Getting Ready for Industry 5.0 & More

Industry 5.0 entails the use of robots and smart machines by humans to automate and make tasks easier.  This revolution builds on the pillars of automation and efficiency and the technological leapfrogging has been made possible due to the use of Big Data Analytics, the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

The vision behind this revolution is to go beyond the goals of efficiency and productivity and to enhance the contribution of industry towards the well-being of society. While Industry 4.0 was technology-driven, Industry 5.0 is value driven. The emphasis of Industry 5.0 is to be human-centric, resilient and sustainable. 

It is envisioned that with the automation of routine and regular tasks, humans can focus on improving processes and adding a personal touch to make the consumer experience better. The focus is on hyper-customisation and increasing interactivity with the customer.  

Industry 5.0 is not limited to industry alone but encompasses every sector, every organisation and every human. Also, it is not limited to the use of technology alone. The increased use of technology to make our lives easier emphasises the importance of creativity and innovation to think out of the box and carve out more resilient economies and a sustainable future.

Covid 19 has taught us that the pandemic can have adverse and far-reaching effects not only on livelihoods but also on the physical and mental health of people. For this, it is important to build resilience in individuals at a micro level and nations at a macro level.  Most economies of the world today are facing headwinds of high-interest rates and high inflation. Clouds of recession are looming over the US and UK. The income squeeze directly affects the purchasing power of the people. China is facing the problem of a diminishing productive workforce with an ageing population despite having relaxed the strict norms of a one-child policy.  

The recent IT tech layoffs have shown that all is not well in the technology domain too. The mass layoffs are ample proof that IT companies are rethinking ways to cut costs. Funds that were easily available and cheap, no longer exist. This also goes on to prove that professionals need to be amply skilled and resilient to face the extremely dynamic nature of the job market and be ready to face the headwinds coming their way.

Cryptocurrencies have taken the financial markets by storm. After the initial hype around cryptocurrencies, it has been seen that these have experienced massive devaluations, in the recent past. In order,  to dissuade Crypto mining and trading, the Indian Government vide its Budget 2022, levied a 30% tax on profits made from Crypto trading. In order to legalise cryptocurrency, it announced that in India, RBI would be the sole authority to issue digital currency by laying down the proposal for the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or digital rupee. CBDC would act as a legal tender and will be considered acceptable for payments and a safe store of value. All types of digital currencies use blockchain technology and cryptography to secure transactions. These transactions are immutable and prevent the currency from being counterfeited. The future of payments across the world is going to be through digital currencies. 

B-School students and managers today need to equip themselves with the technological know-how, develop an attitude to face the headwinds coming their way and use the tailwinds as opportunities to propel their growth. They need to stay abreast of the latest technologies in Big Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Block Chain Technology, Cryptocurrency and more. Apart from knowledge of technology, they also need to think creatively and offer innovative solutions to problems. To remain professionally relevant, they need to develop an attitude of curiosity and life-long learning. And last but not the least, they need to strengthen their emotional resilience to face change coming from any direction.

About the author

Dr. Neerja Arora is the Professor- Analytics & Operations at Delhi School of Business, VIPS - Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies -Technical Campus.