The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has released a list of 24 key sectors including food processing, toys, furniture, agro chemicals and textiles with respective ministries asking them to work on an action plan with a view to boost domestic manufacturing and make India a self-reliant country, an official said. The other sectors include organic farming, iron, aluminium and copper, electronics, industrial machinery, furniture, leather and shoes, and auto parts.
“Each ministry has been sent those sectors to identify their response. What incentives they (sectors) need, what policy tweaking is required, they (respective ministries) should do that.
We have given them a preliminary action plan and the ministries will work on that. Each ministry will bring its own policy on these sectors,” the commerce and industry ministry official said.
The government wants to make India a self-reliant country in these segments, boost exports and become a global supplier. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is working actively on promoting domestic manufacturing of toys and furniture.
“Several meetings were held with stakeholders to identify these sectors which have the potential to become global winners and make India a strong manufacturing hub,” the official added. Promoting manufacturing would help create more jobs and push India’s dwindling exports. The manufacturing sector contributes about 15 per cent to the country’s economy and the government is aiming to increase it significantly.
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for April-July contracted by 29.2 per cent. The manufacturing sector constitutes about 78 per cent of the IIP. Exports too contracted by 26.65 per cent to USD 97.66 billion during April-August this fiscal. In April, India brought into effect a regulation requiring investments emanating from countries with which the country shares a land border, to be cleared directly by the government rather than the earlier automatic approval route. There has been a steep increase in the number of follow-up questions and demand for additional information by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. (Source: PTI)