‘Make in India’: How Modi’s ambitious plan will sharpen India’s manufacturing prowess

Ahead of his maiden visit to the United States, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched his ambitious 'Make in India' programme. The first of its kind initiative is aimed at transforming India into a global manufacturing hub by inviting investors through a string of measures including easier norms and rules.

This ambitious programme was first mooted by the PM in his Independence Day speech.

‘Make in India', an initiative to develop India's manufacturing prowess

Modi's signature initiative is aimed at inviting companies both local and foreign to invest in India. It contains proposals designed to make the country a manufacturing powerhouse.

25 key sectors identified by Government

The Government has identified 25 key sectors in which India has the potential of becoming a world leader. These include, automobiles, chemicals, IT, pharmaceuticals, textiles, ports, aviation, leather, tourism and hospitality, wellness, railways, auto components, design manufacturing, renewable energy, mining, bio-technology, pharmaceuticals and electronics among others.

Along with this, the Government will also identify some domestic companies having leadership in innovation and new technology, in order to help them turning into global champions.

Investors will be guided on every aspect

As per the programme, the documents/ brochures will provide growth drivers, investment opportunities, sector-specific policies and other relevant information to the investors.

The ‘Invest India' unit of the Commerce Ministry will act as the first reference point for guiding foreign investors on all aspects. It will provide them help on regulatory and policy issues, besides assisting them in obtaining regulatory clearances.

‘Make in India' portal will answer queries within72 hours

The Government has formed a dedicated cell to answer queries from business entities through a newly created web portal (www.makeinindia.com)
The cell would answer specific queries within 72 hours.

Along with this, the visitors registered on the website or raising queries will be followed up with relevant information and other details.

A pro-active approach will be deployed to track visitors for their geographical location, interest and real time user behaviour. Subsequent visits will be customised for the visitor based on the information collected.

Investor facilitation cell to assist foreign investors

The investor facilitation cell will take care of the foreign investors from the time of arrival in India to the time of their departure. This cell will also works toward bringing the top international companies from identified countries.

Regulatory processes to be made simpler

The Government is looking into all regulatory processes in order to make them simple and reduce the burden of compliance on investors.

Also, foreign investment caps in construction will be eased to enable greater participation in Government's 100 smart cities project and affordable housing scheme.

The Government is also planning to introduce a single labour law for small industries by December.

What is the need to strengthen manufacturing sector?

Modi Government's push for manufacturing sector in India is a laudable idea especially at a time when many big companies are seeking for an alternative to China due to its increasing cost.

Also, Modi has chosen manufacturing sector because majority of country's workforce consists of unskilled labour which is engaged in manufacturing sector. But at the same time, the contribution of this sector to country's GDP has remained largely stagnant.

India needs a boost in manufacturing sector to increase per-capita income and for employment creation. During 2005-2012, India has only created 15 million jobs while as per the data, 10 million people join its workforce every year.

"Manufacturing offers the surest way to employ millions of workers in middle-income jobs, provide a stable source of foreign currency, and create a reliable path for development. India already has the cheap labour and large local market. Better infrastructure and easier regulations, especially around labour, will help propel manufacturing," a report by Moodys' analytics said praising PM Modi's move to strengthen the manufacturing sector of India.

According to a report in NDTV, by focusing on export-oriented manufacturing, heavy infrastructure building and urbanization, Modi aims to copy the China and East Asian economic model, paving way for sustained rapid economic expansion.

A look at Modi's magnificent stint as Gujarat Chief Minister shows that the task of drawing foreign investors to invest in India's manufacturing industry is not difficult for this master planner and if Modi achieves this, he would be to fulfill his election promises of providing jobs and increasing growth rate.