ASSOCHAM stresses role of manufacturing in Indian economy

Kochi, Aug 12 (UNI) India should aim at a 12 per cent growth in manufacturing from the present nine per cent as this sector had the potential to create across-the-board employment opportunities in the country, ASSOCHAM President Anil K Aggarwal said here.

Addressing a press conference last evening, Mr Aggarwal said the services sector could create jobs only for the skilled workforce whereas in manufacturing, larger employment opportunities would be created from the unskilled to the highly skilled workforce.

Stating that India could compete with China in the manufacturing sector, he said the government and private players should join hands to make the country a global manufacturing hub.

For this, it was important to encourage Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and also Public Private Partnership (PPP). Also, the need of the hour was augmenting the country's infrastructure in power, roads, airports, ports and water supply.

He said the power sector alone needed investments to the tune of Rs 500,000 crore. He welcomed the government's decision to set up mega power plants of 4,000 to 5,000 MW each to install a combined power capacity of 20,000 MW.

He said talks were on with major global players and some outcome should be clear by December. However, the entire process should be transparent to avoid Enron type muddles, he added.

Mr Aggarwal said ASSOCHAM had identified a few sectors in manufacturing which could augment employment generation as well as value addition.

Whereas sectors like food and agri processing, textiles, leather and pharmaceuticals could contribute to employment generation, others such as automobile and auto spares, chemicals, gems and jewellery and pharmaceuticals could lead to value addition.

India should also aim to become a superpower in bio-technology he said and added that states like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were already moving in this direction.

In the services sector, the emphasis should be on information technology, tourism, medical services and business process outsourcing (BPO).

Identifying food processing as a major area of development for India, he said ASSOCHAM was organsing a major meet at Greater NOIDA in November on opportunities in the food processing sector.

Supporting both contract farming and opening of the retail sector to FDI, Mr Aggarwal said farmers stood to benefit by both of them.

On reservation in the private sector, Mr Aggarwal said the ASSOCHAM and the CII had together submitted a paper to the government on what the industry would do for bettering the prospects of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes without introducing reservation in the private sector.

The government had responded positively to the chambers' suggestions, he claimed.

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