Make in India is a flagship initiative launched by the Government of India in September 2014, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the objective of making India a global manufacturing hub: attracting foreign investment, increasing domestic manufacturing, improving skill development, safeguarding intellectual property, and building world-class manufacturing infrastructure.
Key objectives of the Make in India initiative:
- Raise the growth rate in terms of the manufacturing sector: Aimed to raise the growth to 12-14% per year.
- Generate employment: Originally 100 million additional manufacturing jobs by 2022 (this was later extended to 2025).
- Increase the share of manufacturing in GDP: A target of achieving 25% for manufacturing output, of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), by 2025.
- Make India a desirable destination for domestic and foreign investment: Create a stable business environment.
- Develop an entrepreneur’s and innovation-friendly environment: Trough legislation and infrastructure.
- Build world-class infrastructure: Industrial corridors, smart cities, etc.
• Create a business-friendly environment: Fewer laws and regulation. - Promote ‘Vocal for Local’: Support production of Indian-produced goods, and consumption of Indian-produced goods.
- Connect India to the global supply chain: To enable Indian companies successful in the international workspace.
Effects and Outcomes of Make in India Initiative
While the initiative is still largely ongoing and evolving, it has had several significant effects:
- Increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): The Make in India initiative has led to substantial FDI inflows into India.
- Improved Ease of Doing Business: India has improved its position in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index.
- Growth in Particular Sectors: Manufacturing and exports have grown in sectors such as electronics, pharmaceuticals, and automotive.
- Policy Changes: The initiative has acted as an impetus for various policy reform across multiple areas such as tax simplification (GST), labor reforms and the introduction of Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes.
- Particular Focus on Self-reliance (Atmanirbhar Bharat): Make in India is aligned with the larger goal of a self-reliant India which seeks to promote domestic production while reducing reliance on imports.
- Development of infrastructure: There has been a push for the development of industrial corridors and improvements to logistics infrastructure.
Challenges and the Way Forward
The Make in India initiative has made notable progress, however, a number of challenges persist such as: - Achieving ambitious targets: Meeting the targeted share of manufacturing in GDP and job creation over the years has been challenging.
- Infrastructure deficit: Progress in the infrastructure area has been made, however much more needs to be done and more investment is needed.
- Complex regulatory environment: Continuing efforts are needed to make regulatory compliance easier and simpler.
- Skill development: Addressing the skills gap in the workforce is very important.
- Global economic environment: It is important to note that external marketing economic conditions can influence the factors leading investment and manufacturing growth.
