Highlights: Launching 'Make in India' campaign

Updated: Thursday, September 25, 2014, 17:41 [IST]

New Delhi, Sept 25: Indian Prime MInister Narendra Modi's flagship project 'Make in India' project, which won him the Lok Sabha elections, has been launched today by Nirmala Sitharaman, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, at an event at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi at 10 am.

The agenda

With the agenda of promoting indigenous products and creating a manufacturing sector in India, this project is dear to him as this would cut down on the increasing usage of 'Made in China' products.

The campaign also aims at urging Indian and international companies to invest in India.

It comprises proposals, framed to get foreign companies to set up shop and make the country a manufacturing powerhouse. The main sectors that have been targetted for the campaign 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.

The guest list

Some of the industrialists who had previously confirmed their presence include CK Birla (CK Birla Group), Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Biocon), Nikhil Nanda (Escorts), KM Mammen (MRF), CS Verma (SAIL), Shashi Ruia (Essar), Harshpati Singhania (JK Paper), Ajay Shriram (DCM Shriram) and Sanjay Lalbhai (from Arvind and Lalbhai Group).

Close to 1,200 invitations were sent out for the inaugural ceremony to various CEOs, heads of various Embassies and Missions and Principal Secretaries.

10:30 am: Mukesh Ambani: "The success of Mangalyaan has been a huge encouragement: Mukesh Ambani. Your (PM) interactions in Japan and China & anticipation of USA visit has created a very positive environment. We will create 125,000 news jobs in the next 12-15 months. When the world looks at India, let nobody have a doubt that we can be competitive on global terms."

10:20 am: Nirmala Sitharaman: "We want to make India a global destination for manufacturing, it has a huge potential to be so: Nirmala Sitharaman. World class infrastructure will serve as the impetus from manufacturing. We have identified 25 sectors in which India can be world leaders.....We have created a dedicated team to hand hold investors from across the world....We are constructing dedicated freight and industrial corridors and smart cities."

Benefits for investors

The companies investing in India will be provided with responsive and friendly interface where they can register their queries online and concerns systematically through a three-layered process.

While simple queries will be answered by the automated answering machines, the complicated ones will be handled by a team of 8 experts put in place by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), which includes economists and legal experts.

Digital promotion would be an important part of the agenda, to attract investors through advertisement of the efforts both at the state and the central level.