By Rashesh Mody
In cricket, the most valuable player (MVP) is the one who consistently turns the tide with match-winning performances. In business, especially in complex industrial settings, the equivalent of an MVP would be a solution that delivers consistent wins across operational excellence, innovation, and sustainability. Today, that MVP is the digital twin.
India’s fast-evolving industrial landscape is characterised by massive infrastructure growth, an expanding manufacturing base, and national policy pushes like Make in India and Digital India. As a result, the need for smarter, faster, and more sustainable operations is greater than ever. A digital twin delivers just that: a dynamic, AI-enabled virtual representation of physical assets, processes, and systems that helps optimise performance in real time.
Industry under cost and compliance pressure
Today’s industrial enterprises are grappling with unprecedented challenges that demand both resilience and agility. Globally, businesses face increasingly fragmented supply chains, volatile delivery timelines, and surging energy costs that erode margins. At the same time, tightening regulations around emissions, waste, and sustainability demand strict compliance.
Despite rising complexity, many organisations still depend on siloed systems and outdated technologies, limiting collaboration and creating data blind spots. Without real-time visibility, leaders struggle to make timely, informed decisions – a major barrier to scalable, sustainable growth. A survey shows 85% of Indian leaders would prefer technology to make decisions for them. In India, where legacy systems are still being digitised, this data-to-decision gap is even more pronounced. That’s where the digital twin proves its value. It forms a real-time, connected feedback loop across operations to manage complex industrial and enterprise data, visualise information in full context, and predict the best course of action using AI and analytics.
Together, these capabilities empower organisations to break down data silos and shift from reactive to proactive decision-making. The digital twin becomes more than just a mirror of operations and it evolves into a strategic tool that enables foresight, agility, and continuous improvement. It pulls data from engineering models, whether 1D, 2D, or 3D. Then, it combines that data with operational inputs and enhances it using artificial intelligence and physics-based simulations. This makes it possible to anticipate downtime, reduce resource usage, and manage risk.
Power of a cloud-lniked digital twin
The real power of the digital twin is unlocked when connected to the broader business ecosystem. Cloud-based, interoperable digital twins enable seamless collaboration across internal departments, vendors, logistics providers, and regulators. This is crucial for Indian companies operating in a highly networked environment, where stakeholder coordination is essential to scaling efficiently. The focus for India is clear as the country’s refineries, power plants, and infrastructure projects can benefit from similar models, especially as it expands its footprint in renewables and smart grid technology. The connected digital twin’s ability to simulate scenarios, model outcomes, and adapt in real time gives Indian industries an edge in a global market.
As we move into the era of Industry 5.0, the connected digital twin could power immersive training simulations, serve as the foundation of the industrial metaverse, and support autonomous operations that self-optimise without human intervention. It can help build industrial competitiveness, so why not bring in the MVP to elevate your game?
The writer is EVP of Business Strategy and Realisation, AVEVA.