PM-STIAC Discusses National Mission on Advanced Manufacturing Systems

In his opening remarks, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood highlighted that manufacturing remains a core driver of economic growth, industrial competitiveness and strategic autonomy.

The 29th meeting of the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) was held on 10 March 2026 at Kartavya Bhawan-3 in New Delhi, chaired by Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, to deliberate on strengthening India’s advanced manufacturing systems ecosystem.

The meeting brought together leading policymakers, scientists, industry leaders and academicians to discuss strategies for boosting domestic capabilities in Industry 4.0 technologies and high-precision manufacturing systems.

High-Level Participation

PM-STIAC members present at the meeting included Dr. A.S. Kiran Kumar (former ISRO Chairman), Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Madhuri Kanitkar, Prof. Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Prof. Subhash Kak, Baba Kalyani (Chairman, Bharat Forge) and Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Member (Science & Technology), NITI Aayog.

Senior government officials and scientific leaders also participated, including:

• S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT

• Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology

• Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, Director General, CSIR

• Dr. Ajit Mohanty, Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy

• Samir V. Kamat, Chairman, DRDO

• Dr. V. Narayanan, Secretary, Department of Space

• Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, CEO, ANRF

• Industry leaders and representatives from manufacturing technology institutions.

Advanced Manufacturing Key to Economic Growth

In his opening remarks, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood highlighted that manufacturing remains a core driver of economic growth, industrial competitiveness and strategic autonomy.

He stressed that advanced manufacturing technologies such as:

• High-precision machine tools

• CNC control systems

• Robotics and automation

• Additive manufacturing

• Testing and metrology infrastructure

form the backbone of modern industrial production and Industry 4.0 systems.

Strengthening domestic capabilities in these areas, he noted, is essential for reducing technological dependence and improving India’s global competitiveness.

Concerns Over Import Dependence

Dr. V.K. Saraswat pointed out that India’s adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies—including connected machines, robotics and digital engineering platforms—has been slower than required.

He emphasised that the country still depends heavily on imported platforms, equipment and software tools, and called for stronger industry-academia collaboration to develop indigenous manufacturing technologies.

Strategic National Intervention Proposed

Vijay Mittal, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Heavy Industries, highlighted the strategic importance of the machine tools sector, which supports multiple manufacturing industries and contributes significantly to GDP.

He noted that while earlier initiatives under Capital Goods Schemes have made progress, there is now a need for a large-scale national programme on advanced manufacturing systems.

The ministry expressed readiness to work with institutions such as the Central Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI) and industry partners to develop a comprehensive scheme with inter-ministerial support.

Need for Indigenous Manufacturing Technologies

A detailed presentation by Dr. Nagahanumaiah, Director of CMTI Bengaluru, highlighted India’s continued import dependence in critical machine tool subsystems, robotics components, and additive manufacturing technologies.

The presentation proposed a mission-oriented programme aimed at:

• Localising critical manufacturing technologies

• Expanding robotics adoption

• Increasing domestic value addition

• Building testing, validation and certification infrastructure.

Key Technology Areas Discussed

Three thematic sessions explored priority technology areas:

CNC Machine Tools and Metrology:Presented by experts from IIT Madras and Pragati Automation, focusing on high-precision machines, control systems and testing frameworks.

Industrial Robotics and Automation:Presented by IISc Bengaluru and Omron Automation India, highlighting the need for robotics adoption across manufacturing sectors.

Advanced Additive Manufacturing:Presented by experts from IIT Bombay and ISRO’s VSSC, covering developments in 3D and 4D printing technologies.

The discussions emphasised the need for strong translational research, industry partnerships, and specialised skill development to accelerate commercial deployment of advanced manufacturing technologies in India.

Proposal for National Infrastructure and Capability Database

Participants highlighted the importance of creating shared national infrastructure for testing, validation and certification, along with standards frameworks and policy support.

They also proposed developing a national database or digital portal to map manufacturing capabilities, technologies, facilities and expertise across institutions and industries.

Towards a National Mission on Advanced Manufacturing

Summarising the meeting, Dr. Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary in the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, noted that there is strong national consensus on the need to move from prototype-level innovation to large-scale commercial deployment.

In his concluding remarks, Prof. Sood said India already has significant capabilities across research institutions, industry and strategic sectors, but these remain fragmented and insufficiently integrated.

He suggested consolidating these strengths into a coherent national mission on Advanced Manufacturing Systems, to be led by the Ministry of Heavy Industries with participation from multiple ministries and research institutions.

Stakeholders were asked to prepare a practical action plan within the next three months, outlining the mission’s scope, priorities, institutional structure and funding requirements.