As conversations around India’s economic rise dominate global platforms, an equally critical question emerges — how sustainable is this growth? Addressing this very challenge at the 20th FICCI Higher Education Summit 2025, Mr. Arunkumar Pillai, Director General & CEO of NAMTECH (New Age Makers Institute of Technology), made a strong case for reimagining India’s manufacturing landscape through innovation, digitisation, and decarbonisation.
He began by acknowledging the nation’s rapid growth — but reminded us that growth without sustainability is not enough. “As India grows rapidly, it is crucial that we also speak about how we grow — and ensure that this growth is sustainable,” he asserted, placing manufacturing squarely at the intersection of progress and responsibility.
India today is a $4.2 trillion economy. Yet, Mr. Pillai argued, to claim global leadership by 2040, manufacturing must expand its share of GDP from around 15 percent to at least 25 percent. But with growth comes ecological cost: manufacturing is among the most emission-intensive sectors. Currently, India emits about 3.3 gigatons of carbon equivalent annually, and unchecked expansion could push that number to 11.8 gigatons — a trajectory at odds with its Net Zero 2070 aspirations. The solution, he insisted, lies in the digitisation and decarbonisation of manufacturing — not just to stay competitive globally, but to meet pressing climate goals.
NAMTECH: An Institute Built for Manufacturing Innovation
NAMTECH is Mr. Pillai’s response to these challenges — an institution conceived as a manufacturing innovation engine, fully devoted to engineering, technology, and industrial transformation. Its mission is twofold: to develop talent for the emerging industrial paradigm and to enable industries to adopt digital, clean, and smart technologies.
He voiced the urgency plainly: “The biggest bottleneck for doing any of this is the fact that we don’t have talent. … We find most of the good engineers already picked up at the Googles and Amazons … The world — nobody wants to work in the core engineering sectors.” To address this, NAMTECH looks to rekindle aspiration in manufacturing careers — making them an exciting, innovative career choice rather than a fallback. On the demand side, the institute aims to help tech companies embed new tools and processes in sectors that are major emitters, effectively bridging innovation with industry practice.
Operating from IIT Gandhinagar, NAMTECH has its eyes set on scale: to impact three million learners over the next ten years via campus programs and outreach efforts.
Academic Alliances & Industry Integration
NAMTECH’s architectural strength lies in its partnerships. It has established five thematic schools, each anchored by a prestigious international university. The School of Manufacturing Technology aligns with the Technical University of Munich; the School of Manufacturing Design & AI is paired with MIT; Robotics works with Carnegie Mellon; Technical Education ties up with Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education; and the School of Sustainability is finalising its global collaborator. Apart from these, the institute has set up two horizontal centres: one for Advanced Computing & AI, and another dedicated to Management Studies.
These academic linkages are complemented by industrial alliances. A Centre of Excellence in Automotive Manufacturing is being developed jointly with India’s leading carmaker, and a consortium of industry partners is contributing to NAMTECH’s innovation platform. Mr. Pillai envisions a space where academia and business jointly shape the next generation of manufacturing solutions.
Experiential Pedagogy: Learning by Doing
What truly distinguishes NAMTECH is its experiential learning model — in which theory is inseparable from tangible, real-world engagement. From day one, students are immersed in application systems: navigating an exploded car lab, exploring smart factories, and engaging with robotic systems. They move from this exposure into what NAMTECH calls component masteries — problem-based modules that demand analysis and design. Finally, each student undertakes a capstone project to build a real, functional prototype.
In this model, faculty guide students through inquiry, iteration, and innovation. The campus itself is equipped with industry-grade infrastructure, so that students work on the same platforms and machinery they will later encounter in factories. “Our pedagogy develops critical thinking, curiosity, and resilience — helping students view failure as a learning opportunity,” Mr. Pillai emphasised, reflecting NAMTECH’s commitment to embracing experimentation and iteration.
Stretching Reach: Beyond Campus Walls
NAMTECH isn’t confined to its campus. Through a hub-and-spoke model, it extends its model to more than 15 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across Gujarat. To bring the lab to learners, it deploys four mobile automation labs, with buses engineered as travelling factories that reach industrial clusters.
Despite being only two years old, NAMTECH has impacted roughly 1,800 students on campus and 4,000 through outreach. Graduates are finding jobs with a premium — often 40–50 percent above average — a testament to the relevance and quality of the training model.
From Research to Industrial Impact
NAMTECH holds firm to the belief that without research, knowledge becomes obsolete — and without experiential learning, research remains disconnected. Its focus is on translational innovation: technologies in the later stages (TRL 5+) that can be shaped, refined, and adopted by industry. In May 2025, it launched the Advanced Manufacturing Engineering & Technology Platform in partnership with MIT. The platform brings together over 30 C-suite leaders, 10 IITs, and industry heavyweights to jointly design and deploy next-gen manufacturing systems rooted in Industry 4.0 and 5.0.
Looking to the Horizon
NAMTECH’s journey is just beginning. Its 150-acre permanent campus is under construction, expected to be operational within two years. The institute has applied for Deemed-to-be-University status under India’s new “distinct category,” enabling it to integrate all its programs into a full university framework.
In closing, Mr. Pillai delivered words that encapsulate NAMTECH’s ethos and India’s industrial ambition, “Manufacturing is not just about machines and production lines — it’s about imagination, innovation, and impact. To achieve our growth ambitions sustainably, India’s manufacturing must lead the world not just in scale, but in purpose.”
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