MoU signed by NASSCOM Center of Excellence with JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd. to transform their
plants into smart factories through Co-Create Partnership Program
NASSCOM CoE to assist JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd. to build technology roadmap and increase
digital adoption to drive innovations leveraging startup ecosystem
Gandhinagar, December 2, 2019: NASSCOM Centre of Excellence (CoE) IoT & AI Gandhinagar, a joint initiative of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) & Govt of Gujarat, entered into a partnership with JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd (JKLCL) to drive innovation through a unique Co-Create Partnership Program, a collaborative lab that will transform their plants into smart factories .
Naveen Kumar Sharma, Sr. Vice President (Works), J K Lakshmi Cement Ltd., said, “Sustenance of business in future will depend on the sustainable use of various natural resources and for that use of ML, AL, IoT, etc. in the manufacturing process will be the key. Our association with NASSCOM CoE will be a great help in co-creation of various technology based solutions to boost sustainability.”
Amit Saluja, Senior Director and Head, NASSCOM Center of Excellence IoT & AI, Gandhinagar, added, “Design Thinking is absolutely the best way to build a digital transformation strategy. Several organizations, especially manufacturing companies, are looking to adopt digital technologies but are not sure where and how to start. I recommend all these organizations to use design thinking as an approach to identify priority areas to focus before getting into implementation. We are happy to work with enterprises in Gujarat and other regions who require help in digital adoption and are keen to leverage startup ecosystem to achieve the same. ”
Under this Co-Create partnership Program , NASSCOM CoE Gandhinagar will assist JK Lakshmi Cement
Ltd. to build a technology roadmap through identification of areas for digitization, followed by
connecting them with startup ecosystem and academia for developing solutions using advanced
technologies like AI, IoT, Robotics, AR/VR.
As part of the engagement, NASSCOM CoE hosted a Design Thinking Workshop for JK Lakshmi Cement
Ltd. team at Gandhinagar. The objective of the workshop was to have a structured approach to identify
challenges faced by JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd., both at manufacturing units and services, and prioritize
focus areas where technology can help. Thirty-two senior professionals across departments from JK
Lakshmi Cement’s Gujarat and Rajasthan plants participated in a day-long workshop.
NASSCOM’s India Startup Report 2019, states that there has been a 33% increase in the number of
deep-tech startups since 2018. In addition, corporate innovation programs have witnessed a marked
increase with a strong focus on co-innovation. NASSCOM CoE is committed to support startups growth
by providing them world class infrastructure and technical mentoring to make them future-ready for
solving industry challenges.
With co-creation gaining momentum in India, leading enterprises across the manufacturing industry are
seeking strategic innovation partners to develop solutions specific to their businesses that can help
improve internal operations and grow customer connections. The agreement signed by NASSCOM CoE
with JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd. is an example of industry partnership that will also help build a strong
startup ecosystem and collaboration with academia.
About NASSCOM – CoE IoT
The NASSCOM Center of Excellence is the largest collaborative innovation platform in the emerging
technologies of IoT, Analytics, AI/ML, AR/VR and Robotics for Digital Transformation. It is part of the
Digital India Initiative to jumpstart and drive the emerging technologies ecosystem in India, by
leveraging India’s IT strengths and assist the country attain a leadership role in the convergent area of
hardware and software.
The main objective of the CoE is to help Indian Deep-Tech Startups & Companies leverage cutting edge
technologies to build market-ready products. Through the Startups Program, CoE aims to build industry
capable talent in an entrepreneurial ecosystem by facilitating Incubation, Funding, Acceleration,
Industry Connect and Mentoring.
NASSCOM CoE was setup in July 2016 as part of the Digital India initiative of MeitY, with the objective of
aiding innovative start-ups in the emerging technologies. NASSCOM CoE-IoT has centers in Bengaluru,
Gurugram and Gandhinagar. NASSCOM also has set up a CoE for Data Sciences and Artificial Intelligence
in Bengaluru.
About JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd.
JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd., part of a 132-year old entity, JK Organization, has been a forerunner in India’s transition from perceiving cement as a branded category of core item, rather than just a commodity. Innovation has been the key to its efforts. Through engineering and experimental learning, team JKLCL has developed in-house and implemented multiple innovative technologies towards maintaining technological sustainability. JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd., is one of the leading companies which have reduced their carbon footprint considerable and today, sources more than 35% of its energy requirement from renewable sources of energy. JKLCL have been always sharing knowledge and learnings not only among their production units, but also across other industries.
Co-creation with NASSCOM CoE will further empower JK Lakshmi’s zest of innovation by providing
linkage between JKLCL big-picture strategy with their day-to-day operations through emerging
technologies of IoT, Analytics, AI/ML, AR/VR and Robotics for Digital Transformation. This association
will bring together smart people and cutting-edge technology to ensure the smart future of the
organization.
