When the current Prime Minister talked about the need to create a programme to boost manufacturing in India, it was seen as just yet another speech from the Red Fort from yet another politician to pacify people who were reeling under tremendous pressure from slowdown in the Indian economy.
After 3 months of the announcement, DIPP organised a workshop that was attended by the PM along with his cabinet and several state Chief Secretaries to showcase the seriousness of his commitment towards making India a self-reliant country in the manufacturing domain.
The major objective of this initiative is skill enhancement and job creation in 25 important sectors including Automobiles, IT and Railways. The initiative aims to increase GDP and revenues from taxation as well as creating an impact of Indian craftsmanship on the world.
To propel this initiative, foreign equity caps in various sectors has been increased by the government along with the validity of license which has been increased to 3 years. The FDI in Defence sector was increased from 26% to 49 % to decrease the military imports so that companies would find it easy to invest in this particular sector. India is amongst the largest buyer of Military equipment’s in the world.
Companies like Spice, Huawei, Hitachi, etc. have shown their inclination and committment to invest in India. It is predicted that approximately 300 million people will join India's workforce between 2010 and 2040 and the country requires 10 million jobs every year to accommodate the work force. It is perceived that this initiative by the Prime Minister will be able to generate approx. 100 Million Jobs by 2022.
The move if strategically implemented, will not only augment the purchasing power but also help in reducing poverty and curbing brain drain. For this the major policies needs to be overhauled like ease of doing business, single window clearance, ease of policies, and the most important issue is to curb red tapism. I am glad that the Government is "Walking the talk" and trying to create a policy framework that will make a difference in how India attracts FDI.
The vision, if correctly implemented, can once again put India on the world Map as one of the most competitive manufacturing markets in the world. With more than 120 Crore people in the country, the median age of India's population is 28, than that of China and Japan at 37 and 44 respectively, according to data from global market research firm Euromonitor. The "make in India" campaign has the potential to harness the capabilities of this huge population and offer "gainful employment" to the employable. If rightly channelized, this campaign has the potential to become PM's secret weapon for the next election.
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