More stringent rules needed to make lifts safer in India: Otis CEO

New Delhi: Elevator maker Otis Worldwide Corporation is increasing manufacturing capacity in India, its fastest-growing market, according to its chairperson, CEO and president, Judy Marks, who said more stringent regulation on elevators will make them safer in the country. In India, Otis has been operating for more than 70 years with presence in 800 cities. It installed its first elevator in the country in 1892 in Raj Bhavan in Kolkata. Marks told ET that although India is heading on the right trajectory, the challenge for the company is market cost.

"India has gotten us to focus far more on affordability of elevators. While the Middle East may be growing at a similar rate, they are not as focused on affordability. India cares about energy efficiency, it cares about safety, and it cares about affordability," said Marks.

The top executive said Otis is open to work not just with the regulators but with the rest of industry to help develop the more stringent regulation. "We would like a national code here in India that would benefit everyone in terms of affordability. It would benefit everyone in terms of access, especially as people are thinking now and they are adding elevators to their homes, especially for the aging populations," Marks said.


India is the fastest-growing market for Otis in terms of units, followed by Southeast Asia. With improvements in standard of living, investment in infrastructure and rise of the middle class, there is a demand for more buildings, for more features. "Indian products are probably the most affordable in the world. But because of that, they don't generate the same revenue as some other markets," the executive said. Refurbishing and modernisation of elevators is the largest growth area for the company globally, Marks said, adding that some 8 million of the 22 million elevators in the world are 20 years or older.