National Strategy for Robotics (NSR)
Recently the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in India has released a draft of “National Strategy for Robotics” (NSR).
It aims to strengthen the innovation cycle of robotic technology, and establish India as a global robotics leader by 2030.
This is in line with the Make in India 2.0 plan. It includes robotics as a main sub-sector. ‘Ministry of Information Technology, Ministry of Technology’ will be the implementing agency for this strategy. There will be a two-tier institutional structure for implementation.
Classification of robots as per National Robotics Strategy: Industrial robots, service robots and medical robots.
The following four key areas have been identified for the strategy to prioritize robotics automation:
- Manufacturing: Logistics and warehousing automation, process streamlining, etc.
- Health care service: surgical robots, telemedicine field etc.
- Agriculture: Crop care, spot spraying of herbicides etc.
- National Security: Combat robots, detection of landmines etc.
Current Challenges:
- The pace of adoption of robotics technology is not satisfactory,
- Adequate skills are not available in robotics sector in India,
- There is a lack of cooperation between different sectors,
- There are also ethical concerns, such as privacy violations,
- There is no separate law for the field of robotics etc.
Recommendations:
- A strong regulatory framework should be created under the leadership of the Robotics Innovation Unit.
- To promote educational initiatives like Atal Tinkering Labs.
- Encourage advanced technology companies to “Make in India”. There is a need to implement Centers of Excellence system in this area also.
- This should include private sector partners who have prepared their designs or prototypes on experimental basis.
- Regulatory sandboxes should be ensured. Also, robotics industrial sector should be developed.
- Start-ups need to be provided advisory support. In addition, the research capacity of higher educational institutions should also be utilised.
Robotics in India:
- According to the World Robotics Report for the year 2022, India ranks 10th globally in terms of annual industrial installation of robots.
- The stock of industrial robots operating in India has more than doubled between 2016 and 2021.
Source – Business Standard
