National Manufacturing Mission: A new blueprint to boost 'Make in India'
National Manufacturing Mission
(NMM), announced in this year's budget, attempts to push '
Make in India
' into top gear. This can be accomplished by integrating India into
GVCs
and creating employment opportunities. Translating NMM's goals into concrete outcomes requires supporting sector-specific clusters through
industrial policy interventions
, fiscal support, cutting cost disadvantages and enhancing ease of compliance.
On the policy front,
NITI Aayog
and some line ministries like MeitY have been engaged in understanding what would move the needle. NITI Aayog has published well-researched reports on specific sectors. The one on auto and auto component sector points out that momentum exists in eight clusters, including NCR, Pune and Chennai, that have attracted both domestic and global players, offering advanced manufacturing facilities and extensive logistics networks.
But these clusters also face significant challenges, including limited access to modern tech tools and inadequate warehousing facilities. These limitations impede operational efficiency and competitiveness.
There is an opportunity to transform some of these into big auto clusters with world-class facilities in collaboration with anchor players focused on specific segments, products or components.
Creation of plug-and-play facilities in these clusters will ensure minimal setup time for industries, and provide common and shared infrastructure.
Live Events
Provision of common design and R&D facilities, factories and tool rooms, testing and training facilities, and logistics support within these mega-clusters will make manufacturing even more competitive at a global scale, draw in anchor players, and ensure a greater share of the automotive GVC moves to India.
Cost disadvantages continue to dog Indian manufacturing, especially vis- a-vis key competitors such as China and Vietnam. But India can't wait while structural solutions to these disabilities are found. It needs well-designed, sharply focused and easy-to-deliver fiscal incentives.
Despite much criticism of PLIs, their contribution to delivering quantum growth of exports in the electronics sector can't be glossed over. Success has come usually when three conditions are fulfilled:
Participation of an anchor brand representing a sizable share of global trade.
A simple set of eligibility criteria easy to verify.
Timely disbursements matching the speed of incentive roll-out in peer countries.
The realignment of value chains will remain a mirage if Indian
MSMEs
can't script success stories alongside anchor brands relocating to India. A beginning has been made with MeitY's incentive scheme for
electronic components
.
Deepening the component manufacturing system will enable India to improve value addition on manufactured products and, thereby, maximise advantage from the fresh set of trade agreements on the anvil. Besides electronics, there is scope to follow this through in a few other sectors as well.
Incentive schemes are one way to level the playing field in the short term, as far as cost disabilities are concerned. A more durable solution would be to rekindle the mantras that sparked India's path to a higher trajectory of economic growth 1991 onwards.
Creeping cost of regulation for manufacturing - from licences to tariffs to mandatory testing and product certification - needs a thorough audit and review. For instance, the quality regime intended to prevent cheap, low-quality products from flooding our markets should be an enabler for genuine Indian manufacturing, rather than an obstruction.
Quality control orders (QCOs) have a definite role to play in ensuring benchmarks for products finding their way into the Indian market. However, deepening the manufacturing value chain takes time. So, for raw materials and intermediate goods not readily available in India, rationalisation of QCOs is imperative. For starters, it is important to convince major manufacturers to make and export from India. A more graded approach to QCOs would go a long way towards achieving this objective.
Participation of anchor players results in several advantages. They catalyse establishment and growth of cutting-edge tech in their respective sectors. Once they invest in such plant and equipment in India, they will also galvanise creation of a future-ready skilled workforce and vendor ecosystem that can operate and provide the input for such technologies.
The announcement of NMM comes at an opportune moment. As global brands seek to relocate production to diversify sourcing and mitigate risks, India must ride the upswell of manufacturing opportunity that's bound to arise.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
9 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
India's watchdog warns Air India for breaching pilots' flight duty timings
By Aditya Kalra India's watchdog warns Air India for breaching pilots' flight duty timings NEW DELHI, - India's aviation watchdog has issued a warning to Air India for "repeated and serious violations" related to pilot duty scheduling and oversight, according to government directives reviewed by Reuters on Saturday. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation directed Air India to remove three company executives from crew scheduling roles - a divisional vice president, a chief manager of crew scheduling and one planning executive - for lapses linked to flights from Bengaluru to London on May 16 and May 17 that exceeded the stipulated pilot flight time limit of 10 hours. The June 20 order cited "systemic failures in scheduling protocol and oversights" and criticised the lack of strict disciplinary measures against responsible officials. The latest action by the aviation authority against the airline is unrelated to this month's crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 plane that killed all but one of the 242 people onboard but signal heightened scrutiny of the airline. On Thursday, Reuters reported the authorities had also warned Air India for breaching safety rules after three of its Airbus planes flew despite being overdue for checks on emergency equipment of escape slides. The latest order by assistant director of operations at the DGCA, Himanshu Srivastava, said: "Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible." In a statement to Reuters, Air India said it has implemented the DGCA order and in the interim, the company's chief operations officer will provide direct oversight to the Integrated Operations Control Centre. "Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices," it added. The DGCA stated in its order that Air India had voluntarily disclosed the violations. Air India was taken over by the Tata Group in 2022 and faces many challenges in its attempts to rebuild its image, after years of criticism from travelers for poor service. The Indian regulator, like many abroad, often fines airlines for compliance lapses. India's government in February told parliament that authorities had warned or fined airlines in 23 instances for safety violations last year. Around half of them - 12 - involved Air India and Air India Express. The biggest fine was $127,000 on Air India for "insufficient oxygen on board" during some international flights. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
United News of India
10 minutes ago
- United News of India
MEA revokes denial, grants Priyank Kharge clearance for US visit
Bengaluru, June 21 (UNI) In a sharp turn of events, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Saturday said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has revoked its earlier decision and granted him clearance for an official visit to the United States, five days after his scheduled departure and following public outcry. Taking to social media platform X, Kharge wrote, 'So in a U-turn, the Ministry of External Affairs has now decided to revoke its earlier decision and grant me a clearance for an official visit to the United States.' Kharge said he had applied for permission on May 15 to travel between June 14-27 to represent the Karnataka government at two major global forums and participate in over 25 official meetings with top companies, universities, and institutions to pitch for investments and explore collaborations. The minister highlighted that his initial delegation request was rejected, while subsequent applications — first for officials and later for the KEONICS chairman — were approved, showing a selective clearance process over three separate submissions between May 15 and June 14. Kharge said no official explanation was provided for the denial of his own application. On June 19, he held a press conference highlighting the chronology and alleging political interference. By the same evening, the MEA issued a fresh No Objection Clearance dated June 19, effectively reversing its earlier stance. '36 days after my original application, 15 days after the denial, and five days after my scheduled departure, they 'revoke' their decision,' he noted, questioning the timing and intent behind the clearance. He further asked, 'Why was the clearance denied in the first place? Was it revoked only after the matter became public? What is the point of a clearance after the key events are over?' Criticising the Centre, Kharge said while the Union Government promotes slogans like 'Make in India', 'Digital India', and the 'India AI Mission', it is states like Karnataka that are driving real progress. He alleged that despite leading on innovation and job creation, Karnataka is being obstructed politically. Referring to the Prime Minister's statement, MAGA + MIGA = MEGA', Kharge asked, 'What does that even mean in practice, when the very state driving India's tech and innovation engine is denied the support it needs to lead globally?' Demanding accountability, Kharge concluded: 'These questions warrant an urgent response. Karnataka deserves answers.' UNI BDN PRS
Mint
15 minutes ago
- Mint
Investors tip to Indian manufacturers: adopt tech and become Silicon Valley for global funds
Singapore, Jun 21 (PTI) Given the government's generous incentives, the Indian manufacturing sector should adopt technology to become a "Silicon Valley" that attracts global sovereign funds, said Bengaluru-based industrialist-turned-investor Ankit Kedia. "Eventually, we should build Indian manufacturing startups that expand abroad as part of our future plans, as we want to make products for the world with a home-grown Silicon Valley-type ecosystem," Kedia said in an interview to PTI at the Super AI conference and exhibition held June 18–19 here. However, technology must be made affordable for these cash-strapped manufacturers operating in lower-cost environments in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, he said. Bengaluru, already recognised as a technology hub and often called India's Silicon Valley, should now focus on manufacturing, especially by leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, he suggested. Kedia, who is currently working on a ₹ 400-crore Fund-2 under his five-year-old Capital-A, shared his vision for the Indian manufacturing sector over the next 15 years, aiming for a strong foundation across the country, starting with low-cost factories in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. With two decades of experience in various industries and five years of running Capital-A Fund-1, Kedia is focused on technologies for the manufacturing sector, which he wants to combine with his long-term investment horizon of 15 to 20 years. Kedia has explored opportunities for the use of AI in manufacturing at the Super AI show, stating that he is returning home to raise ₹ 400 crore for Fund-2, which will be strategically invested in factories in Tier-II and Tier-III cities such as Amritsar, Pune, Ahmedabad. "We want hardware producers in these cities to form the foundation of our future manufacturing ecosystem and to share prosperity across the country," he said. "India's large consumer market, along with the government's Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, provides further confidence to investors to support small and medium-sized software or hardware manufacturers, who will have a low-cost advantage when competing globally,' he emphasized. Kedia also sees international sovereign funds moving to India for better returns on investment, especially as they face pressure from global uncertainties. Capital-A Fund-1 has reported an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 28 per cent and is being tracked at 1.8X, Kedia said. "Such fund returns are becoming more and more attractive to sovereign funds in Europe and the United States," said the fund manager, who invested ₹ 120 crore under Fund-1 across 25 investments five years ago. "The strong domestic market, the stability of the Indian ecosystem, and the potential of leveraging an increasing number of free trade agreements (FTAs) between India and international markets are all plus points for our manufacturing sector," he underscored. Harshul Arora, founder and CEO of Noida-based Macgence, noted that more and more enterprises are shifting to AI-automation to be more cost-effective and capture a bigger share of the market through efficient production. "Small manufacturers in Tier-II and -III city regions are able to use AI to communicate with their clients – a real time translation is offered to these small manufacturers to communicate in any language with clients. "This will increase their communication skills and reach to global businesses as well as a large audience," said the 24-year-old who started with a language solutions company and now runs training data solutions for AI companies globally. Over 7,000 participants from more than 100 countries attended the Singapore Super AI.
