The nation’s economic growth is attributed largely to its Manufacturing sector.
It may be defined differently in each nation but this is absolutely true in nation as ours, with huge population and especially mammoth scale of demographically young population. Surely, traditionally our country has been Agro based economy. But, in the post-independence era, due to the influence of Western education system, huge section of youth is stepping out in society, with qualification in various sectors. The journey towards urbanisation has resulted in lesser number of people being involved in agriculture-based activities. Moreover, local cottage industries based on traditional skills needed to be preserved. Hence, revival and strengthening of Manufacturing sector is route to successful economic growth.
During Nineties, the then central Government had taken a drastic step of Free Market Economy. This may have appeared to be dynamic transformative step towards economic growth but it definitely had its negative effect. Economic growth may be calculated in terms of monetary gains but some other factors such as Job creation and Preserving of Foreign Exchange also plays very important role for nation’s rise. Unfortunately, the worst side effect of Liberalisation of economy by Narsimha Rao Government has been the widening gap between rich and poor. With entering of foreign goods from countries such as China, our skilled entrepreneurs lost their livelihood as the products - may be non-durable and of lower quality but - much cheaper in price, filled up the markets. Additionally, our precious foreign exchange was being swindled away.
With the primary goal of encouraging multinational and domestic companies to manufacture their products within Bharat and make Bharat a global manufacturing hub, the Hon. Prime Minister launched the Make-in-India initiative on September 25th 2014. Led by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the initiative aimed at raising the contribution of the manufacturing sector to 25 % of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the year 2025, from its current 16 % (at the time of launch).
Make in India has introduced multiple new Initiatives, promoting foreign direct investment, implementing intellectual property rights and developing the manufacturing sector.
It targeted 25 sectors of the economy which ranged from Automobiles to Information & Technology (IT) and Business Process Management (BPM).
It also facilitated job creation, foster innovation, enhance skill development and protect intellectual property.
The logo of ‘Make in India’ - a lion made of Gear-wheels- itself reflects the integral role of manufacturing in govt.’s vision and national development.
The initiative is built on four pillars.
a) New Reforms: The Government introduced several reforms to create possibilities for getting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and foster business partnerships. Some initiatives have been undertaken to alleviate the business environment from outdated policies and regulations. This reform is aligned with parameters of World Bank’s “Ease Of Doing Business” index to improve Bharat’s ranking on it.
b) New Infrastructure: Infrastructure is an integral part of growth of any industry. The Government intended to develop Industrial Corridors and build Smart cities with state-of-the-art technology and high-speed communication. Innovation and research activities, supported by a fast-paced registration system and improved legislation for protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Along with the development of infrastructure, the training for the skilled workforce for various sectors has been addressed.
c) New Sectors: Under ‘Make In India’ initiative, 25 sectors were identified for promotion with the detailed information being shared through an interactive Web-Portal.
d) Government of Bharat has always been seen as a regulator and not a facilitator.
This initiative intended to change this by bringing a paradigm shift in a way. Government interacts with various industries, focused on acting as a partner in the economic development of the country alongside the corporate sector.
‘Zero defect zero effect’ is a key phrase which has been associated with the Make in India campaign. In the words of Hon.Prime Minister, “Let’s think about making our product which has ‘zero defect’ and with thrust on ‘zero effect’ on environment. Thus, sustainable development has been made possible in the country, by imposing high-quality manufacturing standards while minimising environmental and ecological impact.
There are multiple reasons pronouncing the necessity for Government to focus on the Manufacturing.
For past two decades, Service sector had been leading the growth machine. It might have paid-off in the short run when BPO sector saw a leap but it led to Bharat being dubbed as ‘the back office of the world’! It may have increased the share of service sector in the economic growth to 57% but it lacked miserably in generating employment as the share of employment remained at 28 %. Service sector has low absorption potential considering the demographic dividends in the country and hence,Manufacturing sector needed to be augmented in order to boost employment.
Previous Governments had not paid much heed to promoting and protecting Manufacturing sector and the share of it in the overall Bharatiya economy was as low as 15% which was much lower than our neighbouring nations in the East Asia. There was an overall trade deficit in regards to goods. The trade surplus in service hardly covered Bharat’s trade deficit in goods. The Service sector alone could not hope to answer the trade deficit. The Manufacturing had to chip in.
Make in India initiative had envisaged three major objectives:
1) To increase the manufacturing sector’s growth rate to 12-14 % per annum.
2) To create 100 million additional manufacturing jobs in the economy by 2022.
3) To ensure that the manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP is increased to 25% by 2025.
In line with Make in India, individual states too launched their own local initiatives, such as “Make in Odisha’, “Tamilnadu Global investor’s Meet”, “Vibrant Gujarat”, “Happening Haryana” and “Magnetic Maharashtra”. Such local initiatives boosted the spirit of healthy competition among states in attracting businesses from across the world. It opened up new avenues for the huge youth population for stepping out after acquiring education to start their own ancillary ventures.
Make in India initiative has attracted some of the major successful investments in the beginning of its implementation.
In December 2015, Micromax announced three new manufacturing units in Rajesthan, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Japan announced setting up a USD 12 billion fund for Make in India related projects, called as “Japan-India Make-in-India Special Finance Facility” after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paying visit to the nation. Huawei opened a new Research and Development (R&D) campus in Bengaluru and setting up a telecom hardware manufacturing plant in Chennai. France based LH Aviation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with OIS Advanced Technologies to set up a manufacturing facility in Bharat for producing Drones. Samsung would manufacture the Samsung Z1 in its plant in Noida in UP. There are many more proposals in the pipeline.
Make in India focuses on the following 25 sectors of the economy. Automobiles & its components, Aviation, Biotechnology, Chemicals, Construction, Defence Manufacturing & Exports, Electronic systems & Machinery, Food Processing, Information Technology and Business Process Management, Leather, Media & Entertainment, Mining, Oil & Gas, Pharmaceuticals, Ports & Shipping, Railways, Roads & Highways, Renewable Energy, Thermal Power, Space & Astronomy, Textile & Garments, Tourism, Wellness & Healthcare are some of the important sectors.
For the first time, the sectors of Railways, Insurance, Defence and Medical devices have been opened up for more Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). The maximum limit in FDI in the Defence sector has been raised to 49%.
In construction and specified rail infrastructure projects, 100% FDI under the automatic route has been permitted. The Government has created Investor Facilitation Cell that assists investors from the time of their arrival in Bharat to their departure from the country. This was created in 2014 for providing services to investors in all phase such as pre-investment phase, execution and also after delivery services.
The Shram Suvidha Portal, eBiz portal etc. have been launched. The eBiz portal offers single window access to eleventh hour services connected with starting a business in Bharat. Other permits and licenses required to start a business have also been relaxed.
Reforms are being undertaken in areas like property registration, payment of taxes, getting power connection, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Other reforms include licensing process, time bound clearances for applications of fire investors, automation of processes for registration with the Employees State Insurance Corporation and the Employees Provident Fund Organisation, adoption of best practice by state in granting clearances, decreasing compliance through peer evaluation, Self-certification etc.
The Government has initiated Public-Private-Partnership mode of investment. Ports and airports have seen increased investments. Dedicated Freight corridors have also been developed.
The Government has launched plans to create five industrial corridors which are already underway. The corridors are spread across length and breadth of Bharat, with the strategic focus on inclusive development. This initiative would argument industrialisation and urbanisation in a planned manner.
The corridors are :
1) Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC)
2) Amritsar-Kolkatta Industrial Corridor (AKIC)
3) Bengaluru-Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC)
4) Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC)
5) Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC)
Bharat’s Military has the third largest strength across the globe. Out of the total expenditure each year on Military equipment’s, about 60% are utilised on importing updated defence equipment. If such equipment are manufactured in Bharat itself, the nation can save mammoth sum in Foreign Exchange. Additionally, it can create huge employment as well as provide an opportunity for technocrats.
USA, France and Israel have invested in Defence manufacturing in Bharat. Bharat Electronics has invented Laser equipment’s which are extremely useful for Defence purpose. It enables identifying enemy from Eight km distance in dark.Government of Bharat’s Ordinance Factory Board’s Ishapur factory has invented pocket size Revolver named ‘Needar’ as Woman’s safety tool. Weighing barely 250 gms, ‘Needar’ can fire Eight rounds and can be carried anywhere in the smallest of bag. It costs 35,000/- Rs. and all one requires is valid Arms license.
There have been several milestones attributed to the Make in India Scheme. The prominent ones are:
1) The introduction and implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST). It has eased the tax procedural system for businesses.
2) Digitisation in the country has gained momentum. Taxation, company incorporation and many other processes have been made online easing the overall process and improving efficiency. This has upped Bharat’s rank in the EoDB index which would result in larger FDI inflow. It will create more jobs, income and investments.
3) The new insolvency code namely, the insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 has integrated all laws and rules relating to insolvency into a single legislation. This has taken the bankruptcy code of Bharat, on par with global standards.
4) FDI Liberalisation has helped Bharat’s EoDB index to be favourable and has initiated creation of more jobs, income and investments.
5) Due to schemes of financial inclusion, such as PMJDY, as of May 2019, 356 MN new bank Accounts were opened.
6) BharatNet-This is a telecom infrastructure provider set up by the GoI has enhanced digital network in the rural areas of the country. This is perhaps world’s largest rural broadband project.
In demographically young nation as ours, there are plenty of young technocrats and brilliant minds with novel ideas to explore revolutionary innovations. Make in India initiative has given them platform to unleash their potential.
One such example is of Amol Yadav based in Mumbai. Living in Suburban Mumbai, Amol did not have much space or huge fund to put up an industry for manufacturing Air craft. But, he had passion to design since his years in USA while working in an Airline company. He began working on it in his 1600 Square feet terrace at his home. In Six years, Amol created a small 6-seater Aircraft which could fly at the height of 13,000 feet. It could cover 340 km per hour and carry about 1450 kg. of weight. It is 50-60% cheaper in price and certified by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) has launched a movement called ‘All India Swavlamban Abhiyan’ to create an awareness about self-reliance among Bharatiya industry. Such movements acts to boost the Government initiative of Make in India.
Hon.Prime Minister is a Visionary with multiple inventiveness. Along with creating network of welfare schemes for poor and under privileged class, Modiji led Government has also implemented ample of initiatives to promote entrepreneurship and small and medium scale industries, indigenous small businesses, rural industries, artisans in cottage industries as well as other non-farm activities.
There are more than 700 MSME clusters in the country. Many of these industrial clusters had lost their sheen due to unfair competition from China offering low quality products at cheaper price. The unfair import policies also played negative role in sustaining self-reliance.
The Hon.Prime Minister has recently given a call to fight the economic slowdown by promoting ‘Vocal for Local’.
Hon.Prime Minister has inspired the youth to adopt the “Spirit of Swadeshi” shown by Mahatma Gandhi, to protect the domestic industries. Citing an example of Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh, where a group of women aligned with a self-help group of Kadipur, joined in learning the skills of making slippers. The Slipper Manufacturing unit in Phulpur is entirely handled by women. It has improved the financial condition of their families immensely.
The Government has adopted the revival and restructuring of Manufacturing sector which has resulted in Inclusive growth, honouring esteemed brilliance.
Make in India is a sure shot route to lead the nation towards the journey of आत्म निर्भर भारत...