‘Manufacturing’ the Vishwaguru

By Deepak Kumar Rath
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With the thrust on Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, India is carving a niche for itself in the global community. The manufacture of indigenous armaments and defence products, fulfilling the needs of the manufacturing sector, infrastructure sector and other sectors will prevent imports from abroad, which will not only give a boost to the economy, but India will also emerge as a major force in the world. In fact, India has the capacity to export goods worth $ 1 trillion by 2030 and is on the road to becoming a major global manufacturing hub. With 17 per cent of the nation’s GDP and over 27.3 million workers, the manufacturing sector plays a significant role in the Indian economy. Furthermore, the manufacturing purchasing  index, compiled by S&P Global, rose to 57.8 in December last year, which is the highest since 2020. What is more, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India will alone contribute 15 per cent of the global growth in 2023 and continues to remain a relative bright spot in the world economy. Hence, it cannot be gainsaid that the country is at a turning point of history, and this is time for Indian business to transform and take a positive approach towards investment for building Atmanirbhar Bharat. In fact, Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan is the vision of a new India envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The aim is to make the country and its citizens independent and self-reliant in all senses. The government outlined five pillars of Atmanirbhar Bharat–Economy, Infrastructure, System, Vibrant Demography and Demand. The government took several bold reforms such as supply chain reforms for agriculture, rational tax systems, simple and clear laws, capable human resources and a strong financial system. Hence, it is time to take a fresh view on the manufacturing sector, with cleansing of unhealthy elements in the functioning of this sector almost dwindling now. Here it is apt to mention that there are multiple agencies, projecting Indian and other countries GDP growth in post-COVID-19 scenarios. While reading these estimates and forecasts, the common man generally gets confused. However, there is something to be concluded out of these projections, and that is for sure that Indian GDP is going to grow faster in the coming years. According to the IMF, India’s growth rate will pick up to 6.8 per cent in 2024, much ahead of the Chinese and western economies.

In India, since Independence, the major requirements of different sectors such as manufacturing sector, automobile sector, mobile sector, infrastructure sector, defence sector and other sectors have been provided by foreign companies, owing to the dual policies of the government, lack of modernisation, selfishness of the leaders and lack of private sector participation. Hence, it engenders massive out-flow of precious foreign reserves. It cannot be gainsaid that the indigenised production in manufacturing sector, automobile sector, mobile sector, infrastructure sector, defence sector and other sectors is a major factor that provides strategic autonomy to a nation, thereby adding exponentially to national stability. Self-reliance in the manufacturing sector and other sectors provides security flexibility to a nation, by reducing reliance on external sources and frees a nation from peripheral pulls and pressures, be they political or otherwise. Therefore, the message by the present government of boost to indigenously-developed products is evident that a lot can be done in “one night” in governance. Otherwise, the mentality and weak policy of the former leaders increased the dependence of the manufacturing sector and other sectors on other countries and kept us under control. Therefore, it is thanks to the present government that it is envisioning the country’s requirements in all these sectors and treading the path to fulfil them.