And bang! Forty-one days later at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, Modi announced the launch of India’s most ambitious plan to boost manufacturing in the country in the presence of business stalwarts like Mukesh Ambani, Cyrus Mistry, Kumar Mangalam Birla and Azim Premji.
This initiative is nothing less but a giant leap or the step of a lion. As we write this, the official Facebook page of Make In India has crossed 120K likes and its twitter handle has more than 13K followers, all this, in a day’s time. Here’s everything about MakeInIndia and why it is a stepping stone towards making India an investment hub.
Make In India is a new national program designed to transform India into a global manufacturing hub. It contains a raft of proposals designed to urge companies — local and foreign — to invest in India and make the country a manufacturing powerhouse.
The focus of Make In India programme is on creating jobs and skill enhancement in 25 sectors. These include: automobiles, aviation, chemicals, IT & BPM, pharmaceuticals, construction, defense manufacturing, electrical machinery, food processing, textiles and garments, ports, leather, media and entertainment, wellness, mining, tourism and hospitality, railways, automobile components, renewable energy, mining, bio-technology, space, thermal power, roads and highways and electronics systems.
The Make In India logo is derived from India’s national emblem. The wheel denotes the peaceful progress and dynamism – a sign from India’s enlightened past, pointing the way to a vibrant future. The prowling lion stands for strength, courage, tenacity and wisdom – values that are every bit as Indian today as they have ever been.
Global investors have been unsparing in their criticism about complex rules and bureaucratic red tape that delay investment decisions. India ranks 134 out of 189 countries in the World Bank’s ease of doing business index in 2014. As part of Make In India initiative, foreign investment caps in construction will be eased to enable greater participation in the NDA government's 100 smart cities project and affordable housing. The initiative will also target top companies across sectors in identified countries.