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Energy efficiency will be the core issue in future
By Dev Dutt
The Pumps market in India has revived spectacularly ever since the economy, industry and trade started recovering in beginning of the year 2003, after a two-year slump in 2001 and 2002. Now with the positive and tangible growth trend of Indian industry, the pumps industry is bound to grow manifold simply because pumps are the heart of any machine.
A large number of multinational companies engaged in manufacturing pumps and valves are attracted to the Asian market, particularly India, not only because these markets are growing leaps and bounds but also due to the high cost of labour and inputs in the European countries. As such MNCs have a dual objective behind their mad-rush to India and other Asian countries like (a) tap the local Indian market of pumps and valves that is, arguably, large and (b) make India their export-base for neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The new categories of pumps like seal-less, magnetic-driven and variant-speed pumps will be the buzzword in future. Says Y.I. Buch, Deputy General Manager (Marketing), KSB Pumps Ltd, "Seal-less pumps ensure zero-leakage that is most welcome by oil and other organic chemical industry. The magnetic-driven pumps represent the latest technology while the variant-speed pumps facilitate energy-saving as compared to the traditional fixed-speed pumps."
The import duty on pumps, like on so many other items, is going down and it will go still further down. However, domestic producers are unperturbed by this event. "In a way lower import duty on any item is good since that would result in higher imports and the presence of imported items would force the Indian manufacturers to improve their products' quality and become world-class," Buch believes.
When the Chinese goods, including pumps, started entering India on a large scale in 2001, it posed a threat to the domestic manufacturers, but that threat has fizzled away due to the absence of after-sales service. In spite of China's 'Policy of Dumping' its goods have failed to take off, at least, in India. Much to the relief of the domestic manufacturers.
The Indian pumps industry is characterised by the co-existence of a large number of SSI units, some large domestic manufacturers like Kirloskars and plenty of foreign manufacturers. Most of the players in the unorganised sector cater to agriculture. The availability of subsidy, cheap or free power and decisions by individual farmers rather than consultants has helped the players in the unorganised sector push their products in the agriculture sector. Here the price and and not quality is an important criteria while making decisions for farmers.
However, a large number of manufacturers in the organised sector complain about the unwarranted favours given to players in the unorganised sector. As Buch says, "The mushrooming of the unorganised sector is absolutely unhealthy for the industry. As the latter don't pay any type of tax, it can offer pumps and valves at far cheaper prices, which are preferred by ignorant buyers who ultimately end up spending more on repairs or new pumps and valves simply because cheaper products have no quality. The unorganised sector is like cancer to the Indian industry and the government must apply chemotherapy to it, if at all India is to be globally competitive through world-class quality-control."
About sub-sector-wise growth potential in the pumps industry, Buch enumerated three areas as having big demand scope - on the virtue of India being an agrarian nation - such as agriculture and general water needs, industrial sector, and sanitation and environment protection-oriented requirements. Pumps account for 30 per cent of the power consumption in the country. Efficiency in power consumption is given the least importance by Indian manufacturers. This scenario is likely to change in the coming years. In any case, now onwards pump-buyers are going to look only for energy and fuel-efficient products along with overall reliability, in view of the all-pervading cost-cutting awareness.
Energy efficiency will be the core issue in future
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