Govt developing roadmap to start work on 100 industrial clusters

India’s share in manufacturing has remained constant around 16-17 percent over the last decade.

The government has started work on charting out a roadmap to bring 100 industrial clusters to life, according to officials aware of the matter. While the government had announced the creation of 100 industrial clusters last year in March, work on the scheme is yet to begin.

“We have started the process, but it's in the initial stages,” said one of the persons with information about the developments.

The idea of industrial clusters is to create Silicon Valley or Detroit kind of settlements, which can support an ecosystem that industries can then tap into.

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal last week had stated that the time had come for India to create its own Silicon Valley where startups and investors are in the same location. Goyal had made the remarks at the launch of a one-stop portal to support startups and budding entrepreneurs.

The scheme is also expected to complement another government programme of creating industrial smart cities.

In August, the government had announced 12 new industrial smart cities, committing  nearly Rs 30,000 crore for the programme. The 12 newly approved smart cities include Gaya in Bihar,Jodhpur-Pali in Rajasthan, Agra in Uttar Pradesh and Palakkad in Kerala. All the new industrial smart cities will be developed by the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation(NICDC), which falls under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

The new industrial smart cities are in addition to the eight that are already in various stages of development.

The government hopes that the industrial clusters and smart cities will aid in job generation.

The Economic Survey released on July 22 had noted that the country needed to create 7.9 million jobs annually till 2030 to meet rising demand for employment.

The government has also been making a push for manufacturing to promote job creation and to boost exports.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on September 22 had highlighted the need to increase the share of manufacturing in GDP, calling for diversification of manufacturing as well. India’s share in manufacturing has remained constant around 16-17 percent of GDP over the last decade.

Although employment growth within manufacturing at 1.6 percent has been better betweenFY14 and FY23 compared with the previous decade, it still lags the 1994-2004 period.