Make In India
By Kealan Finnegan
One of the key plenary sessions at the 2015 India UK Business Convention considered the progress made on the Indian government’s Make in India initiative.
Session objective
The session looked at the focus areas of the Make in India initiative and considered where progress is being made and challenges that remain. Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion delivered the keynote speech.
Session Participants
Amitabh Kant, Secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion; Anand Kripalu, CEO and Managing Director of Diageo; Vipin Sondhi, Managing Director and CEO of JCB India Ltd; Nitin Sahni, Sr. President, Government Relationship Management of Yes Bank; Mark Simpkins, Vice President and General Manager – India of BAE Systems; Ananth Narayan, Regional Head of Financial Markets – India and South Asia at Standard Chartered.
Key points
Kant outlined the success India is enjoying as it delivers the Make in India campaign: India is reducing paperwork and form filling, with e-governance initiatives increasing transparency while improving delivery. These will result in improved ease of doing business. The country is in the top 3 most attractive FDI destinations, and FDI is up 48 per cent between October 2014 and April 2015. With the ease of doing business improving and liberalisation allowing 100 per cent FDI in medical devices, telecom, construction, single brand retail, and the railways, FDI will grow faster. A new energy and dynamism in India is reflected in the high number of new digital and manufacturing start-ups emerging.
Research and Development is an exciting area with 168 MNCs having invested in R&D facilities in Bangalore and Hyderabad alone. The infrastructure sector has momentum with PPP projects being awarded in roads, ports and highways.
Kant highlighted recent in-bound investments in automotive (Renault), defence (United Technologies), and electronics (Foxconn) to suggest the Make in India initiative is gaining momentum.
The panel discussed challenges. Consensus was that greater clarity is required on tax policies, especially in Goods and Service Tax (GST). Labour and land laws need reform to facilitate manufacturing growth. Good political governance is paramount if India is to achieve its economic potential.
As well as creating an operating environment in which entrepreneurs can flourish, it was agreed that technology/R&D were critical to enhancing India’s manufacturing capability. The UK can help in both regards. The UK is number eight in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business rankings and the UK Government is working with Indian counterparts to share knowledge.
UK companies and academic bodies are already collaborating in tech-development and/or ‘making in
India’. They have a strong desire to do more in India and with Indian partners.
Conclusion
Success will not come overnight, but Make in India is clearly a step in the right direction. Work is being done to facilitate investments and to attract the type of growth that will create jobs and develop India as a competitive global manufacturing hub. The UK has much to offer, in terms of ease of doing business across all 26 sectors covered by
