Jamshedpur’s automotive cluster is one of the hubs of Auto Components manufacturing in India. The cluster covers the geographical area of the Jamshedpur city and Adityapur industrial area. Tata Motors, the leading automobile giant in the country, has its manufacturing units located at Jamshedpur. About 70% of the small and medium business units supply their auto components to the OEM, Tata Motors. Today, the Commercial Vehicle Business Unit (CVBU) of Tata Motors is India’s largest and world’s sixth largest commercial vehicle manufacturer. Tata Motors which enjoys nearly 59% overall market share in the commercial vehicle sector has the mother unit in Jamshedpur.

The industrial area currently houses nearly 852 industrial units. Of these, 11 are large scale, 70 medium and the remaining are small & micro enterprises. Approximately 70-80% of the companies manufacture auto components directly or indirectly for the OEM. The average annual production of the industrial area is Rs 55,000 crores and provides 50,000 direct or indirect employment for the local and tribal people of Jamshedpur.

Jamshedpur Automotive Cluster Structure
The various units in the cluster are engaged in the following activities:

• Light Engineering (Machining /Fabrication/Press Shop)
• Mineral Based
• Plastic & Rubber
• Chemical Industries
• Food & Beverages
• Pharmaceuticals
• Electrical
• Sponge Iron
• L.P.G. Bottling
• Auto Body Building / Service Center
• Ferrous Induction Casting
• Forging

Challenges
The major challenge of the cluster is that SMEs do not use ICT tools in their business processes for their manufacturing competitiveness. The OEM expects a high level of ICT usage by its vendors but it’s a challenge. All major auto parts manufacturing units concentrate on quality manufacturing as per the global standards, but not far as ICT use is concerned.

The enterprises are not clued in on the global business opportunities and how to navigate the export market. The industry also has a low level of research and development initiatives. Most component companies are dependent on the OEM for technology.

The cluster is exposed to cyclical downturns in the automotive industry, and is not well cushioned for these.

Project Vikas Initiatives
Project Vikas has planned a number of initiatives to tackle these challenges. Under the project, sensitisation programs are being conducted to help enterprises understand how the challenges before them can be well addressed through use of ICTs.

Dependence on one OEM for technology as well as business can prove risky. So Project Vikas encourages enterprises to explore export opportunities though a consortium formed of like-minded companies and creates the right platform to make this happen.

Project Vikas is also in the process of setting up an e-Readiness Centre in the cluster. Training programmes for the local independent software vendors are being conducted. Workshops for the CxOs and Directors of enterprises on ICT training are also being conducted. Workforce training programmes are also planned.

To enable business development of the enterprises, Project Vikas has envisaged a Web portal which would enable these businesses to connect with other business, and help them find customers as well.