Need to focus on manufacturing to boost economy’s growth, exports: Commerce Minister

24 Dec 2013 Evaluate

With an aim to enhance Indian exports and to boost the economic growth, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma expressed the need to boost manufacturing capability underscoring that India is not a country very much endowed with natural resources such as oil and gas which are necessary for economic growth. Manufacturing sector, constituting around 75 percent share in IIP index, contracted by 0.3 percent during April-October’2013 as compared to the 1.1 percent growth in the same period of previous fiscal. Furthermore, sluggish growth in this sector has also slowed down the country’s exports growth to 6 percent from double-digit growth witnessed in the past few months.

Highlighting that India has to become competitive in manufacturing and exports, the minister added that the government has announced the national manufacturing policy (NMP) to boost the manufacturing sector's growth and increase its share in the country's GDP to 25 percent in the next decade from the present 15-16 percent. The NMP policy envisages facilitation in infrastructure development and improvement of the business environment through rationalisation and simplification of the regulatory framework besides setting National Manufacturing and Investment Zones (NMIZs), which are industrial townships, benchmarked to the best manufacturing hubs at global level.

Encouraged over country’s growing exports, Anand Sharma has expressed confidence for meeting the $325 billion export target for current fiscal year. Over the past few months, Indian exports has been increasing at a significant pace on the back reviving demand in the US and European markets, rupee depreciation and favorable measures taken by the government.

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