15th CII Maha Conference held city; Event showcases industry’s bold leap into the Future

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, June 10: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) brought together some of Maharashtra’s brightest manufacturing minds at the 15th CII Maharashtra Conference on Manufacturing Excellence here at Hotel Taj Gateway, on Wednesday. Themed ‘Empowering Manufacturing Ecosystems: Technology, Supply Chains, and Ancillary Growth,’ the conference underscored the state's rising stature in India’s industrial journey. The event showcased how Maharashtra is gearing up to lead the next chapter of India's manufacturing success story.

CII Western Region chairman Rishi Kumar Bagla called for larger industries to mentor MSMEs, underlining the need for sustained investment in R and D and workforce skilling to ensure global competitiveness.

CII Maharashtra State chairman Vinayak Pai emphasized India's ongoing transformation with infrastructure upgrades, logistics modernization, and PLI schemes that are enabling cost-effective, quality manufacturing.

Shailesh Joshi of Ather Energy spoke about the real-world applications of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and digital factory planning are making a strong case for tech-led manufacturing in sectors like EVs.

Vivek Sarwate of Siemens Ltd addressed the post-pandemic world’s volatility and stressed the urgency of building sustainable, resilient, and agile production ecosystems.

The conference was formally inaugurated by CII Marathwada Zone chairman Prashant Narwade, who championed Marathwada’s emergence as a critical industrial corridor in the state’s broader growth landscape.

A panel discussion on Tech-Driven Transformation delved deep into the tools of Industry 4.0 - ranging from IoT and predictive analytics to robotics and automation - and how they are transforming manufacturing into a lean, smart, and high-quality enterprise.

The second panel discussion on Resilient Supply Chains and Thriving Ancillaries focused on localising production ecosystems, enhancing MSME integration, and building self-reliant clusters through collaborative strategies, infrastructure investments, and policy frameworks.