‘Make in India’ has been an important program of the Narendra Modi government right since it started functioning. The reasons for this are simple. Make in India plan came at a very right time for the Indian economy which was being dubbed fragile by experts. Make in India involved a revamping of the entire production capabilities of India while also inviting foreign investors to the country. It may seem a little early to guess but the Make in India plan is seeming to find traction and its benefits are already showing on the Indian economy.
The Make in India plan was announced by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 25, 2014 at the Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. ‘Make in India’ isn’t all about indigenous production it also involves collaborations and partnerships with various countries. The plan involved a complete revamping and change in some areas of government policy. The government has tried to become friendly associates in business rather than a strict governing body. This is in tune with Narendra Modi’s slogan of minimum government and maximum governance.
Objective and Focus of the Make in India initiative
The objective of the ‘Make in India’ campaign is to transform the Indian economy to labour-intensive manufacturing driven growth. Through this campaign the government aims to grow manufacturing sector over 10% on a sustainable basis over a long run.
The initiative is focused on skill enhancement and job creation, with emphasis on 25 sectors. The sectors include IT, textiles, automobiles, biotechnology, chemicals, wellness, ports, hospitality and tourism, mining, railways, aviation, pharmaceuticals, leather, auto components, renewable energy, electronics, defence manufacturing, media and entertainment, food processing, construction, oil and gas, road and highways, thermal power, space and astronomy, electrical machinery.
Also, the initiative is focused to:
1. Provide foreign and national companies with a supportive environment in setting up manufacturing facilities inside the country.
2. Raise India’s position in the ease of doing business rankings.
3. Attract Foreign Direct Investments
‘Make in India’ Policies
As Make in India plan involved foreign investors, it became necessary to make them aware of the situations in the country. Earlier government advertisement policies had been to put ads in newspapers, but the ‘Make in India’ plan required a much more polished and efficient approach. Keeping in mind the requirements of the plan the DIPP (Department of Industrial Policy and promotion) employed professionally competent agencies to get the infrastructure ready for this plan. A mobile first website was developed for the plan. The primarily mobile website is neat and clean and the exhaustive details that come with any government project is hidden nicely within their specified fields but still accessible when required.
Features of the Campaign
- Requires the collaboration and discussions of Union Ministers, state government representatives, industrialists and field experts to work best. Such meetings were organised on a regular basis and it was in these meetings that the framework for this plan was laid out.
- The plan places a strong emphasis on the public private partnership model. A specially beneficial thing about the plans are that key sectors of the country which were not open to foreign or private investors earlier are now getting investors from all around the globe.
- The plan involves a complete revamping and change in some areas of government policy
A key necessity of the current modern India is investments. The Make in India plan focusses on investors too and an Investor Facilitation Cell was formed to lure foreigners to the country. As part of this initiative Narendra Modi has travelled to multiple countries and assured foreign investors support from the Indian government. The plan hasn’t been around for more than 2 years and so it may be a bit early to look at the total effects of this ambitious plan, but it has had its share of benefits. The earlier Indian government never opened critical and vital sectors of the country to foreign direct investment and as a result the sectors suffered. A particular example is the Indian Railways which is almost always fighting a battle of modernisation. The Make in India plans have also increased the financial credibility of India in the eyes of the world which is a big achievement for the government. It has also brought in foreign direct investment of about 63 billion US dollars.
Advantages of ‘Make in India’ Campaign
1. Manufacturing sector led growth in GDP.
2. Increase in employment, which will reduce poverty, increase purchasing power of common people, and magnify the consumer base for companies.
3. Increase in foreign direct investments (FDI), which in turn will led to technical upgradation.
4. Reduction in brain drain.
5. Better position of India in international market.
6. Increase in exports
7. Improvement in credit ratings
8. Improvement in the infrastructure of the country
Winding It Up
Overall, Make in India is an ambitious initiative, and can help India in becoming the manufacturing powerhouse in the world and in sustaining its growth momentum.
