India has registered 39% increase in the installation of industrial robots to set record of 4771 new units in 2018, says International Federation of Robotics(IFR).
India now ranks 11th in terms annual installations. During 2017, India had installed 3412 units, as per the report World Robotics 2019, by the IFR. “India is one of the strongest growing economies among the emerging markets in Asia,” says Junji Tsuda, President of the International Federation of Robotics.
“Whilst the recent global results were quite moderate, India saw an impressive growth rate of 39% in 2018. The number of robot installations has been growing rapidly for several years now. Between 2013 and 2018, India saw a compound annual growth rate of 20 percent,” he said.
The report also said the prospects for more installations are promising with a good GDP growth and plans by the companies to strengthen capacities.
The automotive industry remains the largest customer industry by far, with a share of 44% of total installations. But the strongest growth driver in 2018 was the general industry, increasing by 28%, consisting of the rubber and plastics industry, the metal industry and the electrical/electronics industry. Robot use in non-automotive manufacturing is catching up with the automotive sector.
In India, the operational stock of robots rose to about 23,000 units: +21% compared to 2017. The country’s automation potential is illustrated by a low robot density figure in the automotive industry: 99 industrial robots per 10,000 employees is less than a fourth of Indonesia’s density (440 units) and far away from China (732 units) and the frontrunner Korea (2,589).
