By OUR STAFF REPORTER
RUDRAPUR, 20 Dec: QCI jointly with PHDCCI organised its 11th Regional Quality Conclave (RQC) at a local hotel here, today, on the theme ‘Advanced Manufacturing With Quality, Innovation & Technology Interventions’’. The programme was supported by SIIDCUL and SIIDCUL Entrepreneurs Welfare Society, Rudrapur. The Conclave had 4 interesting Sessions on Mapping Organisation’s Route to Quality, Digital Transformation for Smart Manufacturing, Leadership and Engagement Strategies for Sustaining Innovation and Quality Culture, and Upskilling for Advanced Manufacturing. Chief Guest Faggan Singh Khulaste, Union Minister of State, Ministry of Steel, said on the occasion, “Our Government is committed to improving the quality of the manufacturing sector. Safety and quality will be given top most priority. We would coordinate with organisations like QCI and PHDCCI to make the manufacturing sector aware about the importance of innovation, good quality products and services. We invite suggestions from all sectors and will certainly try to implement these.” The Inaugural Address was delivered by CK Biswas, CEO, NBQP/ QCI. He said, “The objective of the Regional Quality Conclave is to effectively sensitise the masses in the industrial sectors that Quality including Technology and Innovations are vital for the growth and sustainability of the organisations.” Dr Jatinder Singh, Director, PHDCCI, said that the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution along with Quality Culture is impacting and changing the business landscape, and with it, skill requirements; thus government, industry, and academia had started focusing on developing twenty-first century skills, such as critical thinking, design thinking and innovation culture. Innovation and Quality Principles had become business imperative component for sustaining competitive advantage. Anil Taneja, Regional Director of PHD Chamber, stated that Industry 4.0 would make industry more agile, productive, flexible and enhance affordability due to resource optimisation. He announced that PHD Chamber, an SME focused apex body, is in talks with premier intuitions like IIM Kashipur and corporate leaders like Tata Motors to work on developing programmes to identify and bridge the research gaps and capacity gaps between current manufacturing scenario and Industry 4.0 network readiness scenarios. Sessions of the Conclave were addressed by Dr Neeraj Kharwal, District Magistrate, Udham Singh Nagar; Avik Mitra, Principal Advisor, QCI; SC Nautiyal, Director, Industry, Uttarakhand; and Nitika Khandelwal, Additional Director, Uttarakhand Skill Development Mission. The Conclave saw the presence of around 200 delegates from different sectors of the Manufacturing Industry including Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Bajaj Auto, BHEL, and was a huge success. The objective of these Conclaves is to highlight the importance of best practices of quality and manufacturing in industries as critical change agents for sustainable growth.