Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches ‘Make in India’ initiative

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The latest initiative aimed to boost manufacturing in India (Source: Make in India)

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the ambitious ‘Make in India’ initiative in New Delhi today with simultaneous launches taking place at state level and in Missions abroad. While India’s Government-to-Business (G2B) platform, Invest India, aims to be the first point of contact for foreign investors and to provide assistance in obtaining regulatory clearances, the government has developed an exclusive web portal www.makeinindia.com to answer queries from businesses across the globe. Both the initiatives, along with the government’s e-Biz portal, aim to boost manufacturing in the country, lower imports, and increase India’s share in the global export market. At present, India is the world’s 19th largest exporter (with a share of 1.7%) and 12th largest importer (with a share of 2.5%) in merchandise trade.   The ‘Make in India’ is a pet project of Narendra Modi. In his maiden Independence Day address on August 15, 2014, Modi had said, “I want to appeal to people the world over: come, Make in India. Come, manufacture in India. Sell in any country of the world, but manufacture here."  

Source - World Bank

  However, it remains a challenge. In the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings, India slipped three points to the 134th position this year. It is worse for new businesses; globally, India stands at 179 in the ranking of 189 economies on the ease of starting a business. To export from India, one needs to fill nine documents (compared to eight in China), but the cost of exports in India is high (around $1,170 per container) compared to other Asian countries such as China ($620 per container) and Malaysia ($450 per container). Official sources said that the government is trying to simplify all regulatory procedures and the FAQs on the ‘Make in India’ portal will answer common queries quickly. The portal will also be supported by a team of experts who will respond to specific queries within 72 hours, said the government. The ‘Make in India’ initiative will also identify top Indian companies and will help those become large global players. The government has already identified Indian companies from 25 sectors including, automobiles, chemicals, pharma, textiles, IT, power, and ports, but the focus will be on green business (the ones which make environment-friendly products).

 This article was published on September 25, 2014.