Gears of Change: How ACMA Think Turf 2026 Is Redefining India's Automotive Manufacturing Playbook

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Source: Pro MFG Media

June 2026 : There's a certain electricity in a room full of people who build things for a living - and that energy was unmistakable at the 4th Edition of the ACMA Automotive Smart Manufacturing Think Turf 2026 , powered by Pro MFG Media. The summit brought together over 35 senior industry leaders and 200+ automotive professionals for a no-holds-barred conversation about where Indian auto manufacturing is headed - and how fast it needs to get there. The theme for the summit - Transforming Mobility: Innovation, Integration, and Impact.

There was even a touch of symbolism in the timing. The event fell on 5 June - World Environment Day, and it was quietly yet powerfully marked - name badges printed on 100% recyclable paper, carrying a message on the back: "Green Manufacturing isn't just a goal - it's our responsibility."

ACMA Automotive Smart Manufacturing Think Turf 2026 was backed by the following: Associate Partners - Pre6 and Hindalco Industries Limited. Platinum Partners - Litmus and ServiceNow | Plat4mation. Gold Partners - TVSNext and Microgenesis | Autodesk. Silver Partner - PTC. Exhibit Partners - Anscer Robotics, Dassault Systemes, Tata Tele Business Services. Networking Partner - Suchama AI. Association Partners - Nasscom, CAAR, GARC. Institute Partners - AMTDC IIT Madras and Drishti CPS Foundation IIT Indore.

The day opened with a warm welcome from Mrs. Amita Trivedi, Co-founder & CEO, Pro MFG Media, who set the tone for what turned out to be a landmark gathering.

Amita Trivedi, Co-founder & CEO, Pro MFG Media

The Inaugural Address by Mr. Aditya Ganesh, Chairman, ACMA Southern Region and Executive Director, Rane Madras Ltd., drew on his deep experience across strategy and manufacturing to frame the urgency - and opportunity - of intelligent manufacturing in a rapidly electrifying, digitizing world.

Aditya Ganesh, Chairman, ACMA Southern Region and Executive Director, Rane Madras Ltd.

Ms. Kopal Agrawal, CEO - Aluminium Downstream, Hindalco Industries, followed with a compelling Industry Special Address that spotlighted the role of advanced, lightweight materials in building greener and more resilient vehicles. On World Environment Day, her perspective felt particularly timely.

Kopal Agrawal, CEO - Aluminium Downstream, Hindalco Industries

Platinum Partners ServiceNow and Plat4mation then took the stage, with Mr. Aditya Dashora - India Sales Leader, Plat4mation and Ms. Krithiga Velmurugan - Partner Technology Advisor, ServiceNow presented on the theme "Transforming the Automotive Value Chain" - making a clear case for why intelligent workflow automation isn't just IT strategy; it's business strategy.

Krithiga Velmurugan - ServiceNow & Aditya Dashora - Plat4mation

The summit then moved to its first Panel Discussion on the topic - Gears of Automotive Growth, Resilient, Automated & Intelligent manufacturing. This panel explored the future of automotive manufacturing, focusing on building resilient, automated, and intelligent systems. Industry experts discussed transitioning from isolated use cases to scalable digital platforms, balancing edge versus cloud AI decision-making, and moving automation past pilot phases to drive multi-plant business impact. Additionally, the conversation covered managing supply chain volatility, aligning local production with global quality standards, and positioning Indian manufacturing as a key differentiator in the global automotive ecosystem.

Panel Discussion 1

The panelists included: Viswanathan A - President - Delphi TVS, Murali Vaidyanathan - President - Automotive - Wheels India, Gautam Wagle - VP & Sr. Principal Engineer - Hindalco Industries Limited, K Venkataraj - Director Business Development - CAAR, Dr. Rajkumar Swaminathan - President - Rane (Madras) Ltd. Engine Component Division, Muthu Maruthachalam C - President & Chief Operations Officer - Daimler, Kamal Ajitsaria - MD - Litmus Automation India, Jayakumar G - Group President and Managing Director - Valeo. This panel was moderated by Manish Kulkarni, Director - Pro MFG Media.

Following the Panel Discussion, Associate Partner Pre6.AI along with Mr. Amod Malviya presented on how predictive intelligence is reshaping plant decision-making. After a short networking tea break, Platinum Partner Litmus represented by Mr. Madhan T - Sales Head walked the audience through their edge-to-cloud data platform and its applications in automotive environments.

The second Panel Discussion explored the topic - Operational Excellence in Automotive: Seamless Synergy Between People and Machines. This panel examined operational excellence in automotive manufacturing, focusing on creating a seamless synergy between human workers and advanced machines. Leaders discussed managing multi-variant vehicle complexity, deploying robotics and cobots at scale to augment rather than replace human expertise, and building a collaborative shopfloor culture. The conversation also highlighted strategies for establishing a digital thread from design to service, using smart factory tools to reduce downtime, and maintaining consistent quality standards across multiple manufacturing locations.

Panel Discussion 2

The panelists included: Shankar G Subburathinam - Engineering Manager Integrated Components and Solutions Division - Caterpillar, Renuka Kamath - Principal Solutions Consultant - PTC, Aditi Sharma - President and Chief Manufacturing Excellence Officer - Uno Minda, Manikandan Murugesan - General Manager MS and Operational Excellence - Motherson Electronic Components Pvt Ltd, Sivaramakirushnan Jayaraman - Director - Vehicle Process Engineering - Stellantis, Selvame Pazhany - GM- Engineering / Projects - CEAT Limited. This panel was moderated by Manish Kulkarni, Director - Pro MFG Media.

Gold Partner TVS Next closed the session, with Mr. Krishna Kumar, COO, presenting their approach to enabling manufacturing intelligence through technology services.

Krishna Kumar - TVS Next

The afternoon resumed with industry presentations from Gold Partner Microgenesis - Mr. Muthuraja V, showcasing Autodesk solutions for automotive concept-to-manufacturing workflows, and Networking Partner Suchama AI (Mr. Sanjay Shekhawat and Mr. Ayush Agarwal), who introduced their intelligent workforce platform for factory operations.

The third and final Panel Discussion for the day was - From Data to Decisions: Capitalizing on advanced technology for Plant Performance. This panel examined how automotive manufacturers capitalize on advanced technologies to transform plant data into actionable operational decisions. Speakers discussed building strong data foundations across fragmented systems and linking data intelligence to measurable KPIs like OEE, throughput, and energy savings. The conversation also addressed key challenges in IT-shopfloor integration, the growing importance of cybersecurity, and strategies for building data trust, while highlighting the critical workforce skills needed to adapt to these rapidly evolving digital manufacturing technologies.

Panel Discussion 3

This panel was moderated by Sunil David - Digital Technology Consultant. The panelists included: Bala Kumar - Global IT Leader - UCAL, Manjunath Prasad - Vice President - ITS - TVS Mobility Pvt Ltd, Venkatramana T.R.G - Vice President - TVS Upasana, Sanjay Shekhawat - Founder and CEO - Suchama AI, Ravi Chandra Jinnuri - Managing Director - India - Plat4mation, Raghu V - CBO - Anscer Robotics, Hari Govind Thilak - CHRO - ZF CVS India

The summit concluded with closing remarks and a Vote of Thanks by Mr. Sanjay Bhan, Director, Pro MFG Media, followed by a networking tea that kept conversations flowing well into the evening.

Sanjay Bhan - Director, Pro MFG Media

The 4th edition of ACMA Automotive Smart Manufacturing Think Turf proved once again that when the right people share a room - and a shared sense of urgency - remarkable things get said. And hopefully, built.