India, Feb. 24 -- India has long been shaped by a distinctive advantage: frugal innovation-the discipline of achieving more with less. It is visible in landmark national achievements executed with uncommon cost efficiency, and it is even more evident in the agility of millions of small manufacturers who routinely innovate under constraints. This "do more with less" mindset is not a cultural footnote; it is a competitive capability-one that can become the blueprint for India's manufacturing expansion in the coming decade.

Yet the manufacturing model that carried India this far is under pressure. As the country advances its manufacturing priorities under programs such as Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat, traditional industrial automati...