Industrial Automation & AI Must to Transform India into a $1 Trillion Manufacturing Economy by 2025: RAOTM

Industry leaders gathered at India’s largest industrial automation event ‘Rockwell Automation on the Move’ 2019 (RAOTM) conference emphasized on the need for a major shift towards Industry 4.0 technologies if India aims to triple its combined factory output in gross value added (GVA) terms to $1 trillion by 2025.

Noting that the ambitious target needs a concerted effort from across the industry, Rockwell Automation is taking the lead by further expanding its Partner Network in India to allow local manufacturers access to a collaborative network of companies mutually focused on developing, implementing and supporting best-in-class manufacturing solutions across industry verticals.

The announcement was made at Rockwell Automation’s RAOTM 2019 Annual User Group Conference in which industry partners and customers are invited to showcase and discuss latest digital transformation solutions and business opportunities. This year the conference hosted over 25 exhibits and 50 technology sessions.

Dilip Sawhney, Managing Director, Rockwell Automation India said, “We want to take the lead in building India’s first industry 4.0 ecosystem of partner companies that will create solutions for The Connected Enterprise that can analyze machine conditions in advance to avoid breakdowns and enhance productivity but also improve on quality and compliance parameters.”

Rockwell Automation has in the past partnered with L&T, Cisco, Microsoft, Endress+Hauser, and Wipro Infrastructure Engineering to develop smart manufacturing solutions in India.

John Watts, Regional Marketing Director, Asia Pacific at Rockwell Automation added, “Globally, digital-induced disruption is inevitable. To maintain and improve global competitiveness, Indian manufacturers need to accelerate the adoption of Industry 4.0. While India has a lot of catching up to do in this respect, it can accelerate digital transformation by leveraging its strengths in the IT services sector and tapping the entrepreneurial spirit seen in the start-up sector.”

Throughout the event, Rockwell Automation and its partner companies showcased new products and solutions support:

The Connected Enterprise: New analytics and digital solutions that can help transform data into understandable information, empowering users to confidently make more informed decisions – from the plant floor to the enterprise.

Data Analytics and Augmented Reality: How Rockwell Automation is expanding its portfolio and tapping into its partnership with PTC to help customers increase productivity and plant efficiency, reduce operational risk and provide better system interoperability.

Innovation: Customers will get an early look at how new technologies will change manufacturing and production, including artificial intelligence, augmented reality, wearables and other disruptive technologies.

Rockwell Automation is bringing RAOTM to 3 more cities this year –

Bangkok, Thailand (Mar 5)
Tianjin, China (May 15 & 16)
Jakarta, Indonesia (Apr 30)

NetApp India Wins Coveted CIO CHOICE 2019 Honour & Recognition in Enterprise Flash Storage

NetApp India, the data management leader in the hybrid cloud domain has been conferred the CIO CHOICE 2019 Honour and Recognition as the most preferred brand in Enterprise Flash Storage. This prestigious recognition was presented at the exclusive red-carpet night, a celebration of innovation and excellence in the ICT ecosystem, produced by CORE Media.

With over 300 ICT leaders in attendance, CIO CHOICE, held at The Lalit, Mumbai, had some of the country’s most high-profile CIOs taking to the stage to confer the recognitions and applaud the brands voted as the most trusted ICT partners. Now in its 7th year, the annual CIO CHOICE recognition focuses on ICT brands who showcase a continuous demand for excellence and form the bedrock of industry success. The recognition is bestowed on the basis of pan-India independent voting by CIOs.

CIO CHOICE is the largest online voting platform, where CIOs determine and choose the products that have earned their vote of confidence. When an ICT brand wins the CIO Choice recognition, it means that their product, service or solution has been endorsed by CIOs. There is a distinguished Advisory Panel, comprising of CIOs from across verticals, that guides the entire process, with KPMG as the Knowledge Partner.

Anoop Mathur, Founder and President, CORE Media, said, “Congratulations NetApp for being honoured with the CIO CHOICE 2019 trust seal. CIO CHOICE is the ultimate testimony as it is a poll done with CIOs pan-India and that’s what finally matters as far as any brand or product goes, as it is the Voice of the Customer. The CIO CHOICE trust seal gives the assurance to enterprise CIOs to confidently engage with the recognised brand for the first time, helping both—ICT brands and CIOs.”

“We are elated to be voted as the most preferred Enterprise Flash Storage Vendor. Being recognised by a highly qualified panel including imminent CIOs and other ICT decision-makers validates our vision and recognises our ability to offer superior support to customers as they modernise their IT architecture with cloud-connected flash. NetApp will continue to empower customers with the industry’s leading flash solutions, designed to scale from edge to core to cloud,” said Anil Valluri, President, NetApp India and SAARC.

Indian Businesses Better Prepared for Industry of Future: Deloitte

Businesses in India are making better progress than others in dealing with the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution on key aspects of society, strategy, technology and talent, a survey said Monday.

In its annual ‘Readiness Report’ released on the first day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in this Swiss ski resort town, global consultancy giant Deloitte said global leaders are facing the pressures of preparing their businesses and workforces for this new era, with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) re-shaping how the world lives and works.

However, Indian businesses are taking a proactive approach to training their workforces for the future and they have the most clearly defined decision-making process of all executives. The Indian executives also demonstrate the ability to generate profit from the purpose and they are most concerned about the ethical use of Industry 4.0 technologies, the Deloitte survey found.

The five-day WEF summit, being attended by over 3,000 global leaders including more than 100 from India, has the main theme of ‘Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution’.

According to the Deloitte report titled ‘Leadership in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Faces of progress’, certain geographies, especially businesses in India, have demonstrated the right aptitude for success in Industry 4.0.

Omega Healthcare, IIIT-Bangalore Sign MoU to Boost AI Research

Omega Healthcare Management Services has signed an MoU with International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B) to boost research in the field of Data Science, a field of AI.

The agreement will comprise of research programmes in AI and Data Science, aiming to focus on specific business-related processes along with expected outcomes.

Gopi Natarajan, co-founder and CEO, Omega Healthcare said, “The collaboration will augment our position as an active adopter of technology and solutions in the healthcare space.”

The Bengaluru-based company is also pursuing the UAE market actively. “We can make a huge difference if they outsource work to us because the market is still very nascent,” said Natarajan.

With seven delivery locations, 12 facilities and over 100 clients, the healthcare outsourcing company employs over 13,000 people (including 1,000 people in the Philippines), and it has been growing with a CAGR of 25%.

The company recently opened its new 250-seater centre in the Philippines.

Natarajan said the company will witness over 20% growth this year.

Skill India to Train 2.82 Lakh Farmers in Maharashtra: Center and State Govt Join Hands for the Initiative

In a bid to raise farmers’ income and enhance their skills in getting best yield for their fields, the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has committed support to Maharashtra State Skill Development Society’s (MSSDS) project to train farmers with small landholdings to create Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) in Maharashtra. The project, being implemented by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), under the Ministry’s flagship program, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana’s (PMKVY), initiates Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) of farmers in the state.

To be covered in a period of 16 months, the project will target to train about 2.82 lakh farmers in a newly created job role, termed as ‘Group Farming Practitioner’.  Under PMKVY’s RPL program, the farmers with prior practical knowledge and experience, will undergo a bridge course of 68 hours in the said job role. The orientation and assessment program will help farmers with small landholdings to improve their work skills and will benefit small scale farmers, young entrepreneurs and job seekers.  Targeting 3-5 select markets, the project also includes identifying and implementing unique interventions (such as supporting skill-development and self-employment of aspiring entrepreneurs, identification and reinforcement of key agricultural value chains, and facilitation of enhanced market access to the farmers), which will foster investments and enhance the existing ecosystem.

Commenting on the initiative, Rajesh Agrawal, Joint Secretary & CVO, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship said, “Our Ministry’s collaboration with the Maharashtra State Skill Development Society aims to fulfil the immediate need of creating Farmer Producer Organizations in Maharashtra. It is imperative that we bring convergence and coordination across all skill development initiatives ensuring common standards in training and development of our workforce. The intent of this Recognition of Prior Learning program is to increase performance potential of the farmers, thereby supporting their sustainable growth.  The program ensures high standards in training relevant for current market demand, increased efficiency and productivity, which will contribute to the growth of the most important sector of the country.”

Training in this select job role will nurture and strengthen FPOs by ensuring active participation and involvement of community members. This will be done through participatory agriculture management projects. The training will help farmers in effectively generating, allocating and using human, material and financial resources. It will also benefit those trained in attaining knowledge and skills on modern farming practices, teaching them in better yielding, output and demand for their produce.

In line with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision, the Government of Maharashtra has prioritized the Skill Development Mission and has set its target on training 45 million people with employable skills by 2022. The MSSDS RPL project is a significant step towards formal certification of the farmers that will help in increasing farmers’ income and achieve Government’s ambition of inclusive growth.

Simplilearn Launches Robotic Process Automation, A New Course Category

Professional digital-skills training company Simplilearn today announced the launch of a new course category - Robotic Process Automation (RPA). Revolutionizing businesses and quickly becoming one of the quintessential technologies changing the face of IT, RPA accelerates digital transformation, automating manual, repetitive tasks, giving back time to professionals to achieve their true potential. To help professionals stay relevant in the digital age, Simplilearn will be offering three courses ranging from foundation to practitioner levels: Introduction to Robotic Process Automation (RPA), the RPA using UiPath Training Course, and the Automation Anywhere Certified Advanced RPA Professional Training Course. 

Simplilearn has partnered with Automation Anywhere, the leader in RPA, to deliver the Automation Anywhere certification course. The partnership will provide access to official Automation Anywhere content with co-created real industry projects and certifications from the market leader.   

Commenting on the launch of the new course category, Simplilearn’s Chief Product Officer, Anand Narayan, said “We see a huge opportunity as RPA is changing the future of industries. There will be an increased need for professionals who have the skillset to design, build, manage and analyze how RPA fits into their business strategies. Through our association with Automation Anywhere, we aim to a step ahead in preparing the future IT workforce with relevant skillsets.”

As per the Grand View Research, the global market for RPA is expected to grow at a CAGR of 31.1 percent and the market size is projected to reach $3.11 billion by 2025. Industries such as BFSI, retail, telecom/IT, BPO, healthcare and manufacturing have seen an increase in adoption of RPA owing to the increase in efficiencies, time-sensitivity and automation of mundane tasks. Responding to this overwhelming requirement and assessing the skill gap currently prevalent, Simplilearn collaborated with Automation Anywhere to launch the advanced curriculum in Robotic process automation.

“As more organizations adopt RPA to automate business processes, it is important to build domain expertise using the latest technology,” said Arvind Thothadri, Vice President – Global Training and Certification, Automation Anywhere. “Automation Anywhere University transfers RPA knowledge and skills to professionals worldwide to help them thrive in this new workforce. We are happy to partner with Simplilearn to offer these valuable training courses to prepare the next generation of successful business leaders for the new era of global work.”

The course caters to the upskilling needs of IT Professionals between the mid-management (program/project managers) and the CXO levels, across development, business, operations and support roles, including solution architects, software developers, business analysts, RPA infrastructure administrators, customer support specialists, sales engineers and system administrators. After completing the course, the learner would be qualified as an Automation Anywhere certified RPA professional.

Course Descriptions:

Introduction to Robotic Process Automation (RPA): This course will put the professional on the fast track in advanced intelligent applications. The course will provide an overview of RPA concepts, the value-add it brings, and train the professional on real business use-cases of RPA.

RPA using UiPath Training course: Building the professional’s RPA expertise from the ground up using the advanced UiPath RPA platform, this course will prepare the professional for the RPA Developer Advanced Certification exam, recognized as a premium certification in this space. The professional will stand to gain real hands-on exposure to creating RPA bots, designing effective RPA solutions, and automating repeated processes within the organization.

Automation Anywhere certified advanced RPA professional training course: This course will build the professional’s ability to demonstrate a good understanding of RPA, Automation Anywhere, enterprise platform, its architecture, components and various features and functionality.  Also builds Knowledge in how to create bots using different types of recorders, skills to use various recorders, editors, and commands to build bots to automate simple processes and importantly to apply RPA knowledge in real-world scenarios.

Success or Health? Asks Aditya Birla Capital’s Latest Health Insurance Campaign

Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Limited (ABHICL), the health insurance arm of Aditya Birla Capital Limited (ABCL), has announced the launch of its latest TVC – Game of Choice – an advertising campaign that urges people to evaluate their health goals in their quest for success. This high-octane campaign has been launched across 45+ television channels and social media platforms.

The campaign POKES, PRODS and PROVOKES people to realize how they tend to neglect their health, when faced with a choice between their life goals and fitness. It also incentivizes healthier lifestyle choices with upto 30% of health insurance premium in the form of HealthReturnsTM, as long as they put their ‘Health’ first!

Speaking about the TVC launch, Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Capital said, “Would you rather choose health without success, or success without health? The answer isn’t that simple. Because when presented with this difficult choice, we realize that no amount of success is worthwhile without the good health needed to enjoy it. We do not want to choose one over the other and indeed, we shouldn’t have to. But we do take one for granted – our health. With this ‘Game of Choice’, we intend to provoke people into questioning their priorities and encourage them to choose health as a priority life goal, one that is equally important as their career aspirations.”

Agnello Dias, Chief Creative Officer – Taproot Dentsu said, “People are generally hazy about the link between their emotional health and physical health. Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Ltd’s ( ABHICL) campaigns in the past, and this one, aim to provoke hardworking professionals into asking uncomfortable questions to themselves. Answers to which, they know they have, but not too keen to confront and are therefore pushed far back into their minds. The stark, clinically real treatment chooses not to couch this reality in the delusional comfort of creative hyperbole."

Pallavi Chakravarti, Executive Creative Director – Taproot Dentsu added, “'Between being a star performer at work and being frequently or seriously ill, no one in their right mind would pick the latter. Yet, we find that in the race to choose success, health is often left behind. Trouble is, TELLING people this is preachy. But letting them DISCOVER it for themselves, is what Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Ltd. ( ABHICL) wanted this campaign to achieve, so that customers can use the brand to strike the right balance in their lives.”

In today’s fast-paced world, health generally tends to take a backseat, given hectic schedules and the luxury of having everything at our fingertips. With many of us finding it hard to make time for regular fitness activities, such unhealthy lifestyle and dietary choices can potentially lead to an increase in diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart ailments etc.

Creative Execution: Our TVC adopts a game show format wherein three hardworking professionals are pushed into an uncomfortable space, by getting them to choose between health and success. They find these choices extremely unfair but when pushed to choose one, all of them choose health over success. The film thus wants people to self-realize that if we want both health and success, why aren't we prioritizing our health at all.