Saturday, September 27, 2014: Finally the much-awaited day came for Indian citizens as Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his ‘Make in India’ programme, just before his first visit to the US. The red carpet has been rolled out for global investors to explore business opportunities in India. A string of measures have been adopted which ease rules and regulations for global investors, aiming towards transforming India into a manufacturing hub. The ‘Make in India’ slogan was first uttered by the PM during his Independence Day speech. The programme has chosen 25 sectors as main focus and it is aimed to create jobs along with building skills.
At his keynote address, PM Modi highlighted the importance of foreign direct investment in the manufacturing sector in India. But the meaning of ‘FDI’ has a certain twist in Modi’s terms, as it means ‘FIRST DEVELOP INDIA’ for him, in Indian scenario. He also said that the actual meaning of FDI or investment, stands for foreign countries only.
Modi brought “3D aspects” of the country in the forefront, elaborating it thus – democracy, demographic dividend and demand. According to the PM, India has the potential to provide all these three aspects. One of the main objectives of Modi is to boost the lower income groups to the middle income ones, through job creation and skill enhancement.
The official website of ‘Make in India’ programme and its logo have also been launched by PM Modi. One of the major aspects of India’s development is the expansion of solar energy market and Modi also emphasised on the importance of solar industry in the country. The successful Mars Orbiter Mission, which has just reached its destination yesterday, also didn’t miss Modi’s due attention at the high-profile event today as it has set a benchmark in front of the entire world. Other concerns, which are under Modi’s scanner, include waste management, tourism sector and overall infrastructure of the country.
PM Modi promised that he will make sure that his government will be shaped up in a better way in days to come so that they bring about a significant change in the stagnant sectors in India. Modi also proposed that a close collaboration will be ensured between the Centre and State governments to endorse maximum governance across the country. Among investors, who turned speakers at the event, Cyrus Mistry, chairman of Tata Group, ensured his commitment to invest in India, but no further details were furnished by him. Maruti Suzuki India MD Kenichi Ayukawa also addressed the event, saying India has the potential to become the largest car maker in the world, but he didn’t announce any investment plan. Mukesh Ambani, another speaker at the event, promised that his Reliance Industries will create 125,000 new jobs in India. Another speaker, ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, shared her view that electronic imports may pose a threat to Indian economy and that’s why domestic manufacturing is highly required in the country.
Speaking about the ‘Make In India’ campaign, ASSOCHAM President Rana Kapoor says, “The Make in India, launched by Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi is truely a “lion’s step” in making India a global manufacturing hub. Mr Modi’s assurance to the Indian and global investors that they would not lose and only gain by investing in the country will go a long way in instilling trust and confidence among all sections of the industry.” Kapoor states further, “The Prime Minister’s focus on ‘Effective and Easy governance’ by making his bureaucracy walk two steps ahead is something which will make a big difference to the ‘Ease of doing business’ in India. His new thinking of tackling the waste management in 500 cities and integrated development of key infrastructure with port being hub and warehouses, roads, rail and airport as spokes will surely reduce the transaction costs and improve India’s competitiveness.” “Another important initiative of the programme is reaching out to the states for facilitating and promoting investment in manufacturing. Significantly, the major initiative has been unveiled on a day when the Prime Minister is embarking on a very important visit to the US where his interaction with top CEOs of the world would be reassuring to industry across the world,” ASSOCHAM President’s statement adds.
MAIT, the apex body, representing the interest of IT hardware sector in India, welcomed the launch of ‘Make in India’ campaign as a bold move. Commenting on the same, MAIT said, “The launch of ‘Make in India’ campaign by the Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi is a concrete step in the right direction. It was the need of the hour and long overdue. We welcome the speed at which the current government has moved after the first announcement was made by the Prime Minister on August 15th .
MAIT also welcomes the Prime Minister’s focus on smother center-state relations with regards to ease of doing business. This will also create a positive environment and result in state and center working together to attract investment in the manufacturing sector. The focus on building trust factor is a welcome sign of the way the present government is creating positive environment to attract investors to consider manufacturing in India.
The emphasis on removing on ground hurdles is also an important move which would help build confidence amongst the investors. We also welcome the need for building a strong relation between the government and the businesses. This would go a long way in creating a healthy business environment.”
The concept of ‘Make In India’ is definitely very appealing. However, we will have to watch how the government executes this plan!
