora
Associate Partner
KPMG
Mr Sunil Khurana
Chief Operating Officer
JCB India Ltd.
Mr Nilajit Ghosh
Principal, Digital Consulting
Rockwell Automation India Pvt. Ltd.
Mr Dhiraj Singh
Global Head for Embedded Software Development and Connected Products
HCLTech
Mr Aman Atreja
Assistant General Manager
FANUC India Pvt. Ltd.
Mr Rupark Sarswat
Chief Executive Officer
India Glycols Ltd.
Mr Vishnu Sharma
Deputy General Manager, Corporate Affairs
National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation, DPIIT
Mr Sanjeev Sehgal
Founder and Managing Director
Sparsh Security Ltd.
Mr Rajeev Gera
Group President and Chief Marketing Officer; Executive Board Member
ANAND Group
Mr Pradeep Mittal
Chief Executive Officer
Lohiya Group
Mr Girish Parundekar
Vice President, Manufacturing
Blue Star Ltd.
Mr Abhijit Tambat
Head of Vertical Sales, Chemicals, Lifesciences, Water and Waste
Siemens India Ltd.
Mr Vikram Gandotra
President, IEEMA; Director, Industry and Policy
Siemens India Ltd.
Mr Nishanth Neerabidre
Deputy General Manager and Head, Production Engineering and Smart Manufacturing
L&T Heavy Engineering Ltd.
Mr Rahul Raje
Segment Manager, Robotic Solutions
Fronius India Pvt. Ltd.
Mr Akash Singh
Director
Akash Pack Tech
Mr Naresh Kantoor
Managing Director
Encon Systems
Summit tracks
Strategic Discussion Tracks
Advanced Manufacturing
Advanced manufacturing for Viksit Bharat
Artificial Intelligence
Accelerating artificial intelligence adoption in manufacturing
Digital Transformation
Digital twins, robotics, automation and smart factories
Servicification
Transitioning from products to integrated solutions and services
Skills
Developing a future-ready manufacturing workforce
MSME Transformation
Practical smart manufacturing use cases with measurable returns
Why it matters
Strategic Outcomes
- Accelerate India's transition from conventional production to advanced, technology-driven manufacturing.
- Strengthen MSME competitiveness through accessible technologies, practical implementation strategies and measurable returns on investment.
- Apply artificial intelligence to predictive maintenance, production optimisation, quality control, resource efficiency and supply-chain resilience.
- Use digital twins, real-time simulation and augmented reality across procurement, design, production and supply chains.
- Develop service-led manufacturing models that combine products with integrated, value-added solutions.
- Build workforce capabilities in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, automation and smart manufacturing.
- Strengthen collaboration among government, industry, educational institutions and technology providers.
- Support the National Manufacturing Mission and India's vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
Gallery
Photo Gallery
