Mumbai : The Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA), the apex body representing the Indian electrical and allied electronics industry, successfully hosted today the 11th Edition of SWICON 2025, an International Conference on Switchgear & Controlgear. Organised after a decade, SWICON remains India’s most prestigious and comprehensive technical forum dedicated to LV/MV/HV/EHV switchgear and controlgear. The two-day conference in Mumbai offers valuable technical insights and industry collaboration and is supported by the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) and the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT).
Vikram Gandotra, President, IEEMA, highlighted “SWICON is an important platform for bringing together the brightest minds in the switchgear industry and all stakeholders to discuss, collaborate and chart a path forward, I compliment the industry for the proactive and strategic investments being made in expanding capacity across the transmission and distribution (T&D) sector. These efforts are timely, bold, and reflective of the sector’s readiness to support India’s ambitious energy transition and infrastructure modernisation goals.” Adding that the switchgear industry is an integral part of the T&D value chain and needs to constantly evolve new solutions, he noted that the industry must also work on diversified and reliable supply chains, preferably domestic, as well as work on increasing MLCs especially for HV/EHV equipment like GIS. “IEEMA will advocate for fiscal incentives,” he said. The IEEMA President also encouraged the industry to further invest in backward integration, strengthen domestic supply chains, and continue to prioritise the Indian market as a foundation for global growth.
At the Inaugural Session, Udai Singh, Chairman, SWICON 2025, welcoming distinguished guests and industry leaders from the switchgear industry, reflected on the strength, scale, and strategic importance of the Indian switchgear industry, which stands today at approximately USD 8.6 billion (about Rs 48,000 crore). This makes it one of the most significant pillars within the IEEMA ecosystem, contributing nearly 12-13 percent of the total output of India’s electrical and allied electronics sector. “A notable characteristic of our industry is its structure: The LV segment accounts for nearly 80 percent, while MV and HV together make up the remaining 20 percent and both sides of the spectrum are showing strong, healthy growth,” said the SWICON Chairman.
Further reflecting on the growth of the switchgear industry over the last five years, Singh noted that over the last five years, the switchgear industry has delivered an impressive CAGR of around 11 percent. “What is even more encouraging is the performance of the MV and HV segment, which has grown at over 16 percent, clearly reflecting the rapid expansion of power infrastructure, transmission and distribution networks, and the need for more robust, resilient systems. The LV segment, too, continues to grow at a steady 10 percent, driven by industrial demand, buildings, commercial infrastructure, and residential electrification,” said Singh.
Shashi Amin, Vice President, IEEMA, spoke on new key initiatives IEEMA has taken up to not just support its members, but to actively shape the future of the Indian electrical and electronics industry. He shared, “IEEMA has recently launched an industry-led programme focused on reliability engineering in collaboration with the prestigious IIT Kharagpur. To strengthen our focus on MSME members we have signed an MOU with Quality Council of India for implementation of ZED scheme. We are also working to institute a Business Excellence Programme.” He also added that IEEMA is exploring to roll out Trade Facilitation Services for its members to increase the international footprint and another new area that IEEMA will attempt this year is focus on imparting skills.
SWICON 2025 also featured a Leadership Speak on ‘Reimagining Switchgear – Green, Innovative & Smart’, in which industry leaders from the switchgear domain presented their vision amid India’s evolving power landscape, covering themes like sustainability, digital transformation and smart grid integration. The session featured Venkatesh Uchil, Managing Director, Marine Electricals; Raju Gadhave, Managing Director, Lucy Electric Ltd; Navonil Roy, Country Business Unit Head, Grid Technologies Switchgear, Siemens Energy; and Nitin Rastogi, Chairman, IEEMA LV Switchgear Division.
The discussion touched upon domestic manufacturing challenges, the effects of initiatives such as Make in India, and global competitiveness. The session aimed at motivating the switchgear community by emphasising strategic priorities, capacity expansion, technology leadership, and industry-government collaboration. It underscored commitments to environmental sustainability, energy transition and value creation within India’s electrical equipment manufacturing sector. This context set the tone for productive and forward-looking discussions at SWICON 2025.
IEEMA also announced the Lifetime Contribution Award for the switchgear industry at SWICON 2025, given to SC Bhargava, a perfect example of an R&D leader, for his vast and varied contributions to the switchgear industry for over four decades.
The theme for SWICON 2025 is ‘Reimagining Switchgear: Green, Innovative & Smart’. Delegates were able to explore how technology, sustainability, digitalisation, and intelligent systems will redefine the future of our industry. The conference brought together the best minds from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), R&D and test labs, utilities, consultants, and academia to shape the roadmap ahead.
