India’s manufacturing sector is showing clear signs of positive change due to consistent efforts by the government and a policy framework. It’s a challenging task to develop the manufacturing sector despite the ongoing challenges related to resources, skilled manpower and infrastructure. Considering the governance, taxation and policy related issues of the past decades, there is a big transformation happening in the manufacturing sector. 

Now a big change is visible, the mood is upbeat and the government is taking proactive steps to bolster the manufacturing ecosystem. The ‘Make-in-India’ program is already making steady progress based on the roadmap drawn by the government for promoting the manufacturing sector. As a leading stakeholder in the video security product manufacturing in India, we are committed to realising the ‘Make-in-India’ vision in a successful manner. 

The ‘Make-in-India’ initiative was started with the vision of transforming India into a global manufacturing hub, including security and other sectors. There are some key ‘challenges and opportunities’ associated with this mission. 

The Indian security industry was largely dependent on imports over the years, but the scenario is changing now for the better due to various government initiatives.  With the help of the ‘Make-in-India’ program, the manufacturing sector has significantly reduced dependency by bolstering indigenous manufacturing capabilities. To overcome the dependence on imports, the security industry requires significant investment in domestic manufacturing capabilities. The new era of AIoT security is highly technology-intensive. Bridging the technological gap between domestic products and those of advanced countries is crucial.

The Indian security industry continues to face regulatory challenges. Complex regulations and bureaucratic processes can hinder the ease of doing business, affecting both domestic and foreign investments.

The Indian security industry needs to develop infrastructure to enable the smart manufacturing process. Developing the necessary infrastructure for advanced manufacturing and R&D is a significant challenge.

There is a huge demand gap for a skilled workforce in the security products manufacturing sector. While India has a large labour force, there is a need for more specialised training and skill development to meet the demands of high-tech manufacturing.

There are abundant opportunities available in the Indian security market for value-added security solutions.

Economic growth: Boosting domestic manufacturing can significantly contribute to economic growth and job creation.

Self-reliance: Enhancing self-reliance in defence production can improve national security and reduce dependency on foreign suppliers.

Innovation and R&D: Encouraging private sector participation and fostering innovation can lead to the development of cutting-edge technologies.

Global market: By improving manufacturing capabilities, India can become a major exporter of security equipment, tapping into the global security market.

Public-private partnerships: Collaboration between public sector units and private companies can create synergies and drive growth in the defence sector.

The ‘Make-in-India’ program presents a unique opportunity to strengthen India's security industry, but it requires addressing these challenges through strategic planning and policy support.

The ‘Make-in-India’ initiative has led to several positive outcomes across various sectors, including the security industry. The economic growth and development led by the ‘Make-in-India’ program was a game-changer in many ways. The initiative has generated millions of jobs, contributing to a reduction in unemployment and boosting the economy. Both domestic and foreign investments have surged, leading to the establishment of new manufacturing units and infrastructure development.

The ‘Make-in-India’ program led technological advancement initiatives through innovation and skill development. The focus on R&D has spurred innovation, leading to the development of new technologies and products. Training programs and skill development initiatives have enhanced the capabilities of the workforce, making them more adept at handling advanced manufacturing processes. This program resulted in self-reliance among the ecosystem partners and developed ancillary industries to foster growth.

By boosting domestic production, India has reduced its dependency on imports, particularly in critical sectors like defence and security. Increased self-reliance on security product manufacturing has strengthened national security by ensuring a steady supply of essential equipment.

The ‘Make-in-India’ program resulted in developing global competitiveness in the manufacturing sector.

Export growth: Indian manufacturers have become more competitive globally, leading to an increase in exports of high-quality products.

Brand India: The initiative has improved India's image as a manufacturing hub, attracting more global companies to set up operations in the country.

It has also led to significant infrastructure development in the industrial clusters across India. 

Modern facilities: Significant investments in infrastructure have led to the development of manufacturing facilities and industrial corridors.

Smart cities: The initiative has also contributed to the development of smart cities, enhancing the overall quality of life. These emerging smart cities are the future roadmap for the new Indian cities.

The ‘Make–in-India’ mission has thus played a crucial role in transforming India's economic landscape, fostering innovation, and enhancing self-reliance and global competitiveness. It has achieved the core objective of reviving India’s manufacturing sector. 

Recognising the security industry as an MSME sector can help to promote the cause of developing it. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) is the second-largest employment provider in India. Recognising the security industry as an MSME sector will definitely help to upscale and grow it further. Currently, there are around 56 million such enterprises across several industries, employing about 124 million people approximately. Owing to this reason, the MSME sector is known as the growth engine of the nation. Making MSMEs robust and sustainable would require several initiatives that will boost the economy, ecosystem and employment.

To strengthen MSMEs, there are three critical aspects that need to be taken care of: availability of skilled labour in and around MSME clusters, ensuring financial stability through adequate funding and enhancing the market competitiveness of their products to achieve both import substitution and exports. 

Following global security technology trends 

The security product-manufacturing sector has a much bigger role to play.  These segments can expand and grow through innovation. The key trends are showing a positive impact and improvement to help and support the cause of public safety and evolving security requirements. 

Intelligent video technologies: Powered by AI, security cameras, monitor densely populated locations to ensure employees follow vital safety precautions – including social distancing, mask wearing and flow control – and provides Touch-Free Access Control.

Multidimensional perception: Multi-dimensional perception capabilities will play a fundamental role in taking the video security industry to the next level, and we constantly see growing numbers of integrated security devices and systems with multiple sensors.

Visibility – any time, any condition: It’s vital to have cameras that can respond effectively to capture clear images, no matter what time of day or night or how bad the weather is. With thermal imaging, the rendered image is far less affected by even the most light-obscuring of these conditions.

5G technology for UHD and wireless video security: 5G technology may bring great changes to the security industry. 5G’s greater bandwidth and lower latency make the regular transmission of high quality images possible, and, with the widespread adoption of ultra-high-definition (UHD) cameras, could bring new opportunities for video security.

Convergence of multiple security systems: We operate in an industry where users expect comprehensive solutions. The concept of systems working seamlessly together has long been desired by the vast majority of security professionals. The benefits of converging multiple security systems – including video, access control, alarm, fire prevent and emergency management – into a unified platform are manifold, with efficiency and cost-effectiveness the most obvious. 

With an aim to provide impetus for the Skill India Mission, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is offering security technology training for India’s youth. This initiative is helping in promoting security sector specific skills and ecosystem development, which will further prepare India’s technical workforce for getting jobs or setting up their own business enterprises. These training initiatives are driving electronic security product manufacturing to a new phase of growth. We are consistently contributing to the cause of job creation and employment generation through manufacturing and allied activities across India.

The adoption of new technology-based solutions is expected to bring the much-needed transformation in the manufacturing sector, thus making the sector a bigger participant in the development of Indian economy. The priority should be given to becoming self-reliant by emphasising on local manufacturing, which will be the key to India’s survival, thus giving a major boost to the Indian manufacturing sector. The key transformative technologies, including AI (Artificial Intelligence), Machine Learning (ML), IoT (Internet of things), Machine Vision, Block Chain, Robotics, Cloud computing and Digital Twins, are going to be a game changer. The manufacturing industry needs to follow the industry 4.0 roadmap to stay relevant to the times and trends of the future.

The key priority is to keep on innovating and empowering the security product manufacturing ecosystem while navigating through the challenges and opportunities. The best way is to follow the ‘Make-in-India’ vision.  It is a perfect manufacturing roadmap for empowering the security product manufacturing sector. The market expectations are very high; there is intense pressure to deliver results despite increasing competition, economic uncertainty and upheaval. In other words, the security industry needs to take manufacturing to the next level.

Implementation of ‘Make-in-India’ in security product manufacturing can help the industry grow further to be at par with global standards. To fulfil the growing demand for a skilled workforce in security product manufacturing, various initiatives are needed to train the young workforce. Such steps taken in true spirit can massively benefit the MSMEs and their progress would translate into the progress of the whole economy. A successful and robust manufacturing industry ecosystem can spell economic success and development in the coming times, thus fulfilling the larger goal envisioned by ‘Make-in-India’ should be the way forward.

Quote: The key priority is to keep on innovating and empowering the security product manufacturing ecosystem while navigating through the challenges and opportunities.

Ashok Chandak is the President of IESA, India’s premier industry body for electronics and semiconductors. He has over three decades of semiconductor and electronics industry experience in sales, marketing, ecosystem development, company setup, mergers and acquisitions, start-up incubators, and academia, having worked for NXP/Philips, Infineon, and Motorola, and having served on the board of several start-up incubators. With post-graduate training in Electronics Engineering and Management from Babson College in Boston, Massachusetts, Chandak has led multi-country, cross-cultural, cross-functional teams across Asia and has been actively contributing to India’s electronics and semiconductor sector growth strategies and initiatives.