Mumbai September 04, 2024: Dr. Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble Minister of State (I/C), Ministry of Science of Technology made a virtual inauguration of the three-day ‘MET+HTS 2024’ concurrent with MMD 2024, at the Bombay Exhibition Centre at Goregaon in Mumbai here today on Wednesday (Sep 4, 2024).
Prof. ABHAY KARANDIKAR, Secretary Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India Guest of Honour also addressed the Inaugural Session on the virtual platform.
More than 15 Global Enterprises from the Austria, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA have participated in the global Conference & Exhibition for Manufacturing, Innovation and Startup Sectors, to focus on Defence, Transportation, Energy, Heat Treat and Medical materials and devices Segments.
The global meet is focussed on the latest technological advancements in the Materials Engineering, Equipment, Technology for Defence and Transport (MET) besides Alternate Energy and Heat Treatment Systems (HTS).
MET (Materials Engineering and Technologies) is the most comprehensive business platform across the manufacturing value chain for the Defence, Transport, and the Alternative Energy sectors. In fact, advancements in materials are integral to the future of manufacturing and hold the key to shaping the way products are designed and developed in powerfully unique manners - lighter, stronger, and more energy efficient.
The Indian Defence Sector which has been at the cusp of revolution with 25 per cent of the Defence R&D budget being earmarked for the private participants and start-ups, has witnessed remarkable growth in exports during the first quarter of FY 2024-25, with a significant 78% increase compared to the same period last year.
In fact, data released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD)reveals that exports reached Rs.6,915 crore between April and June 2024, up from Rs.3,885 crore in Q1 of FY 2023-24.
As of August, 2024, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows in India’s manufacturing sector went up by 69 per cent to US$ 165.1 billion. During the 2023-24 fiscal alone, the FDI inflow has touched USD$ 70.9 billion, according to official data.
The Government has allocated Rs 11.1 lakh crore for investment in the infrastructure sector (Including Transport and Energy) and the allocation in the defence sector has been raised to Rs. 6.21 lakh crore. This is of great significance since India’s engineering R&D market is expected to be worth US$ 58 billion by the end of 2024.
Under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), infrastructure projects worth close to 1.4 trillion USD are likely to be completed by 2024-25, as India’s transportation and logistics sectors are poised to grow at a compounded rate of 4.5 per cent in the next decade.
As for Alternate Energy, India, US, Brazil and China are in consultation to form a Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA) to explore cooperation opportunities, with India aiming to pump in INR 8 lakh crore in green hydrogen which will replace 25 per cent of ‘grey’ hydrogen by 2030. Additionally, India is aiming to reach a non-fossil fuel energy capacity of 500 GW by 2030.
This conference-cum-exhibition is significant because India shares more than USD $1 billion of the Global Heat Treat market, growing at a rate of 12% per annum. The domestic players in the Heat Treating market have been increasingly focussing on green technologies and allied processes to reduce environmental footprints.
This year a dedicated Pavilion displaying Medical Materials Devices (MMD 2024) has been co-located. Biomaterials have become quintessential, with biomedical engineering providing patient specific solutions and are becoming a source of import substitution of medical devices.
Apart from 600 delegates from more than 15 countries, the event is expected to witness the presentation of 150 technical papers, 20,000 footfalls and about 300 stalls.
The Exhibition has participation from Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation as a Partner State, a dedicated German Pavilion by VDMA, a dedicated pavilion by Rubber Institute among others.
According to Mr Pradeep Goyal, Chairman, Organizing Committee, 5th MET & 15th HTS 2024, Heat treatment has changed beyond recognition, and these changes have been driven by a better understanding of the underlying science, increasing demand for products and quality requirements, and lately, social factors such as environmental considerations.
Says Mr. I.P. Wadhwa, Managing Worker, Tafcon, “This exhibition will be an ideal platform for display and launch of new initiatives, products and technologies, establishing joint ventures, developing and renewing international and regional contacts.”
The present edition the 5th MET &15th HTS, organised by ASM and TAFCON, is, in fact the biggest ever, offering excellent opportunities for all the stakeholders to showcase their latest innovations, new initiatives, technologies, machinery & equipment to a global audience.
Some of the participants including Government Departments and Industry leaders include JSW Group, Reliance Industries, Aditya Birla Group, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Group, Larsen & Toubro Group, Bharat Forge, Seco Warwick, Xitiz Technomech, Electrotherm, Inductotherm, Fluidtherm, Suzlon Energy, Gautam Solar, Gefran, Indian Railways, DRDO, CSIR, Technology Development Board and Defence PSUs.
- G. Moin