Made by People: Workplaces Shaping the Future of Manufacturing

Building workplaces people choose

Walk into an Indian factory today, and much of what you see would have been difficult to imagine a generation ago. Machines talk to each other, production lines are increasingly automated, data travels alongside materials, and AI and robotics are beginning to reshape the way work gets done. But perhaps the more consequential change is happening beyond the machinery: the people who operate, manage, design, and lead these systems are entering a very different world of work.

The numbers tell part of that story. Organised manufacturing added more than 10 lakh jobs in FY24, taking the decade’s cumulative employment growth to more than 57 lakh jobs. In 2025, manufacturing accounted for 12.1% of India’s total employment, reinforcing its growing importance to the country’s workforce.

But a bigger manufacturing workforce also brings a bigger question: what kind of workplaces will these people choose to build their careers in?

That question is becoming more pressing as the sector navigates a changing cycle. In August 2026, India’s manufacturing PMI slipped to 52.8, its weakest expansion in five years, while factory employment declined for the first time in 30 months. The next phase of manufacturing, therefore, will be shaped by more than just production capacity and technological sophistication. It will depend on how effectively organisations bring their people along.

Celebrating workplaces that matter

The 5th Edition of Most Preferred Workplace - Manufacturing 2026-27 seeks to bring this conversation to the centre of India’s manufacturing landscape. The platform is designed to recognise organisations that understand that a high-performing factory ultimately depends on a high-performing, engaged, and empowered workforce.

At its heart lies a celebration of brands that have carved a place in our hearts - organisations that have gone beyond conventional ideas of employment to build workplaces where people can learn, contribute, progress, and feel a sense of belonging

The platform will create a distinctive industry forum where business and people leaders can examine the forces reshaping manufacturing workplaces

Technology-led transformation

Changing employee expectations

The race for skilled talent

Reskilling & Workplace safety

Leadership development & Inclusion

Employee wellbeing

It will also create space for organisations to share what is working on the ground. From the shop floor to the boardroom, the focus will be on the practices, cultures, and leadership choices that are helping manufacturing organisations remain relevant to a new generation of talent.

Previous editions of this exclusive industry platform have been a gathering of the industry’s who’s who, including

Crompton Greaves Eaton Larsen & Toubro JSW MG Motor India Maruti Suzuki India Limited Meril Life Sciences Schindler India NRB Bearings Rubberking Tyres Group Serum Institute of India Vedanta and many more

The objective, as always, is simple: to recognise workplaces that are helping people and manufacturing move forward together.

Research that goes beyond

Presented by Marksmen Daily, Most Preferred Workplace - Manufacturing 2026-27 is a research-driven platform, with in-depth research undertaken by LeadCap Ventures. The 5th edition of this study looks beyond surface-level workplace perceptions to understand the organisational practices that influence how people experience, evaluate, and choose their workplaces.

The research framework will examine organisations across six key dimensions:

Talent Attraction Strategies

Learning and Growth Opportunities

Employee Experience and Culture

Safety and Wellbeing Standards

Inclusion and Equity Practices

Workforce Upskilling and Transformation

Together, these parameters provide a holistic lens on what makes a manufacturing workplace preferred in an era where the definition of a good job is changing. They recognise that compensation remains important, but so do growth, purpose, belonging, safety, leadership, and the opportunity to build relevant capabilities for tomorrow.

The resulting insights will help identify organisations that are responding meaningfully to the changing expectations of India’s manufacturing workforce, while creating benchmarks that the wider industry can learn from.

Where manufacturing leaders meet

Most Preferred Workplace - Manufacturing 2026-27 will bring together the people shaping the future of India’s industrial workforce. The audience will include MDs, Chairmen, CEOs, COOs, CHROs, HR and people leaders, plant heads, operations leaders, learning and development heads, talent leaders, business heads, workforce transformation specialists, and senior representatives from across India’s manufacturing ecosystem.

The platform will also provide an opportunity for policymakers, industry experts, academics, and technology leaders to participate in a wider conversation around the future of work in manufacturing.

More than a recognition platform, the initiative will serve as a meeting point for ideas, experiences, and recognition, in the process bringing together organisations that are building the workplaces that India’s next phase of manufacturing will need.

"Because the factory of the future may well be automated, connected, and intelligent. Its success, however, will still depend on the people who walk through its doors every morning."