New Delhi, December 20:

Use of IT is imperative for the growth of Indian auto component industry that aims to become a $40-billion industry by 2015, says an industry report. The Indian auto component industry faces numerous challenges, especially the small and medium enterprise segme-nt. Proper adoption and implementation of IT will enable them develop solutions, the report, ‘IT Adoption in Indian Auto Component Industry,’ by National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) stated.

“Increased IT adoption in the SME segment not only enables increased competitiveness for the user industry, but it also creates new markets for the Indian IT industry,” Nasscom president Kiran Karnik said here.

“We see IT playing a very critical role in helping this sector achieve its global aspirations by enhancing their productivity and enabling these firms to seamlessly integrate with their global and domestic customers and suppliers,” he added. Karnik also urged IT firms and other stakeholders such as the government, industry bodies and academia to work together to accelerate the adoption of IT in the auto component sector.

“India with its past experience, large pool of skilled manpower, established raw material and supply base and ever-growing domestic volumes, has the potential to emerge as a major manufacturing hub for the global market,” said V Krishnamur-thy, chairman, National Manufacturing Competitive Council.

“IT has the potential to act as a force multiplier. However, to realise full benefits, focus has to shift from spen-ding to smart spending by ensuring that business processes critical to a firm’s competitiveness are IT-enabled.”