Greater Noida: The Indian motorcycle industry came into existence in the early 1980s with the entry of Japanese multinational companies entering the 100cc category with tie-ups involving Indian companies and led to the birth of Hero-Honda, Bajaj Kawasaki, and TVS Suzuki.
Fast-forward to 2020, when these ties were already broken, the Indian motorcycle industry is the largest in the world with a global volume of 40 percent. Indian original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) account for 77 percent of the market with Hero MotoCorp being a significant player alongside Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor, which suggests that Indian OEMs have been able to chart their destinies without their erstwhile partners. Apart from that, Hero MotoCorp remains the world’s number one two-wheeler manufacturer.
The reasons for the creditable performance of these Indian two-wheeler OEMs, according to Dr. Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Director, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and a professor and teaches innovation management and strategy, can be attributed to their conceptual framework and internal capabilities involving consistency with their models, efficient manufacturing, technological developments, and a thorough understanding of the Indian consumer psyche. TVS Motor won the Deming Award in 2002 for proficiency in manufacturing and quality. TVS Motor’s chairman, Venu Srinivasan became the first industrialist to be awarded the Deming Prize in 2019. Hero MotoCorp with a good record of excellent vendor development, had launched its Centre of Innovation and Technology to develop products indigenously. Even Bajaj Auto’s Pulsar is a great example of becoming self-sufficient by combining outsourcing and their efforts to develop powerful technology.
Krishnan, who was the Chief Guest at the 33rd Foundation Day at BIMTECH Greater Noida today, spoke on “Innovation and Atmanirbhar Bharat”. He largely talked about innovation in terms of the Indian Motorcycle Industry, and based his oration on the importance of being competitive and sustainable on the global level. He stressed the example of the Indian motorcycle industry’s progress that experienced some interesting developments over the years. He told the audience during the virtual celebrations that all of these companies had also been exceptions in collaborating with academia for research and development, unlike other Indian players.
The foundation day of BIMTECH is celebrated on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi because of the founder’s close association with the Indian Independence Movement and its leaders allowed him to absorb the spirit of those times. So, the philosophies of founders late Seth Basant Kumar Birla and Sarala Birla resonated with that of Mahatma Gandhi. “If Indian companies have to be self-reliant by building new idea velocity, enhance the proportion of ideas that get converted successfully,” he said.
In his welcome speech, Dr Harivansh Chaturvedi, Director, BIMTECH, explained the importance of Foundation Day and talked about how Bapu always preached empathy.
On the occasion, the prestigious Basant Kumar Birla Distinguished Scholar Award, 2019 were presented to Dr. Shaphali Gupta, MICA; Dr Arpan Kar, IIT Delhi and Dr Ramendra Singh, IIM Calcutta. The Best Research Award 2019 and Dr Jagdish N Sheth Best Thesis Award was given to Dr Subhanjan Sengupta and the Best Teacher Award went to Dr Amrendra Pandey.
–globalbihari bureau
