India, Sept. 17 -- Walk through any modern Indian factory today, whether an automotive plant in Tamil Nadu, an electronics assembly unit in Noida, or a pharmaceutical facility in Hyderabad, and one thing is immediately evident: machines are becoming smarter. Automation, AI, connected systems, and advanced analytics are steadily reshaping how goods are made.

But amid this technological progress, an important question remains: are we investing as much in people as we are in technology? The answer will determine whether India merely adopts advanced manufacturing technologies or converts them into sustained productivity and global competitiveness.

The evidence suggests that a significant gap persists. According to the 2026 State of Smart Ma...