Centre's manufacturing push in 24 sectors; aims at Rs 20 lakh crore output in 5 years

The government has jointly identified 24 products with the private sector, from which it expects Rs 20 lakh crore each worth of manufacturing output in the next five years, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said this at the unveiling of 4th Assessment Report on State Business Reform Plan.

The Commerce Minister said the focus on these 24 products/sectors will also provide scores of job opportunities, expand economic activities in the country and lead the way for India's rightful place in the world. He asked the state governments to partner with the Centre, private sector and industry in encouraging and increasing the footprints in these 24 products.

While he did not mention the names of the 24 sectors or products, he could be talking about the 27 Champion Sectors identified by the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT). The DPIIT had identified 27 Champion Sectors in the manufacturing space, where the government plans to provide support to investors.

These sectors include aerospace & defence, automotive and auto components, capital goods, leather, gems and jewellery, food processing, railways, biotechnology, etc.  

Industry associations like CII and FICCI have helped the government identify these 24 sectors. "CII is privileged to have been part of the exercise to identify 24 champion sectors and we believe that these can add Rs 20 lakh crores to the manufacturing output when the policies are fully implemented," Dr Chandrjeet Banerjee, Director-General, CII, said.

The commerce minister also said the government has started a pilot of a Land Bank where more than 1 lakh hectares of industrial land is available for industry to start operations in India. He said that recently India, Japan and Australia have decided to work together with other like-minded nations to promote a resilient supply chain both in the Indo-pacific region and across the world.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh emerged as the winner in the State Business Reform Action 2019 rankings, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.

Also read: Andhra Pradesh tops 'ease of doing business' ranking again; UP, Telangana bag 2nd, 3rd spots