Abstract
COVID-19 pandemic has created a colossal disruption all over the globe, especially in Europe, the USA, China, India, and many developed economies. The production supply chains have been massively disturbed. It is estimated that a significant number of Fortune 1000 firms have been severely affected by the pandemic. Manufacturing companies operating in and through India are also affected by COVID-19. However, COVID-19 also offers an opportunity to revisit the competitiveness of Indian manufacturing. Traditionally, India’s manufacturing growth has been based mostly on its domestic market. The disruptions due to COVID-19 are likely to offer new models of working and at the same time, opportunities to build capabilities and explore new international markets. The paper gives a perspective on Indian manufacturing involving various stakeholders such as industry associations, professional bodies, academic institutes, and industry to tackle the issue of enhancing manufacturing competitiveness. In a post-COVID-19, India will have to decide a mix of conventional manufacturing facilities, the automated special purpose, and industry 4.0. One perspective is to have an increased level of automation and implementation of Industry 4.0, with localized skills and global aspirations and another view is to have traditional manufacturing facilities that can ramp up its capabilities to satisfy increased demand of products. This paper presents a conceptual framework to assess Indian manufacturing.