US plans institute to prevent jobs going to India

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The Obama Administration has announced setting up of an institute for manufacturing innovations which will help prevent jobs going to India and China.

"This institute will help make sure that manufacturing jobs of tomorrow take root not in places like China or India, but right here in the United States of America," US President Barack Obama said in a statement.

"That is how we will put more people back to work and build an economy that lasts," he added.

The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII), which will be based in Ohio, will be a public-private partnership initiative and has received USD 70 million as the initial financial assistance.

"I am pleased that we are taking steps to strengthen American manufacturing by launching a new manufacturing institute in Ohio," he added.

On March 9, Obama had announced plans to invest USD 1 billion to catalyze a network of up to 15 manufacturing innovation institutes around the country that would serve as regional hubs of manufacturing excellence and help to make manufacturers more competitive and encourage investment in the United States.

Obama also announced immediate steps to launch a pilot institute to serve as a proof-of concept for the NNMI.

Five federal agencies - the Departments of Defence, Energy and Commerce, the National Science Foundation, and NASA - jointly committed to invest USD 45 million in a pilot institute on additive manufacturing.

The announcement of an initial USD 30 million award under existing authorities is matched by USD 40 million from the winning consortium.

According to the White House, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII) will provide the innovation infrastructure needed to support new additive manufacturing technology and products in order to become a global center of excellence for additive manufacturing.

Additive manufacturing, often referred to as 3D printing, is a new way of making products and components from a digital model, and will have implications in a wide range of industries, including defense, aerospace, automotive, and metals manufacturing.

The Department of Defense envisions customising parts on site for operational systems that would otherwise be expensive to make or ship.

The Department of Energy anticipates that additive processes would be able to save more than 50 percent energy use compared to today's 'subtractive' manufacturing processes, the White House said.