Smart Mining conference by NALCO emphasizes on Digital Innovation in Aluminium Sector

National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) organized a conference on Smart Mining & Manufacturing in Bhubaneswar, yesterday with the theme “Smart Aluminium: Driving Operational Excellence through Industry 4.0.” The event brought together key stakeholders from industry, academia, and technology sectors to explore how digital innovation is reshaping manufacturing and industrial operations. Inaugurating the conference, Shri Brijendra Pratap Singh, CMD, NALCO, emphasized on the importance of embracing Industry 4.0 technologies to boost efficiency and competitiveness.Shri Singh highlighted the role of progressive government policies, such as support for start-ups and the ‘Make in India’ initiative, in fostering self-reliance. He said that India, as the fourth-largest economy, is witnessing strong investment and infrastructure growth, driving rapid expansion in the core and manufacturing sectors. At the outset, Shri Jagdish Arora, Director(P&T), delivering the welcome address described Industry 4. as a revolution driven by advancements in automation, AI, and IoT that enable transformative value creation across manufacturing and industrial operations.Shri Rajiv Kumar, CEO of Vedanta Aluminium Limited, graced the occasion as the distinguished guest while Shri Sarajit Jha, Chief – Business Transformation & Digital Solutions, Tata Steel, joined the session virtually as a keynote speaker and delivered his address online. Shri Pankaj Kumar Sharma, Director (Production), and Dr. Tapas Kumar Pattanayak, Director (HR), NALCO, were also present on the occasion and shared valuable insights during the proceedings. Industry leaders from SAIL, Tata Steel, Vedanta, Deloitte India, EY-Parthenon, and McKinsey & Company participated as distinguished speakers at the conference, contributing to discussions on emerging trends and strategies in the Industry 4.0 landscape. The conference provided a collaborative platform to exchange ideas, showcase emerging technologies, and discuss strategies for accelerating Industry 4.0 adoption, featuring tech sessions and panel discussions on AI and data analytics.Technocrats, researchers, policy makers and delegates from the metal sector and allied industries participated in the conference and shared technological know-how.