Emphasizing the importance of digitization and innovation in today’s rapidly changing market dynamics MeitY–APIS- NASSCOM COE, Visakhapatnam in association with Vizag Industrial Scan organized a Digital Innovation event.
The event sparked a thundering response from Industry wherein leaders from the Government, Industry, Public sector enterprises and Academia participated in huge numbers.
The event specifically highlighted the current and potential impact of emerging technologies in the sectors of Ports and Manufacturing industries. The CoE platform, which is widely used by industries for technology adoption, was also discussed as a means of enabling companies to stay ahead of the curve. And with emerging technologies such as AI, IoT, and blockchain disrupting traditional business models, it has become imperative for industries to adopt these technologies to remain competitive.
The Centre of Excellence (CoE) – IoT & AI is the largest collaborative innovation platform in the emerging technologies of IoT, Analytics, AI/ML, AR/VR and Robotics for Digital Transformation. The main objective of the CoE is to help Indian Deep-Tech Startups & Companies leverage cutting edge technologies to build market-ready products.
Through the Startups Program, CoE aims to build industry capable talent in an entrepreneurial ecosystem by facilitating Incubation, Funding, Acceleration, Industry Connect and Mentoring. CoE was set up in July 2016 as part of the Digital India initiative of MeitY, with the objective of aiding innovative start-ups in the emerging technologies. Nasscom CoE-IoT has centers in Bengaluru, Gurugram, Gandhinagar & Visakhapatnam.
Chief Guest of the event Mr. Anup Kumar Satpathy, DRM of Waltair Division, highlighted the plethora of opportunities that Indian Railways has to offer to startups. He underscored the potential for further digitization and innovation within the railways, in order to catch up with its western counterparts.
To specifically address digitization in the ports and shipping sector some of the leading captains of industry from the sector participated in a panel discussion and illustrated some of the key asks from their respective industry.
The panellists included Lt. Cdr Ravindranath Reddy, IN (Retd.) Dy CEO, AP Maritime board, Mr. G Sambasiva Rao, MD Sravan Shipping Services P Ltd, Mr. Jeevan Vikas, President, Visakhapatnam Container Lines Association, Mr. Sudeep Banerjee, Terminal Head, Visakha Container Terminal and Mr. Rajendra Kumar, Joint Director, Visakhapatnam Port Authority who cited some of the enabling initiatives being undertaken in their respective companies with the use of innovative and futuristic technologies like ML, AI, IOT etc. Mr. Hari Krishna, VP of Smart Infra at Fluentgrid Ltd, also participated in the discussion.
Addressing a panel session on Manufacturing, Ms. Chanchal Gupta, Head of Communications at Synergies Castings Ltd. stated that automation enhances productivity, quality, and brings down costs.
Showcasing a video of their state-of-the-art Oman plant Ms Gupta informed that the plant was fully automated thereby reducing human interface to bare minimal.
Cmde. Kunjuman E Mathew, IN (Retd) Director of Shipbuilding at HSL highlighted the opportunities in the shipbuilding sector and cited welding, use of automation, and ML as areas of opportunities where the yard can engage with startups.
As part of the event, 8 startups were given the opportunity to present their service offerings and interact with companies on a one-to-one basis.
This provided a platform for startups to showcase their innovative solutions and explore collaboration opportunities with established companies in the ports and manufacturing sectors. CoE invites industries and other adopting organizations to be able to enable and enhance their innovation journeys for the future.
Earlier Mr. Anil Kumar Tentu, CEO of Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society (APIS) along with Mr. Ravi Eswarapu, CEO of A HUB at Andhra University, spoke about some of their initiatives and activities in strengthening the startup ecosystem in this region.
