Bengaluru

Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA), the apex body for machine tool industry in India, has appointed Jibak Dasgupta as Director General & CEO. Dasgupta is a seasoned professional in knowledge ecosystem building, formulation of industrial policy, promotion of R&D and technology, and development of industrial capacity in manufacturing, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Earlier, he headed CII Naoroji Godrej Centre of Manufacturing Excellence, Mumbai, CII’s Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Department, Delhi and CII Maharashtra State Office, Mumbai.

Dasgupta’s work has enabled to successfully establish an enterprise innovation maturity framework to implement structured innovation processes within firms. This framework has been key to the establishment of CII Industrial Innovation Awards which annually recognises top innovation driven Indian enterprises in manufacturing and services domain.

From 2011 to 2017, Dasgupta was associated with Global Innovation Index (GII), co-authoring various chapters in GII reports which were published by WIPO, INSEAD, and Cornell University. He also worked closely with the Planning Commission (NITI Aayog) for their innovation cluster development program under the aegis of National Innovation Council.

Dasgupta has been an active member of various public and private policy advocacy groups like National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), Ministry of Culture for creating innovation hubs across India, Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) under Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), National Science Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) to review Technology Business Incubators (TBIs), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Capacity Building, Department of Science and Technology (DST) committee on R&D and Innovation Indicators in National S&T System and Policy Implications, DST National Panel for the formulation of the Technology–led Innovation Policy (2017-2018), Governing Council of Indian National Academy of Engineers (INAE) (2016-2018), Member of the Maharashtra State Innovation Society (MSInS), and member of the Hub Governing Body (HGB) of Technology Innovation Hub at IIT Bombay.

Speaking about Jibak’s appointment, Ravi Raghavan, President, IMTMA, said, “Given India’s efforts for moving towards a $ 5 trillion economy, the machine tool industry will play a key role in contributing to the growth of manufacturing industry. IMTMA is working closely with manufacturing industries throughout the world to meet rising challenges, especially in policy, technology, and capital. Jibak’s deep understanding of the industry will be crucial in driving IMTMA to achieve its goals.”

Echoing similar thoughts, Jibak Dasgupta said, “I am elated to have joined a vision-oriented association and keenly look forward to providing a strategic direction to IMTMA and support the Indian machine tool industry capitalize on market opportunities.”

An instrumentation engineer, Dasgupta holds a Master’s degree in Management and Economics of Innovation from Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.