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ArunMaira|HowtoMakeinIndia
Indiamustcreatemanymillionsofmanufacturingjobsforthecountryseconomic,socialandpoliticalstability
Policymakersaroundtheworldindevelopedaswellasdeveloping
countries,whowanttoincreasejobopportunitiesinmanufacturing
foryoungpeople,areconcernedthatautomationinmanufacturing
(aswellasservices)willreducethenumberofjobs.Fearshave
increasedwiththeadventof3Dprintingtechnologywhichenables
completeproductstobeproducedbyasingle,automatedmachine.A
3Dprintercanmakealmostanythingitseemsacompletegarment
fromrawmaterial,oracomplexturbineblade,orevenapistolthat
canfirebullets.Nodoubt3Dprintingwillchangetheshapeof
manufacturingprocessesandfactories.Thefearisthattheroleof
humanbeings,andthenumberofjobs,inmanufacturingwillbe
furtherreducedwith3Dprintingtechnology.
Adoomsdayprojectionofaworldinwhicheverythingisdoneby
machinesandcomputersisunrealistic.Because,tocompletethe
Illustration:Jayachandran/Mint
picture,onemustalsoimaginewhathumanbeingswillbedoingin
suchaworld.Andconsiderhowtheywillearntopayforallthe
productsandservicesproducedforthembymachines.Acompletely
robotizedworld,inwhichmachineswillmakemachinestoo,willrequireveryfewpeople.Perhapstheonlypeoplewithincomeswillbethe
capitalistswhoownthemachines,theirfinancialmanagers,andtheirlawyerstosortoutpropertydisputesamongstthem!Inthisworld,
powerwillbeentirelywithownersofcapitalandmachinesanditisfearedtheywillkeepusingtheirpowertothrowhumanbeings(whocan
betroublesome)outoftheproductionsystem,replacingthemwithmoreobedientmachines.
Technologyisonlyoneforceshapingtheworld.Humanaspirationsand,propelledbyhumanaspirations,socialandpoliticalforcesshape
theworldtoo.Theseforceswillcreateinstitutionsandarrangementstoprotecthumaninterests,includingopportunitiesforworkandsources
ofincomeforpeople,longbeforemachines(andtheirowners)caneliminatethem.Nodoubttheshapeofproductionsystemswillchange
withtechnology.Butpeoplewillnotbeeliminated.Theywillperformnewtasksinenterpriseswhichwilltakenewforms.Technologywillbe
usedtoshapenewenterprises.
India,withitslargepopulationofyoungpeople,wantinggoodopportunitiesforworkandincomes,mustbeattheforefrontofthecreationof
newmodelsofmanufacturing.Indiaspolicymakersmustenvisagewhatshapesthesenewenterprisescanhaveandshouldenabletheir
formationtoaccelerategrowthofmoreopportunitiesforjobsandlivelihoods.Thenewmodelswillbefoundedonnewconceptsof
productionandmanagement.Whereasoldconcepts,difficulttochallengebecausetheyhavebeensuccessfulsofar,willpreventthenew
modelsfromemerging.
AnaccountofMahatmaGandhisvisittothemillsofManchesterhelpstoexplainthepowerofembeddedconcepts.Gandhiwantedtostudy
Indiascompetitionthefactorieswithspinningmachinesthatweremakinghismodelofthehanddrivencharkhaineveryhousehold
obsolete.Hewasimpressedwiththeproductivityofthemachineshesaw.Howeverhewasputoffbythenoisy,humid,factoryenvironment
withlinesofmachinesandworkerscrammedtogetherinonebuilding.Heaskedthemanagerwhyallthemachinesandworkershadtobe
putintoonebuilding?Whycouldtheynotbedispersedaroundinvillages,heasked?Themanagerponderedandrepliedthatsuch
machineswereoriginallypoweredbysteamwhichcannotbecarriedoverlongdistances,soallthemachineshadtobecrowdednearthe
boiler.Butnowtheyarebeingrunwithelectricitywhichcanbetransferredlongdistances,sowhyaretheystillcrammedinafactory?
Gandhiinquired.Thedesignofthefactoryhadpersistedeventhoughtechnologyhadchanged.
Themanagercouldhaveadded,ifhehadthoughtaboutit,thatanotherpurposeforcolocatingmanyoperationsandmanypeoplewithina
smallspaceistheneedforcoordinationofmanyoperationsandtheneedtocontrolthepeopleperformingthem.Howevernewtechnologies
forcomputationandcommunications,whichhadnotbeendevelopedwhenGandhiinspectedEnglandstextilemills,cannowenable
coordinationandcontrolofwidelydispersedoperations.Thoughtechnologiesarenowavailableforthis,mindsetsofmanagementhavenot
evolvedinlinewiththem.Verticalhierarchiesforcontrol,ratherthansystemsforcollaborativecoordination,continuetodominatedecision
makingstructures.
Consolidationthroughownershipcanmaketopdowncoordinationeasiernodoubt.Becauseitisclearwhothebossis.Itisalsoeasierfor
sometocapturemorefinancialvalueiftheyownalltheparts.Thesearethelogicsforlarge,capitalistenterprises.Butsuchmonolithic
enterpriseshaveundesirablesideeffectstoo.Theinertiathatcomeswiththeirsizemakesthemdifficulttoturnwhentheenvironment
changeswithnewtechnologies,newcustomerrequirements,andnewcompetition.Innovationwithinthemandentrepreneurshipis
dampenedwhentheinternalproducersofvaluebecomeemployeesofthemonolithratherthanownersoftheirpartsofalargeenterprise.
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Orientingpoliciestothefuture
TheoverarchinggoalofIndiaseconomicpoliciesmustbetoimprovethelivesofallIndiancitizens,andnotmerelytoincreasethegross
domesticproduct(GDP).Consonantwiththis,theaimofitsmanufacturingstrategymustbetoincreasejobsandopportunitiesforbetter
livelihoods,notjustincreasetheshareofmanufacturingoutputinoverallGDPwhichcouldverywellbeincreasedbylargeinvestmentsin
capitalintensivefactories.Theoverridingconcernofpolicymustbethesatisfactionofhumanbeingsratherthanthesatisfactionofcapital.
Humanisticvaluesmustdrivethedesignandgovernanceofmanufacturingenterprisestoo,wherethecreationoffinancialvaluefor
shareholdersmustnotoverridetheneedsofhumanbeingsinthem.
Newtechnologiesaredisruptingoldconceptsofmanufacturingandoldmodelsofenterprises.Theycanenablenewformsofmanufacturing
enterpriseswhosescaleisincreasedbytheaggregationofmanydispersedactivitiesratherthanthesizesoftheirfactories.Thebattleto
keeptechnologyouttopreservejobs,whichthehandloomslobbyhasbeenfighting,isthewrongwaytocreatesustainablelivelihoods.The
beliefthatgenerationofjobsinmanufacturingmustrequirelargefactoriessuchasFoxconnsinChina,whichemployhundredsof
thousandsofworkersononesite,andthatIndianpolicymakersshouldchangelabourhireandfirelawstoenablesuchfactoriestoform,is
alsowrong.Whilethehandloomfundamentalistsaretrappedindaybeforeyesterdaysworld,proponentsoflargelabourintensivefactories
arestuckinyesterdaysworld.Withunstoppablechangesintechnologies,Indiaspolicymakerswoulddowelltostimulatethegrowthof
tomorrowsnetworkedenterprisesandnotyesterdaysmonolithicfactories.
Twoformsoftechnologiesarecombiningtodisruptoldstylemanufacturingmonoliths.Oneisdigitaltechnologiesthatenablemultiple
operationstobedoneononemachineonasmallscale,suchasdesktoppublishingand3Dprintingofmaterialobjects.Theotheris
technologiesthatenableefficientconnectionofwidelydispersedsuppliersandcustomerswhicharecreatingnewdisruptivebusiness
models,suchasAmazon,eBay,andUber.Thecombinationsofthesetechnologiesareenablingformationsoflargenetworksofmany
smallenterprises.
Indiaspolicyagendamustcreatemanymillionsofjobsinmanufacturingforthecountryseconomic,socialandpoliticalstability.
Employmentmustbedispersedaroundthecountryinmanysmallerenterpriseswhoseformationandgrowthmustbeaprincipalobjectiveof
thepolicy.Theirconnectionintolargerclustersandnetworksmustbefacilitated,withwhichtheywillgetthebenefitsofascaledup
enterprise,withoutlosingtheirnimbleness,entrepreneurship,andinnovativeness.Thereforethethrustofpoliciesmustbetodrivethe
formationofmoreeffectivenetworks,clusters,andcooperativeenterprises.
Avisionofanetworkedanddynamicallychangingworldhasimplicationsforskillstoo,aspolicymakersinmanycountriesarerealizing.Ina
dynamicworldwherenewtechnologieswilldisruptoldformsofproduction,itisnotpossibletopredicthowmanyplumbers,machinistsand
carpenterswillberequiredsomeyearshence,andpreciselywhatskillstheywillneed.Assemblylinemethodsofskilldevelopmentto
ensurethatlargenumbersofemployablepeopleareproducedwillfail.Whenitisnotpossibletopredictwhatthecontentofthejobswillbe
fiveto10yearsinthefuture,skilldevelopmentsystemsshoulddevelopinyoungpeopletheorientationandtheabilitytolearnandprovide
themopportunitiestolearntherequisiteskillsintheenterpriseswherethejobsarebeingcreated,ratherthanalargesystemthatproduces
millionsofsharplybutnarrowlyskilledandcertifiedpersonswhomaynotbeemployableanymore.
Inadynamicworldinwhichcollaborativeenterpriseswillberequired,criticalvocationalskillsthatmustbepropagatedareskillsof
collaborationacrossdepartmentalandcorporatesilos.Aboveall,managersandsupervisorswillneedskillstoworkwithhumanbeings
withintheirenterprises.Inachangingworldtheonlyresourcewithinanenterprisewhosevaluecanincreaseovertimeisthehuman
resource.Thevaluesofmachines,andevenpatents,willreduceasnewtechnologiesaredeveloped.Whereashumanbeingscanlearnand
developnewcapabilitiesiftheyaremotivatedto,andareenabledtobythedesignofthework,training,andincentivesystemsintheir
organizations.Humanbeingsaretheonlyappreciatingassetsanyorganizationhas.Asmoreexotictechnologiesaredeveloped,suchas
3Dprinters,humanbeingswillremainattheheartofnewformsofsustainable,networkedmanufacturingsystems.
ArunMairaisaformermemberofthePlanningCommission.
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