National Strategy for Robotics

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has recently invited public comments and inputs from stakeholders on the draft “National Strategy for Robotics” (NSR).

About Draft National Strategy for Robotics (NSR):

• NSR has proposed a policy framework for the implementation of robotics in various sectors to make India a global robotics leader by 2030.
• MeitY will serve as the nodal agency for robotics, to facilitate the implementation of the NSR under National Robotics Mission (NRM).
• Manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, and national security are the four core sectors to prioritise robotics automation.
• It has proposed fiscal and non-fiscal interventions, for upscaling innovation in robotics to develop funding mechanisms for robotics start-ups as well as promoting exports.
• It has built the mandates of the Make in India 2.0 plans, which identify robotics as one of the 27 sub-sectors to enhance India’s integration in the global value chain.

Major recommendations of the draft NFR:

• The creation of a robust regulatory framework, led by the Robotics Innovation Unit (RIU) (an independent agency) will function under MeitY as a part of India AI.
• To implement Centres of Excellence (CoEs) inRobotics.
  • The CoEs will be categorised under foundational and applied research.
  • CoEs should enlist private sector intervention in priority sectors to help with experimental prototyping and small-volume production for the initial phase of commercialisation.
• It also lays out plans for providing advisory support to start-ups, harnessing the research potential of higher education institutes, and the development of robotic industries.
• The central government should be a demand aggregator for robotic systems in the initial stages of manufacturing in India.
• The government has been advised to incentivise domestic production over mere import or assembly of products through the Public Procurement Policy for Robotics.

Challenges faced by the Indian Robotics Ecosystem:

• Inadequate skilled human resources
• Heavy reliance on imports: From China and Japan
• High costs of production
• Technological limitations
• Absence of multidisciplinary collaboration
• Lack of awareness and limited governance mechanisms
• Lack of reliable and continuous access to foundational infrastructure
• Ethical considerations for deployment and adoption of robots.

Global Scenario for Robotics Regulation:

China:

• It has three specific plans towards Robotics policy.
• 14th Five-Year Strategy Plan, 2021: To improve innovation capabilities and increase the supply of high-end products.
• Key Special Programme on Intelligent Robots, 2022: It focuses on increasing the manufacturing of industrial robots, service robots, and special robots.
• Robotics+ Application Action Plan of 2023 to augment robot density.

United States of America:

• The National Robotics Initiative 3.0 aims to support fundamental research while the US Department of Defense (DoD) Budget for unmanned systems.

Japan:

• Japan leads in financial commitment towards robots.
• Its New Robot Strategy (2016-2020) is developing plans for sectoral R&D projects, global standardisation, regulatory reform, and robotics competitions and awards.
• Under this plan, Japan holds the World Robotics Summit every year.
• Economies like Germany and South Korea have also come up with robust robotics development plans.

What is Robotics?

• The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) defines Robotics as the science and practice of designing, manufacturing and applying robots.

Make-in-India Robots:

• DAKSHA: Daksh (Dexterous), developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is an electrically powered and remotely controlled robot used for locating, handling and destroying hazardous objects safely.
  • It has stair-climbing capabilities and can be deployed for handling Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Daksha is currently being utilised by the Indian Army.
• Vyommitra: It is a spacefaring humanoid robot being developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to function onboard the Gaganyaan, a crewed orbital spacecraft.
• MANAV: It is India’s first 3D-printed humanoid robot.

Ref: Source