IEEMA aiming at expanding export and R&D capabilities

Vipul Ray, President, IEEMA in an interview with EPR Magazine.

Opining about India becoming a net exporter, Vipul Ray, President, IEEMA believes that it is entirely feasible if we use technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells and battery storage, among others.

What transition do you see in the industry? 

The energy transition, which has been a slow and steady process, is now accelerating toward renewables and the electric vehicle revolution. To put things in perspective, India’s electrical and electronics sectors contribute $50 million in the United States. We represent 90 percent of the Indian electrical and electronic sector as IEEMA members, and 55 percent of the capital is for capital investment and trade. Talking about the ongoing trends, we will face numerous hurdles in terms of digitalisation, and the adoption of renewable energy sources and energy mixes.

What are the key areas that need more focus? 

We were engaged on the honourable Prime Minister’s vision for 2047. In addition, we collaborated with the industry to create an emphasis on IEEMA vision. Number one, we see an index growth in per capita electricity usage. So, I anticipate the per capita index in India will rise to 10,000 units in the coming years. And not only are our figures linked internally, but we have also matched this with the Niti Aayog. That’s the kind of growth potential we’re after. This, I believe, also takes into account customer desire.

Then there’s the supply side. When it comes to the energy shift, from traditional fossil fuels to renewable energy, and for consumption from electric vehicles and data centres, that’s when we want to play a bigger role as industry. Thirdly, IEEMA has been rigorously contributing to add innovations in the electrical and power sector. To be more specific, their growth is not just because of the domestic demand but their focus towards increasing exports have been beneficial for their contribution. This is a very important for us. With appropriate utilisation of internal resources and export capabilities we can help the entire energy sector to sync their synergies. 

How can this vision be made into a reality? 

To make this vision a reality, we must strengthen our foundation. One of our opportunities and challenges is to focus on the dependability, quality, and safety of our products while expanding our supply chain, particularly to SMEs. We’re also investing in technology and R&D with world class manufacturing, not just to attract outside investment, but also to improve the ecosystem. Another sector or way you could make this vision a reality is to align more closely with the emerging sectors of transportation, defence, and data centres. As a result, this is not an industry or sector that we have traditionally focused on. 

Last but not least, application skill development will take place. IEEMA has collaborated with electrical institutes, the electrical industry, and engineering institutes in this area. We have been in discussions with regional agencies. And we have already begun certain projects, with the primary goal of developing technologies. Certification is one of the first. So that includes not only indigenous economic development but also skill development. Returning to Distribuelec and Buildelec, we have, as she mentioned, not only exhibitors and visitors, but also delegates and an intellectual conference, which we are looking forward to.