CII-Japanese initiative to promote leadership for manufacturing
CII - Visionary Leadership for Manufacturing (VLFM) programme is trying to replicate the `Japanese Miracle’ that happened following World War-II, which brought in the manufacturing revolution that changed the face of Japanese economy during the following couple of decades, Yoshiaki Ito, Consul General of Japan in Mumbai, has said.
“That was achieved through building co-ordination among manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and customers with the active support of the government, which has thrown up global leaders like Toyota, Hitachi and gaming company Nintendo,” Ito told the convention on ‘Building Tomorrow’s Manufacturing: Transforming Mindsets, Building Creation Skills and Acquiring Quick Business Results’.
Visionary leaders
CII -VLFM initiative with support of the Japanese Government under the Indo-Japan Technical Cooperation aims to transform senior managers, brought together in a unique collaborative initiative of the government, academia and the industry, to visionary leaders.
The VLFM programme has churned out over 5,000 business leaders for providing strategic guidance to over 1,000 manufacturing enterprises in MSME and rural sectors. The CII-VLFM Institute symbolises a unique Industry-Academia-Government partnership, setup with the support of the Japanese and Indian governments. It aims to enable breakthroughs in business models, products, business processes, thereby fostering inclusive growth while making India globally competitive.
Lauding the VLFM initiative of building strategic leaders from villages, Jamshyd N Godrej, Past President of CII and CMD of Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co Ltd, said, “Though the government has recognised manufacturing as the critical aspect of nation building, without building leaders in villages, boosting the economy would not be possible.”
Referring to the Toyota’s vision for 2050, Vikram Kirloskar, Deputy Chairman, CII Southern Region and Member of India Japan Business Leaders Forum and Vice Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said that the leaders should always set tough targets and try to achieve them. Citing the example of Toyota, he said, it has set targets that are much beyond quality, cost and delivery, which include zero CO2 emissions, green supplychain process bereft of harmful chemicals, minimal and optimal use of water, use of recycling based systems and materials, and society in harmony with nature.
Renowned Breakthrough Management expert, Padma Shri Prof. Shoji Shiba is the guiding force behind the initiative. He is also the Chief Advisor of Champions for Societal Manufacturing (CSM), which is spearheading the VLFM initiative. Japan International-Cooperation Agency (JICA) was instrumental in bringing global manufacturing experts to VLFM, including Takeyuki Furuhashi, a global Supply-Chain Management (SCM) expert.
The `Make in India’ project aims to turn India into a global manufacturing hub and create jobs for the youth. “That calls for forging new skill sets and increasing the competitive edge for manufacturers in the identified 25 manufacturing sectors of the economy,” Sunil Khanna of CII’s Maharashtra State Council said.
The `Make in India’ project is implemented by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP). The VLFM programme fully supports the project as its focus is on strengthening manufacturing companies in India through building visionary leaders. The vision and mission of the VLFM programmes is to accelerate the creation of a cutting edge manufacturing culture in India with a focus on inclusive growth, and to engage with companies in priority markets and sectors to establish an eco-system to nurture locomotive projects that will foster inclusive growth through manufacturing.