History
Since liberalization of the economy established in 1994, India faces strong international
competition. Thus, growth and diversification of its industry are increasingly characterized
by a shift from simple to technically complex products.
Many enterprises aim at high value-addition. Modernization and automation of production
processes increase productivity and reduce unit cost.
This is particularly true for the engineering industries (metal and plastics processing
ventures) as well as small and medium-scale enterprises (SME). They manufacture
tools and molds or use them for producing parts, components, systems, and final
products, often as sub-contractors of large enterprises.
In recent years the quality of their products and the efficiency of their production
processes augmented considerably . Nevertheless, many SME still face constraints.
They are related to rapid changes of the market and accelerated technological progress.