TANFAMA–SIDA national roundtable in Coimbatore will bring manufacturers, regulators and technology experts together as the high-risk industry looks at automation, predictive safety, worker protection and export standards
Coimbatore/Sivakasi: Can automation, sensors and artificial intelligence help reduce the human risk involved in one of India’s most hazardous traditional manufacturing industries? That question will be at the centre of a two-day national roundtable being organised by the Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers’ Association (TANFAMA) in association with the South Indian Defence Suppliers and Startups Association (SIDA) on September 25 and 26 in Coimbatore.
The roundtable, titled “Technology for Safer Fireworks Manufacturing – Towards a Zero-Accident Vision,” will be held at Rathinam Grand Hall as part of SIDA Defence Expo 2026. The dates and venue of the defence expo have also been listed by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations FIEO
While the organisers are positioning the event around safety, mechanisation, worker welfare and export growth, the larger significance lies in an attempt to address a long-standing problem: how to reduce workers’ exposure to hazardous chemicals and accident-prone manufacturing processes without dismantling an industry that supports a major manufacturing cluster around Sivakasi.
The Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) describes Sivakasi as the hub of India’s fireworks manufacturing industry, catering to about 90 per cent of the country’s fireworks demand. Significantly, PESO’s own Fireworks Research and Development Centre (FRDC) in Sivakasi lists the mechanisation of hazardous manufacturing processes, personnel safety, quality control, technology deployment and improving the industry’s international market position among its objectives. (peso.gov.in)
Safety challenge remains central
The planned technology push comes against a regulatory backdrop in which fireworks manufacturing continues to be treated as a high-risk activity. Tamil Nadu’s Labour Welfare and Skill Development Department says fireworks and matchworks factories have been categorised as high-risk factories, irrespective of the number of workers employed, and are subject to periodic inspections. (Labour Tamil Nadu)
During 2024–25, special squads carried out 1,477 inspections of fireworks factories. The department said 784 cases were filed against factory managements for violations and courts imposed fines totalling about ₹1.37 crore. (Labour Tamil Nadu) At the same time, the State government reported that the number of fireworks accidents during 2024 declined by 40.74 per cent compared with 2023, following measures including joint accident-site audits involving Revenue, Police, Fire and Rescue Services and Industrial Safety officials. (Labour Tamil Nadu)
That decline provides important context to the industry’s proposed “zero-accident” framework: safety interventions appear to be producing measurable results, but eliminating accidents will require more than declarations.
From manual processes to sensors and robotics
The Coimbatore roundtable is expected to examine whether some of the most hazardous processes can be increasingly mechanised or remotely monitored. According to TANFAMA, discussions will cover automation and robotics, smart sensors, real-time monitoring, electrostatic control, environmental monitoring and applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for predictive safety.
The idea is to identify dangerous conditions before they result in an incident and, wherever technically possible, reduce direct human exposure during sensitive manufacturing operations. The organisers also propose discussions on Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), scientific manufacturing practices, quality-management systems and professional management of factories.
These are not entirely new objectives. PESO’s FRDC was specifically established to work on safe manufacturing, mechanisation, product standardisation and personnel safety, suggesting that one of the questions before the roundtable will be how existing research can be translated into wider factory-level adoption. (peso.gov.in)
Workers cannot be separated from the technology debate
The technology discussion also comes with a worker-training challenge. Tamil Nadu’s Labour Department has acknowledged that inadequate understanding of safe working methods and the properties of chemicals can contribute to serious and fatal accidents. During 2024–25, its Sivakasi training centre trained 458 supervisors and foremen through week-long programmes and another 843 workers in one-day programmes covering mixing, filling and pellet-making safety. Mobile safety programmes reached another 5,230 workers, according to the State policy document. (Labour Tamil Nadu)
That means mechanisation alone cannot constitute a zero-accident strategy. Training, supervision, regulatory compliance, safe chemical handling and emergency preparedness will remain equally important.
Export ambitions enter the discussion
TANFAMA also wants the roundtable to examine how better quality control, international certification, consistent manufacturing and improved safety standards could help Indian fireworks manufacturers explore overseas markets. The organisers say the initiative is intended to align the industry’s modernisation with the broader Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat programmes.
Government and regulatory agencies, fireworks manufacturers, researchers, engineering institutions, safety specialists, automation companies, robotics firms, sensor manufacturers and technology startups are among those expected to participate. Their participation, however, should be distinguished from confirmed representation until the final delegate and speaker list is announced.
TANFAMA President Ganesan Panjurajan said the industry’s future depended on safety, mechanisation, technology, professional management and global competitiveness, and that the roundtable was intended to develop a common roadmap involving manufacturers, regulators and researchers.
The organisers expect the discussions to identify priority safety risks, possible technology interventions, pilot projects, research requirements and areas for industry–technology collaboration.
For Sivakasi, however, the real test will come after the conference: whether the proposed sensors, automation, robotics and predictive technologies move beyond presentations and pilot projects into the factory sheds where workers continue to handle hazardous materials every day.
