Remanufacturing has an unquestionable role to play in bringing the vision of a circular and regenerative economy to life, especially in developing nations like India. This is why Rajiv Ramchandra founded Re:CREATe, a research and advocacy enterprise to catalyze and advance the remanufacturing industry in the nation.
Manufacturing lies at the heart of the many conveniences we take for granted in contemporary human life. Mobility, computing, communication, housing – the list is indeed long. Most of the physical things we interact with daily are produced by us, through manufacturing. If you peel the layers back, even these inventions ultimately come from nature, as do we. While industrial activity has formed the basis of human civilization in recent times, it has also been an unintentional instrument of harm characterized by climate change, waste generation, pollution (air, water, land), and natural resource exploitation. Every challenge however comes with a silver lining, with an opportunity to grow and evolve.
Nations including India are certainly not immune to the challenges associated with traditional manufacturing, as well the growth pains that come with the transformation to a sustainable, resource efficient and circular economy. Furthering the manufacturing industry has been a major focus of policy initiatives in India embodied by the ‘Make in India’ scheme. Figure 1 provides snapshot of how the Indian manufacturing economy has fared in comparison to a few of the world’s largest economies.
