<p>The government’s plan to set up a National Manufacturing Mission has moved forward with the setting up of a committee to frame broad outlines. The proposal was first announced in the Union budget for 2024-25 on February 1, and it is intended to boost the Make in India initiative. The Make in India programme, launched in 2014, has not achieved the best results. The government has launched new initiatives, like the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, to support the Make India initiative. But manufacturing accounts for just 15-17 per cent of the GDP now, as against the target of 25 per cent. The committee is led by Niti Aayog CEO B V R Subrahmanyam and it is holding discussions with important stakeholders, including states and domestic industry. </p>.<p>The mission is expected to focus on five areas. They include improving the ease of business and making it cheaper, preparing a work force ready for the future, rejuvenating the the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), providing access to the best technology, and ensuring that the products are competitive and have the best quality. These requirements would necessitate overhauling the infrastructure and procedures of production and ushering in a total change of work culture and priorities. Laws and rules will have to be changed. These are the major challenges to the mission. Manufacturing policies and schemes like the PLI have focused on large industries like automobiles and pharmaceuticals. MSMEs have not received adequate attention. The MSME base that the country had was damaged by demonetisation. It needs to be revived now. MSMEs should get better access to credit and technology, and enjoy a friendly regulatory environment. They provide scope for creating employment on a large scale. Apart from traditional MSME sectors like apparel and footwear, new areas should be identified and developed. Sectors such as energy, water conservation and agricultural processing should receive attention as they align with not only the demands of the economy but also with climate change policies. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The need for improving the country’s manufacturing base has become more evident with the outbreak of the trade war started by US President Donald Trump. The hostility with Pakistan also underlined the need to improve the production base of the country’s defence industry. Experts have said that the mission should “enhance competitiveness, increase efficiency, foster innovation, integrate domestic manufacturing into global value chains and make India a globally competitive manufacturing hub.” The country will have to deal with challenges in all these areas. The committee will hopefully finalise a policy framework and the mission will be launched at the earliest. </p>
<p>The government’s plan to set up a National Manufacturing Mission has moved forward with the setting up of a committee to frame broad outlines. The proposal was first announced in the Union budget for 2024-25 on February 1, and it is intended to boost the Make in India initiative. The Make in India programme, launched in 2014, has not achieved the best results. The government has launched new initiatives, like the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, to support the Make India initiative. But manufacturing accounts for just 15-17 per cent of the GDP now, as against the target of 25 per cent. The committee is led by Niti Aayog CEO B V R Subrahmanyam and it is holding discussions with important stakeholders, including states and domestic industry. </p>.<p>The mission is expected to focus on five areas. They include improving the ease of business and making it cheaper, preparing a work force ready for the future, rejuvenating the the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), providing access to the best technology, and ensuring that the products are competitive and have the best quality. These requirements would necessitate overhauling the infrastructure and procedures of production and ushering in a total change of work culture and priorities. Laws and rules will have to be changed. These are the major challenges to the mission. Manufacturing policies and schemes like the PLI have focused on large industries like automobiles and pharmaceuticals. MSMEs have not received adequate attention. The MSME base that the country had was damaged by demonetisation. It needs to be revived now. MSMEs should get better access to credit and technology, and enjoy a friendly regulatory environment. They provide scope for creating employment on a large scale. Apart from traditional MSME sectors like apparel and footwear, new areas should be identified and developed. Sectors such as energy, water conservation and agricultural processing should receive attention as they align with not only the demands of the economy but also with climate change policies. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The need for improving the country’s manufacturing base has become more evident with the outbreak of the trade war started by US President Donald Trump. The hostility with Pakistan also underlined the need to improve the production base of the country’s defence industry. Experts have said that the mission should “enhance competitiveness, increase efficiency, foster innovation, integrate domestic manufacturing into global value chains and make India a globally competitive manufacturing hub.” The country will have to deal with challenges in all these areas. The committee will hopefully finalise a policy framework and the mission will be launched at the earliest. </p>
