Indian companies are turning to machines quicker than its global peers

A textile-yarn company in western Indian soon will have more machines than workers. A manufacturer in southern India sold almost double the number of its automated goods last year. India’s biggest carmaker has one robot for every four plant employees.

Automation will double over the next three years in Indian factories, according to a survey by Willis Towers Watson. Companies in the Asia Pacific region reckon machines will account for 23 per cent of work, on average, over the next three years, compared with 13 per cent today. In India, that figure is expected to rise to almost 30 per cent from 14 per cent over the same period.

India Inc. is turning to machines quicker than its global peers. But unlike companies in Japan and Germany — which are automating to move up the food chain as their workers age — factories in the world’s second most populous country have a surprising motivation: They’re running out of willing (human) workers.

This is also happening as India’s ballooning working-age population needs more jobs. Over the next decade, 138 million people will be added to the workforce, a 30 per cent rise, according to the McKinsey Global Institute.