The future of the measurement instrumentation business looks promising

By OEM Update Editorial March 1, 2023 6:29 pm IST

The rise of digitalization in manufacturing has created a clear need for intelligent sensors. This, in turn, will boost the development and usage of measuring devices.
Can you talk about the market growth for measurement instruments?
As India is poised to become the world’s fifth-largest economy, the demand for measuring instruments is rising, particularly in rapidly expanding sectors such as pharmaceuticals, water and wastewater, oil and gas, and chemicals requiring precise measurement.
Furthermore, the need for measurement instruments has increased due to refurbishing old power plants to meet new government regulations and remain competitive. Government initiatives to blend ethanol with petrol have also driven demand in distilleries.
Finally, according to a recently released NITI Aayog report, the demand for clean fuel, such as green hydrogen, is expected to increase fourfold. India’s low-cost renewable energy generation advantage has led to a rise in demand for measuring instruments essential to producing green hydrogen.
How is the digital India programme impacting the industry?
The Indian Economic Survey 2021-22 has forecasted a growth rate of 8 to 8.5% for 2022-23. This, coupled with the government’s focus on the ‘Digital India’ program and support for the manufacturing industry, indicates a positive future for the measurement instrumentation sector.
Furthermore, the rise of digitalization in manufacturing in India has led to significant demand for smart sensors. This trend is expected to fuel the growth of measuring instruments even further.

What kind of demand do you see for level and pressure instrumentation?
In instrumentation, pressure and level measurements are fundamental parameters, along with flow and temperature. As a leading market player, we have noticed a significant demand for level and pressure products. This demand is particularly evident in the refurbishment of old power plants, modernization of refineries, and other ageing assets across India.
The Indian government’s focus on infrastructure development and its ‘Make in India’ initiative has created a favourable environment for the level and pressure instrumentation business. This sector is expected to grow substantially with supportive policies, a talented workforce, and growing demand from local and global markets.
ABB Measurement & Analytics has over 500,000 installations worldwide across various industries, including oil and gas, refinery, chemical, petrochemical, power generation, and more. Our technology has a proven track record of safety and reliability in toxic, corrosive, high-pressure, and high-temperature processes, particularly in full and/or interface-level detection.
Therefore, we anticipate a high demand for our level and pressure instruments for the process industry in India.
What will be the budget impact on the measurement industry?
The Indian government’s initiatives, such as the National Manufacturing Policy, which aims to increase the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 percent by 2025, and the PLI scheme for manufacturing launched in 2022, advances India’s Industry 4.0 adoption. These programs are designed to develop the core manufacturing sector to meet global manufacturing standards and are catalysts for growth in the local manufacturing industry.
With these factors in mind, ABB has made significant investments in our Smart Instrumentation factory to meet the instrumentation needs of our local and global customers. The ‘Make in India’ program has placed India on the world map as a manufacturing hub, increasing recognition for the measuring instrumentation business.