India to have a national manufacturing policy soon: Sharma
19 Aug 2011
The government will soon unveil a national manufacturing policy, which would provide for the creation of world class manufacturing infrastructure, along with appropriate social and institutional infrastructure, through establishment of integrated mega National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs).
The commerce ministry has moved the cabinet paper on the national manufacturing policy, minister for commerce, industry and textiles Anand Sharma told an annual export summit in New Delhi today.
"Yesterday I signed the cabinet note on the national manufacturing policy and in a few weeks' time India will have its first national manufacturing policy in place," Sharma said while addressing the Export Summit-2011.
The new policy, Sharma said, aims to take the share of manufacturing in the country's gross national product (GDP) from the current 16 per cent to 25 per cent by 2025.
He said about 100 million young people will enter the job market in the coming few years and emphasis on manufacturing is critical for creating employment for them.
He said the government has already taken several initiatives to promote exports, adding, "the strategy of diversification, both in terms of markets and products, has yielded good results and helped us in overcoming the issues created by the global economic problems."