The man at the midst of all the action insists that the inspiration behind the National Manufacturing Policy which aims to achieve enviable growth figures in the next few years is not inspired by our northern neighbour, China, which has sustained rapid growth as it successfully scaled up its manufacturing capabilities over the past years. Leaving the ‘inspiration’ debate aside, what’s important here is that as the man of the moment, Commerce and Industry Minister Mr Anand Sharma, gears to introduce the first ever National Manufacturing Policy to the nation, we caught up with him to bring you some exclusive insights as to what’s going on in the power corridors.

The pace is hectic and feverish as he gets into last minute troubleshooting before the National Manufacturing Policy is unveiled. The journey from draft to blueprint is proving to be an uphill task with steep challenges. The draft manufacturing policy, which has been in the making for 18 months and aims to attract overseas investments besides increasing the share of manufacturing in the GDP, has been stuck due to inter-ministerial differences with opposition coming mainly from the labour and environment ministries. These ministries are seen to be blocking the policy, which proposes to simplify the procedure in designated areas. The draft policy had suggested that the procedures be simplified in several ministries, including Labour and Environment, where inspector raj and a plethora of approvals make life difficult for companies.

Apparently, the Indian industry had objected to the Environment Ministry’s intervention in some of the big-ticket projects that had halted the government’s development agenda and also resulted in declining foreign direct investments. The government is also concerned about an impending slowdown in the manufacturing sector and industrial production. While the industry raised concerns on the high cost of credit, investment slowdown, skill shortage, high input cost, hurdles in getting various clearances, environmental issues and debottlenecking of logistics, the ‘tool of change’ that this new policy is slated to be, promises to act like a magic wand.

To start with, the draft policy promises to create 100 million new jobs and take the share of manufacturing to 25 per cent in the country’s GDP by 2025. At present, manufacturing contributes 15-16 per cent to the economy. And there are actions already being taken towards achieving this national dream. States like Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat have already initiated the land acquisition process for the super manufacturing zones, known as national manufacturing and investment zones, proposed in the new manufacturing policy.

While the prospects are plum post this policy, it remains to be seen how it is implemented and practiced…therein lies the key to our fortunes.