Various research reports for the Test & Measurement Equipment market in India and globally indicate positive trends.

Tests and measurements start at birth, literally. A jingle on the All India Radio in the 1960s, congratulating a new mother on the baby’s weight 3 kilogram (it shunned the use of pound unit), made innovative use of this simple fact to educate the masses about the relevance of the Weights and Measures Department, which is engaged in regulating use of correct weighing and measuring instruments in production, trade and commerce to ensure that exact weight, measure and number of any commodity is provided to any customer as contracted for, or paid for by him. India had enacted the first act, viz., Standards of W&M Act 1956, based on metric system and international system of units recognised by OIML – International Organisation of Legal Metrology.

While the early measuring devices were mechanical like the spring balance still used by scrap dealers and the weighing scales in grocery shops, today the very concept of test and measuring instruments has changed with the low cost and hence popular electronic scales and balances. Similarly in measuring electrical parameters, moving coil/iron instruments, though still in use, are being replaced gradually by electronic digital devices.

Test and measurement (T&M) equipment are devices used for testing and measuring various electronic and mechanical products throughout their lifecycle. These devices are used in the initial design, development, verification, maintenance, and repair of various electronic and mechanical products. Test and measurement equipment are used for testing and measuring across all industries right from the raw materials received with basic measurements right up to the finished products despatched after mandatory tests in quality control departments. Without metering devices, the utilities would simply not function, movement of goods across the country would come to a halt at various state borders and it would be chaos all over. Test and measurement equipment are also used for testing and measuring in electronic devices such as cellphones, digital cameras, MP3 players, and solar inverters and ensure communication networks work smoothly 24 x 7 x 365. Or simply consider the cockpit of a commercial airliner with its plethora of instruments.

According to a report by Research and Markets, a leading global market research store, the Test and Measurement Equipment market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.24 per cent over the period 2015-2019. The report – Test and Measurement (T&M) Equipment Market in India 2015-2019 – released in February 2016 says that leading companies like Agilent Technologies, Anritsu, JDS Uniphase, Rohde & Schwarz and Spirent Communications dominate the field

One key trend in the market is the need for compatibility of test equipment. The need for compatibility of test equipment is the main focus of T&M equipment vendors when developing new products. The continuously evolving technology has made the product lifecycle of T&M equipment short, thereby requiring new T&M equipment to test new technology. This has created a need for T&M vendors to develop new equipment capable of testing new technologies and also compatible with old technologies.

According to the report, one of the main drivers in this market is the increase in R&D investment. Advantages such as high growth potential and relatively low manufacturing costs help to bring more technological innovations through continuous R&D.

Further, the report states that one of the key challenges that the market faces is price sensitivity of consumers buying T&M equipment. Customers in the market are very price conscious and tend to purchase low-priced T&M equipment at the expense of quality and added features.

Another report, this one by Frost & Sullivan released in early October 2016 – Global Electronic Test and Measurement Market Outlook in Manufacturing, Forecast to 2020 – cost-effective solutions in mm-wave frequencies for mass production would unlock new growth potential. The electronic test and measurement in manufacturing applications reached USD 1,531.6 million in 2015. Today, not one test product can address all the new Internet of Things (IoT) product design manufacturing requirements. There is a need to look beyond traditional performance indicators with a new testing approach for manufacturing. As one moves towards 2020, one of the most challenging areas for T&M is to enable the cost-effective testing of bandwidth-rich mm-wave frequencies for mass production. Whether it is for 5G small cells, wireless high definition streaming, or advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), test solutions need to be easy to use and economical. Today, there is not a single test vendor that has an effective and fast solution for a manufacturing test for 802.11ad standard. Manufacturing testing of WiGig is ongoing but not effective. 802.11ad is a fairly new wireless communications standard that allows data rates of up to 7 Gbps in the unlicensed 60 GHz (57 GHz to 66 GHz) band, avoiding the overcrowded 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Leading T&M companies are working with the chipset vendors to develop the first effective solutions for manufacturing.

Yet another report, ‘Process Automation and Instrumentation Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2016-2020’ released recently provides granular analysis of the market share, segmentation, revenue forecasts and geographic regions of the market. The report – a professional and in-depth study on the current state of process automation and instrumentation industry – focuses on the major drivers and restraints for the key players.

Process automation and instrumentation help companies to optimise business outcomes by effectively controlling production processes. Automation solutions such as DCS, PLC, SCADA, and MES enable effective controlling and monitoring of production processes and reduce plant downtimes, which serve to boost productivity. Instrumentation products such as control valves and transmitters are extensively used in process industries such as oil and gas, power, and water and wastewater treatment for calibration and measurement applications.

Key vendors of process automation and instrumentation market include players like ABB, Honeywell, Mitsubishi Electric and Siemens. Other prominent vendors are Emerson, Danaher, Omron, Rockwell Automation, Schneider and Yokogawa, among others.