India will soon identify about a dozen sectors in which the country can emerge as a global manufacturing hub, said officials. The Niti Aayog is undertaking an exercise to identify these sectors and their export potential and recommend strategies accordingly, they said.
The government will tweak policies and provide infrastructure support to help these sectors become global champions in manufacturing. The focus will be on handholding these sectors and providing them outcome-oriented support to scale up production and match global requirements, said officials.
The Niti Aayog will commission a study in this regard, they said.
While a comprehensive list will be firmed up over the next four months, cement, steel and some consumer related industries, especially those which are not covered under the production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes, are being considered for policy intervention, officials said.
“The idea is to analyse around 10-12 manufacturing sectors of the economy and map them with the global trends. This will help establish their growth potential,” said one of the officials, who did not wish to be identified, adding that the government will work on interventions for the sectors concerned.
The exercise is aimed at evaluating the country’s industrial capabilities and the challenges these sectors face which hinder India from becoming a global manufacturing centre.
Once identified, the government will strive to provide requisite infrastructure for these sectors, including seamless transportation, power supply and digital connectivity.
Besides, it will relook at the existing policy framework and trade agreements while simplifying the regulatory environment and tweaking the tax structure, wherever needed, to boost manufacturing in these sectors and enhance the ease of doing business in India.
The government wants to reap the benefits of the country’s demographic dividend, skilled workforce and strong economic growth which, it feels, have made India a preferred investment destination for manufacturing.
In 2014, the government launched the Make in India initiative to facilitate investment, foster innovation, building best in class infrastructure and making India a hub for manufacturing, design and innovation. Under Make in India 2.0, the government presently focuses on 27 sectors through various ministries and departments.
Besides, it had introduced PLI schemes for 14 key sectors, with an incentive outlay of ₹1.97 lakh crore to enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities and exports.
The other key initiatives include the Industrial Corridor Development Programme, the Ease of Doing Business initiative, the National Single Window System and the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan to give a direct and indirect push to manufacturing.
