PM Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' call to boost manufacturing

NEW DELHI: Drawing from Narendra Modi's experience with the 'Vibrant Gujarat', the government is set to launch a massive 'Make in India' campaign next month to get Indian companies as well as global firms to invest in the manufacturing sector.

The latest effort, which was articulated in Modi's Independence Day speech earlier this month, will be unveiled within a fortnight of the government's Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana that seeks to open 15 crore bank accounts for those, who are outside the financial system, besides providing them insurance covers.

Sources in the government said PM will address the country's top industrialists as well as overseas investors, who are already in India and ask them to scale up investments, a move that is not only expected to spur economic activity but also create jobs in the coming months. The event will be Modi's first public interaction with industry captains after his government went about addressing some of their concerns. Unlike 'Vibrant Gujarat', where the state government under Modi finalized investment plans on the spot, the event planned at Vigyan Bhawan, will focus on making a pitch, although officials do not rule out the possibility of expanding the scope over the next few years. While the details of the blitzkrieg are being worked out, sources said, several sectors, especially those which are employment-intensive, will be offered for investment with specific focus on areas such as electronics, textiles, renewable energy, among others.

Even in his Independence Day speech Modi had listed out certain sectors, where his government intends to focus. "We want to give the world an favourable opportunity that come here, 'Come, Make in India' and we will say to the world, from electrical to electronics, 'Come, Make in India', from automobiles to agro value addition 'Come, Make in India', paper or plastic, 'Come, Make in India', satellite or submarine 'Come, Make in India'," he had said on August 15.

Even during its election campaign, BJP had made its focus on manufacturing clear. Although the National Manufacturing Policy cleared by the UPA government two years ago had sought to boost manufacturing, the policy flip-flops meant that investment had actually suffered and the share of the sector, instead of moving from 16% to 25%, actually declined due to the slump in the industry.

Through a series of steps — ranging from allowing more FDI in defence to tax benefits for investment and doing away with the inverted duty structure for several products — the government has sought to get companies to look at setting up plants in India, instead of invest overseas and import into the country.

Modi's team in the PMO as well as officers across ministries have been engaging with investors for the past several weeks to identify issues that need to be addressed to boost the economy. Officials said in coming three months, the plan is to launch a series of initiatives to remove hurdles and boost activity across sectors.