PM Modi, in his Independence Day speech, mentioned that India needs to become Aatmanirbhar in the energy sector. Being a direct beneficiary of the development of power generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure, the wire & cable industry has huge opportunities ahead. Wire & Cable India presents the opinions and outlook of the key players at this interesting juncture, India@75.
India recently celebrated 75 years of Independence. From a GDP of INR 2.7 lakh crore to INR 150 lakh crore, the country has come a long way. While it witnessed various ups and downs over the last seven decades, India made enormous strides in almost all sectors and is now among the biggest economies in the world. Just like many other sectors, the wire & cable industry has made significant progress, growing from being a small industry to a very large one. Today, the wire & cable industry is not only serving Indian defence, railways, government & utility companies but also empowering the nation by developing new technologies and bringing out product innovations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech, mentioned that India needs to become Aatmanirbhar in the energy sector. He further said that the nation needs to take green energy initiatives forward and lead as an example in the world. Being a direct beneficiary of the development of power generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure, the wire & cable industry continues to see tremendous opportunities ahead.
Talking about the instrumental role played by the industry, Mr. Shreegopal Kabra, Managing Director, RR Global says, “It is a proud moment for all of us as we celebrate the 75th year of Independence. The ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ is a commendable initiative by the government to encourage participation from people all over the country and to celebrate this historic moment. Over the years, the manufacturing sector has seen indispensable growth and the ‘Make in India’ movement is only here to make it stronger. We at RR Kabel have also seen incredible growth and potential in this country and are truly a proud ‘Make in India’ company and hope that we continue to make our country proud for the next 75 years and beyond. According to Technavio’s report, the wire and cables market in India has the potential to grow by USD 1.65 billion during 2021-2025, and the market’s growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 3.80. The rising investments in underground cables and the growth of renewable energy are set to escalate the adoption of wires and cables.”
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Highlighting the sectors that hold immense opportunities for the sector, Mrs. Kirti Kabra, Director, RR Global, adds, “75 years of independence is a celebratory moment, and we couldn’t be prouder of the development the country has made ever since. Right from education, sustainability and women empowerment amongst others, India has been at the forefront of these movements. The support given to women entrepreneurs to showcase their work and empower them to achieve great things on their own is commendable. The B2B sector has grown enormously with new innovations and a better standard of living. Likewise, with the government’s emphasis on pushing renewable energy to the forefront, the industry is now looking forward to supplying cables for solar and wind power applications in addition to oil and gas, railways and other specialised segments. We hope that the country keeps this momentum on for the coming 75 years and paves the way for others to follow.”
The industry is powering every house in the country and bringing light to the lives of people. A building block to the power sector of India, the wire & cable industry also contributes immensely to the defence sector by supplying tactical cables, and submarine & torpedo cables. Moreover, Indian wire and cable companies are increasingly aligning themselves to the international quality and technology benchmark to produce wires and cables satisfying both domestic and global customers.
India@75: Remarkable Opportunities
Talking about APAR Industries, the company’s Senior President, Business Strategy and Innovation, Mr. VK Bajaj says, “It is a privilege for APAR to be recognised at par with other internationally reputed organisations in terms of quality of products. We are proud to bring to attention and represent India by innovating, developing and contributing to the global cables & wires industry.”
Supporting the vision of the country with India@75, the industry has developed specialised cables for the renewable energy sector with fire-retardant features. While most of such cables were previously imported, various companies have lately started manufacturing them in India propelling ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
One of the largest manufacturers in the wires and cables industry in India, Polycab India Ltd. manufactures and sells a diverse range of wires and cables including power cables, control cables, instrumentation cables, solar cables, welding cables, submersible flat and round cables, railway signaling cables, specialty cables and green wires.
Speaking on the company’s product portfolio, Mr. Bhushan Sawhney, Executive President & Chief Business Officer (Cables), Polycab India Ltd. says, “Technology has assumed the stature of acting as a double-edged sword. Our lifestyles are ever evolving to a higher convenience level with the use of technology. On the other hand, we need to be cautious and ensure that such advancements in technology do not negatively impact the environment and in fact, drive the sustainability objectives. At Polycab we have embraced this approach to enhance our product offerings to modern-day ‘smart’ and ‘intelligent’ quotients while ensuring that these deliver on industry-best benchmarks related to sustainability by being efficient, saving energy as well as having minimal carbon footprints. Not only product offerings, but our manufacturing facility too is designed with state-of-the-art capabilities which help us to produce the most advanced wires and cables including fire survival cables, e-beam, and green wires, as per modern industry standards. We feel it is our fiduciary responsibility to guide the industry towards balancing modernization and its impact on the ecosystem.”
India aims to achieve 175GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, comprising 100GW of solar, 60GW of wind, 10GW of biomass power and 5GW of small hydropower and this ambitious target can never be completed without the contribution of the wire & cable industry.
The Future Envisioned for India@75
Mr. Gary Bateman, Managing Director, LAPP India Pvt. Ltd. says, “The world is gradually recognising the critical responsibility we hold to protect and preserve the environment. Prioritising green energy initiatives and environment-friendly products has become the need of the hour. The renewable energy sector will see major advancements in India, to keep up with the ambitious target to achieve 175 GW worth of renewable energy by the end of 2022, which will expand to 450 GW by 2030. Renewable energy technologies are more cable intensive as compared to traditional energy generation methods. Reliable distribution and transmission network infrastructures are vital in ensuring that the energy generated can be transmitted with only negligible losses. This is where the role of wires and cables come into play.”
“LAPP India has been expanding its product portfolio for solar and wind energy with products of the longest possible flexibility, durability, and robustness. We have an exclusive range of products for the PV solar segment. We offer solutions for photovoltaic projects to simple rooftop installations and energy storage. We are also looking at local manufacturing/sourcing of solar products for India. Recently, we partnered with CAHORS, a French multinational company specialised in energy distribution, to complement our portfolio of solar cables with an exhaustive product range from CAHORS, including plug-in connectors, branch connectors, panel connectors, module junction boxes, enclosures, combiner boxes, and crimping/cutting tools. Our cable and accessories programme includes halogen-free products which are safer options in case of fire incidents. They also offer protection from toxic reactions and benefits for recycling. All our products and packaging are free of asbestos and CFC,” he adds.
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Many wire and cable companies are catering to railway locomotives & coaches, steel, and mining industries through their wide range of elastomer cables. Meanwhile, the Indian Railways has an ambitious plan to electrify its entire network by 2023-24 which paves way for the industry.
Talking about APAR Industries being one of the companies that manufacture many first-in-India products and technologies, Mr. Shashi Amin, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), APAR Industries Ltd. says, “With our superior product range, we are on the path of making India Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant). We are strong in renewable and defence sectors, proudly serving world-class products to the Indian market and further raising the benchmark for the industry.”
After the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for optical fibre has increased substantially, not only in India but across the world. According to the latest report released by Facts & Factors, the demand for global fibre optics market size was valued at around USD 4,528.5 million in 2021. The market is expected to grow above a CAGR of 9.5 percent and is anticipated to reach over USD 7,896 million by 2028. Not only telecommunications, various industries in India such as medical, industrial, data storage, networking, and broadcast industries are applying fibre optic technology in a variety of applications.
The wire & cable industry is expected to be driven by various other factors such as the government’s thrust on infrastructure, projects like BharatNet, the rollout of 5G technology, and schemes like Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS), Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN), and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). Marked by significant milestones and reforms throughout the journey, the wire and cable market is likely to dominate in the near future. With this feature on India@75, which can be considered as our attempt to present the key contributions and perspectives of leading companies, we presented the future roadmap of the players.
