Government Initiatives

The Government of India has taken several initiatives to promote a healthy environment for the growth of manufacturing sector in the country. Some of the notable initiatives and developments are:

The government approved a PLI scheme for 16 plants for key starting materials (KSMs)/drug intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The establishment of these 16 plants would result in a total investment of Rs. 348.70 crore (US$ 47.01 million) and generation of ~3,042 jobs. The commercial development of these plants is expected to begin by April 2023.

As part of efforts to expand its smartphone assembly industry and improve its electronics supply chain, the government, in March 2021, announced funds worth US$ 1 billion in cash to each semiconductor company that establishes manufacturing units in the country.

In the Union Budget 2022-23, the MSME sector received a boost with the extension of ECLGS and an increased guarantee cover of Rs 50,000 crore (US$ 6.55 billion).

The Union Budget 2021-22 is expected to enhance India’s domestic growth in manufacturing, trade and other sectors. Development of a robust infrastructure, logistics and utility environment for the manufacturing sector is a primary focus field.

Some of these initiatives are as follows:

• On November 19, 2021, Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, laid the foundation stone for the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor project worth Rs. 400 crore (US$ 53.73 million) in Jhansi.
• In November 2021, the Experts' Advisory Committee (EAC) of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade approved Rs. 3 crore (US$ 403,293.54) for the Atal Incubation Centre (AIC), Pondicherry Engineering College Foundation (PECF), under the Start-up India Seed Fund scheme.
• In September 2021, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi approved the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme in the textiles sector—for man-made fibre (MMF) apparel, MMF fabrics and 10 segments/products of technical textiles—at an estimated outlay of Rs. 10,683 crore (US$ 1.45 billion).
• India outlines a plan in August 2021 to reach its goal of US$ 1 trillion in manufactured goods exports.
• In July 2021, the government launched six technology innovation platforms to develop technologies and thereby, boost the manufacturing sector in India to compete globally.
• To propagate Make in India, in July 2021, the Defence Ministry issued a tender of Rs. 50,000 crore (US$ 6.7 billion) for building six conventional submarines under Project-75 India.
• In July 2021, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry announced that 104 start-ups from sectors, including food-tech, green energy, defence, education-tech, and health-tech, have joined ‘Start-up India Showcase’, an online discovery platform for the country's most promising start-ups that provides various social and digital connect opportunities.
• In May 2021, the government approved a PLI scheme worth Rs. 18,000 crore (US$ 2.47 billion) for production of advanced chemical cell (ACC) batteries; this is expected to attract investments worth Rs. 45,000 crore (US$ 6.18 billion) in the country, and further boost capacity in core component technology and make India a clean energy global hub.
• In India, the market for grain-oriented electrical steel sheet manufacturing is witnessing high demand from power transformer producers, due to the rising demand for electric power and increasing adoption of renewable energy in the country.
  • In line with this, in May 2021, JFE Steel Corporation in collaboration with JSW Steel Limited (JSW) signed a MoU to evaluate a study to establish a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet manufacturing & sales joint-venture company in India.
• To facilitate manufacturing and investment in sectors such as ICT and telecom, in May 2021, TEMA (Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association of India) signed a collaboration deal with ICCC (Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce) to promote ‘Make in India’ and ‘Self-reliant India’ initiatives.
• India's display panel market is estimated to grow from ~US$ 7 billion in 2021 to US$ 15 billion in 2025.
• The Mega Investment Textiles Parks (MITRA) scheme to build world-class infrastructure will enable global industry champions to be created, benefiting from economies of scale and agglomeration. Seven Textile Parks will be established over three years.
• The government proposed to make significant investments in the construction of modern fishing harbours and fish landing centres, covering five major fishing harbours in Kochi, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Paradip, and Petuaghat, along with a multipurpose Seaweed Park in Tamil Nadu. These initiatives are expected to improve exports from the textiles and marine sectors.
• The 'Operation Green' scheme of the Ministry of the Food Processing Industry, which was limited to onions, potatoes and tomatoes, has been expanded to 22 perishable products to encourage exports from the agricultural sector. This will facilitate infrastructure projects for horticulture products.
• The Union Budget 2021-22 allocated funds of Rs. 1,000 crore (US$ 137.16 million) for the welfare of tea workers, especially women and their children. About 10.75 lakh tea workers will benefit from this, including 6.23 lakh women workers involved in the large tea estates of Assam and West Bengal.