27 November 2017
Mumbai
The Government is in the process of setting up an organisation to promote India’s exports in different geographies of the world, developing global linkages and promoting the brand equity of India, said Mr Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, while addressing CII Manufacturing Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Mumbai.
“For the first time, the Government is working on creating a new organisation to promote India’s exports globally. We will have offices at least in 10 different geographies, with market research back-up and promotional activity. With a completely different approach, we will work with the private sector on this, so that we can penetrate global markets effectively,” said Mr Prabhu.
“It is not possible for a small businessman to sit in India and do business globally. We want to create support system, especially for small businesses, by creating brand equity for India globally. Linkage with global market is necessary for promoting Indian products and we will do that,” the Minister of Commerce and Industry added.
The Government is trying to identify specific products that can be sold in specific geographies globally through market research, the minister said.
“An industry should have to compete with the best benchmark in the world and build global scale to reap the full benefit as a manufacturer,” said the minister adding that because you are part of the global environment.
Setting the $1 trillion revenues target for the manufacturing sector, the minister asked the industry to set the timeline and roadmap for achieving the same. “Without the number it was not possible for the industry to prepare a roadmap for achieving the milestone,” Mr Prabhu added.
India, which has jumped 30 rankings to 100 in Ease of Doing Business, is planning to achieve a position of top 50 ranks in the world.
Mr Prabhu said that districts must be taken as a unit for overall industrial development. “Unless the administration is sensitised there is no sustainable benefit to the people. We will develop the ecosystem around districts,” he added.
Mr Prabhu identified two initiatives through which this target can be achieved – identifying industries that are yet to born for entry and modernisation of the existing industries. “Imagine a top company on Wall Street, it has a market cap of a $trillion, not many countries in the country can boast of that kind of GDP. Where was that company 25 or 15 years ago?,” the minister asked.
Citing the example of the once flourishing textile industry in Mumbai, Mr Prabhu said that while nearly half a million people were employed by them 20 years back, they could not sustain due to lack of modernisation.
Dr Naushad Forbes, Summit Co-chairman, immediate past president of CII, and Co-chairman of Forbes Marshal said, “Now 120 firms have been identified for setting up and for strengthening their footprint globally. The aim is to take the number to 2000 in a few years.”
India needs to build 1,000 India MNCs around the world to achieve greater heights. For this, we may have to develop strong base of R&D, Dr Forbes added.
India has made a mark in improving its ranking in ‘Ease of Doing Business’, but we have to ensure that it should be perceived so by industries in district and taluka levels too, said Mr Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman, CII Manufacturing Summit, and Past President of CII and Chairman and Managing Director of Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
Mr Jamshyd Godrej highlighted that CII Manufacturing Summit has over the years been the trend setter as far as manufacturing sector is concerned. He also highlighted that the 16th Edition is having a special focus on “Make in India”, Ease of Doing Business: The Road Ahead, Millennial MSMEs: Future of Industry 4.0 and Start- up 4.0: India Centric Technology Innovation.
CII-BCG report, titled ‘Winning Through Frugal I4.0 innovation', outlining the way forward for the Indian manufacturing sector, was released earlier at the summit. As per the report, respondents surveyed acknowledge Make-in-India has been closer to reality in 2017. This is a good start, this optimism could translate into growth on ground. However, it will require continued efforts from both industry and policymakers alike. Respondents believe that the government drive to improve manufacturing has been effective.