Explained:Manufacturing Sector

News:Experts have suggested that India’s unemployment crisis can only be solved by boosting the manufacturing sector.

Facts:

About Manufacturing Sector:

  • Manufacturing Industry in India has gone through various phases of development over a period of time. 
  • Since independence in 1947, the domestic manufacturing sector has traveled from building the industrial foundation in 1950’s and early 1960’s to the license–permit Raj between 1965 and 1980. 
  • Then, it underwent a phase of liberalization of 1990’s and finally to the present phase of global competitiveness

Significance of Manufacturing Sector:

  • There are broadly three sectors of the economy namely agriculture, industry and services. 
  • Agriculture engages almost half the Indian workforce.But it does not grow fast enough and is not remunerative enough to provide gainful employment to the millions who join India’s workforce each year.
  • Services is also a fast-growing sector and pays well but it places far greater demands on job seekers in terms of skills and education.
  • Hence,among these manufacturing sector has the highest potential to absorb the surplus labour in the economy as it does not demand for greater skills.

Initiatives taken by Government to boost Manufacturing:

About Make in India:

  • Make in India initiative was launched in 2014.The initiative is led by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT).
  • The primary goal of the initiative is to make India a global manufacturing hub by encouraging both multinational as well as domestic companies to manufacture their products within the country. 

About National Manufacturing Policy:

  • National Manufacturing policy was announced in the year 2011 by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT),Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
  • The policy aims to raise the contribution of the manufacturing sector to 25% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the decade and also aims to create 100 million additional jobs by 2022 in the manufacturing sector alone.
  • National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs) are an important component of the Policy.
  • However,despite these initiatives the manufacturing’s share is still under 17% of the GDP and the jobs situation in the country has only got worse.