Champions for Societal Manufacturing (CSM) Project, formerly known as the Visionary Leaders for Manufacturing Program (VLFM Program), being executed under the Indo-Japan Technical Cooperation Agreement, is always recognized and applauded by all the stakeholders for its great contribution to the Indian manufacturing sector. In 2015, CSM received formal recognition by the society and Government of Japan, in the form of individual as well as group awards.
CSM Project has been selected for the prestigious “11th JICA President Award 2015” recognizing outstanding contribution for Indian manufacturing in last 10 years.
As a personal recognition, Dr Sarita Nagpal, Principal Adviser, CII, one of the founding member and anchor of this programme is conferred the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette award by the Government of Japan for her outstanding contribution in disseminating Japanese culture of manufacturing in India as well as strengthening the economic relations and promoting mutual understanding between Japan and India. This award was announced on 3rd November 2015.
Another highlight in 2015 was the JICA Evaluation of the CSM project and extension of the project beyond March 2016. A three member JICA Mission undertook an evaluation of the project, interacting with representatives of the various stakeholders of the CSM Programme, including industry, academia and government.
To keep this momentum soaring, six VLFM Graduates (Senior Manager’s programme) from Godrej Appliances Division received prestigious “G Mark- Good Design Award by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JIDP) for applying the VLFM tools and techniques over the last few years. Four of the graduates contribute as Indian Faculty on the Senior Manager’s course. Mr Suhas Kulkarni, the leader of the team and a faculty cum graduate of the VLFM programme received this award in Tokyo on 5th November 2015.
A breakthrough has been achieved in the 1000 Visionary SME Programme, where for the first time, an OEM has been inducted in the project, thus completing the full bandwidth of the supply chain. The VSME project in 2015 is indeed a national project, spanning the entire supply chain of the biggest OEM, viz. TATA Motors Commercial Vehicles Business Division. The project is set to create a unique win-win Supplier Relationship from the OEM to Internal Tier 1s to External Tier 1s and other key suppliers.
Village Buddha, another key component of CSM, founded on the VLFM wisdom, is helping to create a win-win relationship between business and society. Village Buddha Community, now expanded to 91 Industry change makers from 23 companies, is implementing new tools and step-by-step processes for holistic village development and holistic emerging market development, contributing to the village development process.