CII Andhra Pradesh in association with Government of Andhra Pradesh organised the 9th edition of Leadership Series on Manufacturing Excellence; MAN’EXE 2012 with a theme of “The Indian Manufacturing Sector: Challenges & Opportunities” . Speaking at the inaugural session of the Conference Mr. K Pradeep Chandra, IAS, Principal Secretary – Industries & Commerce Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh in his special address said that there is need to increase the share of manufacturing sector to GDP from the present level of sixteen percent to twenty five percent.

The manufacturing sector cannot grow only by depending on domestic consumption, he said. He felt that Indian Industry particularly MSMEs need to capture global markets for promoting growth in manufacturing sector. Presently MSME could not face the global competition due to high cost of production. In this regard he suggested MSMES to upgrade their skills and technology for competing in the global market, he said. Mr. Chandra also strongly felt that the growth in manufacturing sector can be accelerated by promoting planned industrial clusters and National Manufacturing investment zones.

Dr. Ramachandra N Galla, Chairman, Amara Raja Batteries Ltd in his special address said that market expansion for manufacturing of various goods is moving from west to east. While making a comparison between India and China he pointed out that India has leveraged its strengths in manufacturing of quality products and whereas china could able to produce products with lesser cost, he said. However, he felt that if the present youth are trained according the needs of the industry India has tremendous potential to emerge as global hub for manufacturing of various goods by 2025, he said.

Mr. Sanjay K Singh, Convener – CII Andhra Pradesh Manufacturing Competitiveness Panel & Chief Executive – ITC PSPD in his theme address deliberated the details of various technical sessions of MAN’EXE 2012. He was of the view that manufacturing sector can be an engine of economic growth in the present uncertain times. Earlier, Ms. Suchitra Ella, Chairperson, CII Andhra Pradesh & Joint Managing Director, Bharat Biotech International Ltd delivered welcome address. Mr. Ravi Raghavan, Co- Convener- CII Andhra Pradesh Manufacturing Competiveness Panel & Managing Director Tecumseh Products India Pvt. Ltd delivered the concluding remarks of the inaugural session.