– Manohar Parrikar and Nirmala Sitharaman
Speaking at a seminar on “Make in India: The Way Forward” organized by the DIPP and CII during the ‘Make in India Week’ in Mumbai, Mr. Manohar Parrikar, Minister of Defence, and Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, emphasized that an ecosystem for skill development, technology & innovation and R&D is critical to realize the success of the Prime Minister’s special campaign.
On the occasion, while assuring their full support in taking into consideration industry’s recommendations to move forward on the policy reforms, both the Ministers also emphasized the need for Industry-Government collaboration in these critical areas.
Providing his perspective on the recent major reforms in the Defence sector, Mr. Parrikar stated that with the opening up of FDI to 49 per cent, no pendency in approvals for offset and exports, and the amendments in the new Defence Procurement Policy, the Indian defence industry is moving in the right direction to be a key beneficiary and contributor to the ‘Make in India’ campaign.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Amitabh Kant, Secretary, DIPP, said that the world of manufacturing is changing very drastically with a paradigm shift in technology and disruptions brought about by robotics, simulations, cyber security and big data analytics having made the global companies to get digitally integrated. There is a need for Indian companies also to embrace such a shift.
Mr. Kant further stated that in pursuance of the 4th Industrial Revolution and the digital and technological integration, the Indian economy need not worry about the employment scenario as the incidences of job losses due to greater adoption and use of technology by companies will be offset by the robust demand in the economy and the different core competencies of the States to attract investments.
Moderating the panel discussion, Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, stated that the Defence sector has a huge role to play in the ‘Make in India’ campaign and the industry is appreciative of the changes in the new Defence Procurement Policy to focus on equipment and products designed, developed and manufactured in India.
Mr. Banejee also said that the Indian industry is optimistic about the growth potential in the manufacturing sector. He further shared that to achieve the target of 25 per cent manufacturing contribution to GDP by 2025, the sector would have to grow in double digits each year, which is also essential to meet the aspirations on the employment generation front.
Among the industry speakers at the panel, Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group, said that the overall investment climate has seen significant improvement over the last six months on back of the policy reforms undertaken by the Centre and the measures taken by the States for attracting investments having made it easier to do business.
Mr. Birla also emphasized the need for a greater degree of collaboration between the Central and State Governments to further improve the business environment.
To give the industry perspective from a foreign company, Mr. Martin Lundstedt, President & CEO, Volvo Group, stated that with the Government emphasis to promote the manufacturing sector through the ‘Make in India’ campaign, he looks at India with a visionary pragmatism and with a view to manufacturing in the country for the global world.