The Right Approach: Get Ready for ISO 9001 Version 6
Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘Still Broke: Walmart’s Remarkable Transformation'
Driving Innovation: Depth Routing Processes—Achieving Unparalleled Precision in Complex PCBs
India's Robot Wonder
October 24, 2019 | IFREstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Sales of industrial robots in India reached a new record of 4,771 new units installed in 2018. That is an increase of 39% compared to the previous year. India now ranks eleventh worldwide in terms of annual installations. These are the findings of the report World Robotics 2019, presented by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).
"India is one of the strongest growing economies among the emerging markets in Asia," says Junji Tsuda, president of the International Federation of Robotics. "Whilst the recent global results were quite moderate, India saw an impressive growth rate of 39% in 2018. The number of robot installations has been growing rapidly for several years now. Between 2013 and 2018, India saw a compound annual growth rate of 20%."
Promising Outlook
Prospects for further increasing robot installations are promising. The Indian GDP is expected to grow by more than 7% in 2019 and companies across many industries intend to expand capacities. India has a young population, hence a strong workforce in need of jobs. The country needs to expand its manufacturing industry to create more job opportunities. Higher wages and the rising share of affluent citizens in India are the main drivers of a growing and promising consumer market.
Automotive industry
The automotive industry remains the largest customer industry by far, with a share of 44% of total installations. But the strongest growth driver in 2018 was the general industry, increasing by 28%, consisting of the rubber and plastics industry, the metal industry and the electrical/electronics industry. Robot use in non-automotive manufacturing is catching up with the automotive sector.
Robot stock and India's potential
Regarding annual installations, India now ranks eleventh in the global annual supply—three places higher compared to the previous year and ahead of Singapore, Canada, and Thailand. The operational stock of robots rose to about 23,000 units: 21% compared to 2017. The country's automation potential is illustrated by a low robot density figure in the automotive industry: 99 industrial robots per 10,000 employees is less than a fourth of Indonesia’s density (440 units) and far away from China (732 units) and the frontrunner South Korea (2,589). India's robot density in the manufacturing industry only reaches a value of four industrial robots per 10,000 employees.
About IFR
The International Federation of Robotics: www.ifr.org
The IFR Statistical Department provides data for two annual robotics studies:
World Robotics—Industrial Robots: This unique report provides global statistics on industrial robots in standardized tables and enables national comparisons to be made. It presents statistical data for around 40 countries broken down into areas of application, customer industries, types of robots and other technical and economic aspects. Production, export and import data is listed for selected countries. It also offers robot density, i.e. the number of robots per 10,000 employees, as a measure for the degree of automation.
World Robotics—Service Robots: This unique report provides global statistics on service robots, market analyses, case studies and international research strategies in service robotics. The study is jointly prepared with our partner organization Fraunhofer IPA, Stuttgart.
Share on:
Testimonial
"Advertising in PCB007 Magazine has been a great way to showcase our bare board testers to the right audience. The I-Connect007 team makes the process smooth and professional. We’re proud to be featured in such a trusted publication."
Klaus Koziol - atgSuggested Items
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
09/12/2025 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007We may be post-Labor Day, but it is still hot-hot-hot here in the great state of Arizona—much like our news cycles, which have continued to snap, crackle, and pop with eye-raising headlines over this past week. In broader global tech news this week, AI and tariff-type restrictions continues to dominate with NVIDIA raising its voice against U.S. lawmakers pushing chip restrictions, ASML investing in a Dutch AI start-up company to the tune of $1.5 billion, and the UAE joining the ranks of the U.S. and China in embracing “open source” with their technology in hopes of accelerating their AI position.
IPS, SEL Raise the Bar for ENIG Automation in North America
09/11/2025 | Mike Brask, IPSIPS has installed a state-of-the-art automated ENIG plating line at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories’ PCB facility in Moscow, Idaho. The 81-foot, fully enclosed line sets a new standard for automation, safety, and efficiency in North American PCB manufacturing and represents one of the largest fully enclosed final finish lines in operation.
Dan Feinberg on Walt Custer: Remembering an Extraordinary Business Associate and Friend
09/09/2025 | Dan Feinberg, Technology Editor, I-Connect007The passing of Walt Custer marks the end of an era for all those who knew him and were helped and impressed by his presence, both personally and professionally. Walt's life was characterized by his unwavering commitment to the industry, his profound wisdom and willingness to share it, and his infectious enthusiasm for everything he did.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
09/05/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007It’s almost fall here in Atlanta, and that means that the temperature is finally dropping. And it quit raining! It’s been raining since March, and I’m so over it, as the social influencers say. Last night we grilled out on the deck, and it wasn’t hot, and we didn’t get rained on. Life is good. It was a busy week in the industry. In this installment of my must-reads, we say goodbye to Walt Custer, the man who made PCB data points interesting for the rest of us.
UHDI Fundamentals: UHDI Technology and Industry 4.0
09/03/2025 | Anaya Vardya, American Standard CircuitsUltra high density interconnect (UHDI) technology is rapidly transforming how smart systems are designed and deployed in the context of Industry 4.0. With its capacity to support highly miniaturized, high-performance, and densely packed electronics, UHDI is a critical enabler of the smart, connected, and automated industrial future. Here, I’ll explore the synergy between UHDI and Industry 4.0 technologies, highlighting applications, benefits, and future directions.