‘Make in India’ Review Meeting on the Cards; Indian States to be Key Stakeholders in the Project

India turned the focus on its manufacturing sector with the launch of the ‘Make in India’ campaign earlier in 2014; the program aims to bring more business to India’s manufacturing sector. According to latest reports, the government is now set to hold a review meeting that will track success till date, and create an action plan that will put the specifics in place for implementing the Make in India program. The day-long workshop is slated to be held on December 29. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi will preside over the meeting, a number of industry stalwarts are expected to be present during the workshop, which is being facilitated by the Commerce and Industry Ministry.

On the cards is an address by Arun Jaitley, India’s Finance Minister, and Nirmala Sitharaman, the minister of Commerce and Industry. In addition to these addresses by politicos, the meeting will also feature sector-specific discussions with respective representatives and industry leaders. Besides industry bigwigs, senior officials from states and chief secretaries of various departments will also be in attendance.

The Make in India campaign was launched in September 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the key aim of attracting foreign investments. The objective of the campaign has been to position India as a global manufacturing hub, much on the lines of its rival neighbor, China. The program has identified over 25 sectors that will potentially benefit from higher investment dollars. These include: Automobiles, textiles, pharmaceuticals, IT and chemicals. According to those close to the event, a specific plan of action will likely be put in place during the workshop, and a program will be created with various state governments. According to these officials, the main stakeholders for the implementation of this project would be the respective state governments.

The manufacturing sector in India currently contributes about 17% to the economy. By 2022, with the help of this program, the government wants to take this figure to 25%.