National Strategy for Robotics

National Strategy for Robotics

News: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has invited public comments as well as inputs from stakeholders on the draft 'National Strategy for Robotics' (NSR) by 31 October.

What is Robotics?
• Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of electronics and communication, computer science, and engineering. It involves the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans.
• The field of robotics develops machines that can automate tasks and do various jobs that a human might not be able to do.

What are the key components of Draft policy?
• The draft NSR proposes a policy framework for the implementation of robotics in various sectors, with the aim of making India a global robotics leader by 2030.
• The draft has so far identified manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, and national security as the four core sectors to prioritise robotics automation.
• MeitY will serve as the nodal agency for robotics, with a two-tier institutional framework to facilitate the implementation of the NSR. The implementation will be directly undertaken under MeitY's 'National Robotics Mission' or the NRM.
• The draft also proposes fiscal and non-fiscal interventions by the NRM, for upscaling innovation in robotics.
• Establishment of a regulatory framework led by the Robotics Innovation Unit (RIU) for proper governance and regulation of robotics technology. Ensuring Regulatory Sandboxes and development of robotics industrial zones.
• Creation of Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in Robotics for foundational and applied research, with private sector involvement in application-based research.
• Plans for providing advisory support to start-ups, utilizing research potential in higher education institutions, and developing robotics industrial zones.
• A proposed policy where the central government acts as a demand aggregator for domestically manufactured robotic systems, incentivizing domestic production.

Robotics in India:
• According to the World Robotics Report for the year 2022, India ranks 10th globally in terms of annual industrial installations of robots.
• Sales of industrial robots in India reached a new record of 4,945 units installed in 2023, an increase of 54 percent compared to the previous year.
• Revenue in the Robotics market is projected to reach US$810.50m in 2023. Service robotics dominates the market with a projected market volume of US$582.20m in 2023.
• India’s strengths in Future of Work (Tech Economy 0) include robotics, AI, IoT, cloud computing, supply chain 4.0, 3D printing, big data, digital payments.