New Delhi:

Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the Indian National Congress today said that his party resolves to make the country a manufacturing hub by raising the share of manufacturing from 14% to 20% of GDP in the next five years.

Writing about making (manufacturing) in India on his official X handle, Mr Kharge tweeted, “Congress resolves to make India a manufacturing hub by raising the share of manufacturing from 14% to 20% of GDP in the next 5 years.”

Lauding the Congress’s regime, Mr Kharge claimed that the nation’s manufacturing share of GDP was higher compared to the rule of the BJP.

“It is thus no surprise that in the last 25 years, India’s manufacturing share of GDP has been higher during the Congress rule. On the contrary, in the last 10 years (2014-24), the share of manufacturing has stagnated at just 14%”, he claimed.

Mr Kharge also said, “Congress is determined to make India the manufacturing powerhouse that produces goods and services for itself and the world.”

The Congress leader also said that the party’s immediate objective will be to restore a healthy, fearless and trustworthy climate for businesses.

Elaborating on the party’s goal, Mr Kharge said that the Congress government in 1991 abolished industrial licensing and controls. “The independent regulatory regime that was put in place has deteriorated into a system of overt and covert controls,” he added.

“We will conduct a comprehensive review of the current rules and regulations and repeal or amend them in order to restore freedom to industry, business and trade,” Mr Kharge said.

Describing the Congress’ ambition, Mr Kharge said that the party will aim for India to attain a position of leadership in multiple industries such as steel, metals, garments and textiles, cement, automobiles, electronic goods, pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, petroleum products, chemicals, and mining rare earth and critical minerals.

Putting forward RBI’s data on stalled projects, Mr Kharge said that Congress will revive those projects by taking the help of the private sector. “According to the RBI, nearly 60% of the large central government projects have been stalled or delayed and costs have risen by nearly 5 lakh crores. Congress will address the problem in a mission mode and find ways and means to revive the stalled projects with the help of the private sector,” he said.

Throwing light on the Congress approach, Mr Kharge tweeted, “Congress will reform the production linked incentives (PLI) scheme to target specific sectors that can create thousands of jobs by making India one of the top 5 producers in the world in that sector.”

Mr Kharge also mentioned about introducing an employment-linked incentive scheme. He added, “We will introduce a new employment-linked incentive (ELI) Scheme for corporates to win tax credits for additional hiring against regular, quality jobs.”

Reiterating the party’s opposition to monopolies and oligopolies, Mr Kharge said, “Congress will create a level playing field for all businesses. We are opposed to monopolies and oligopolies. We will strengthen the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to ensure that India will be an open and competitive economy.”

The Congress President also talked about strengthening AI and robotics and said, “We will encourage and support the use of Artificial Intelligence, robotics, etc. which will create new and frontline jobs. At the same time, we will ensure that there are more job opportunities in sectors that use conventional technology.”
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

President Droupadi Murmu with Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais, IIT Bombay Director Subhasis Chaudhuri, Tata Memorial Centre Director Sudeep Gupta and others during the launch of the first indigenous CAR-T cell therapy, in Mumbai on April 4, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

President Droupadi Murmu on April 4 launched India’s first indigenously-developed CAR T-cell therapy for treatment of cancer, hailing it as a “major breakthrough” that provides a “new hope for the humankind” in the battle against the disease.

During the launch event held at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay located in Powai in Mumbai, she also said the development of this therapy is an example of the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Developed by the IIT Bombay and the Tata Memorial Centre, this gene-based therapy will help in curing different types of cancer. This NexCAR19 CAR T-cell therapy is the country’s first ‘Made in India’ CAR T-cell therapy, which will significantly bring down the cost of cancer treatment.

Speaking on the occasion, President Murmu said the CAR T-cell therapy is considered as one of the phenomenal advances in medical sciences.

“The development of this therapy is also an example of the ‘Make in India’ initiative and speaks volume about Indian scientists and physicians,” she said.

“The launch of India’s first gene therapy is a major breakthrough in our battle against cancer. As this line of treatment, named CAR T-cell therapy, is accessible and affordable, it provides a new hope for the whole of humankind,” she said.

Sudeep Gupta, Director of the Tata Memorial Centre, said the CAR T-cell therapy has been an enormously expensive treatment which is out of the reach of an overwhelming majority of people.

“NexCAR19 has been rolled out at approximately one-tenth of the price at which it is available outside India,” he said.

IIT Bombay Director Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri said the treatment costs approximately ₹4 crore abroad.

The low-cost CAR T-cell therapy is a huge achievement for our country and for cancer patients in India, and it places India firmly on the global map of cell and gene therapy, he said.

Mr. Gupta said the creation and rollout of NexCAR19 is a historic milestone in the field of cancer care and genetic engineering.

“This treatment is not only a scientific achievement of the highest order, but also has immense practical application. NexCAR19 will save many, many lives and wipe many, many tears,” he said.

Only a fraction of ‘Made-in-India’ phones are exported as some of its parts are subject to the high tariffs, raising overall costs. File
| Photo Credit: Mohammed Yousuf

India risks losing out to China and Vietnam as it seeks to become a major smartphone export hub and must “act fast” to lure global companies with lower tariffs, the Deputy IT Minister said in Government documents seen by Reuters.

Smartphone manufacturing is a key plank of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitions to boost the Indian economy and create jobs by attracting companies such as Apple, Foxconn and Samsung to India, the world’s second-largest mobile market where production grew 16% year-on-year to $44 billion last year.

That success, the Government says, is mostly due to financial incentives given to companies to produce more. But lawmakers and lobby groups for Apple and other firms argue India’s high tariffs are a deterrent for companies de-risking their supply chains beyond China, and nations such as Vietnam, Thailand and Mexico have raced ahead in phone exports by offering lower tariffs on components.

A Jan. 3 letter and a confidential presentation drafted by Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and sent to the Finance Minister, show the extent of his Ministry’s concerns about losing out due to the uncompetitive tariffs. “India has high production cost due to highest tariffs amongst key manufacturing destinations,” Mr. Chandrasekhar wrote in the documents, which were seen by Reuters.

“The geopolitical realignment is forcing supply chains to shift out of China…We must act now, or they will shift to Vietnam, Mexico and Thailand.”

Mr. Chandrasekhar and the IT Ministry did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Lower tariffs on components is key to India’s ambitions to attract smartphone manufacturers. ‘Made-in-India’ phones use many parts made locally, but companies import many high-end parts from China and elsewhere due to supply chain limitations. These parts are then subject to the high tariffs the Government has put in place to protect the local manufacturers, raising overall costs.

U.S. Ambassador Eric Garcetti recently said foreign investments were not flowing into India at the pace they should be, and were going to countries like Vietnam instead, because of the tariffs. “If you tax inputs…you’re not protecting a market. What you are doing is limiting a market,” he said.

Mr. Chandrasekhar in his documents flagged how lower taxes in China and Vietnam helped boost their exports. Exports accounted for only 25% of India’s smartphone production last year, compared with 63% of China’s $270 billion worth of production and 95% of Vietnam’s $40 billion worth, he said.

Bid to reduce taxes on component import

India is seeking to account for 25% of global electronics manufacturing by 2029, but the official documents showed its stake was currently at just 4%, even though Apple, Foxconn and Xiaomi had all boosted production recently.

Mr. Chandrasekhar’s documents were addressed to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last month to lobby for lower tariffs in the Budget. The Finance Ministry did lower taxes on some components, including battery covers, to 10% from 15%, but did not agree to many other tariff cut requests.

The Finance Ministry and Ms. Sitharaman’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

India still imposes a 20% tax on parts like chargers, some circuit boards and fully assembled phones. The Minister wanted those taxes to be reduced to 15% this year. Mr. Chandrasekhar also argued that Vietnam and China do not levy tariffs above 10% on components from their “most-favoured nation” trading partners or nations with whom they have free-trade agreements. India does not do that and imposes “high” tariffs on many components, he said.

“We have to match China and beat Vietnam on tariffs to attract” global supply chains, Mr. Chandrasekhar wrote. “No country with high tariffs has or can attract” them.

A new strategy

Last week, Xiaomi privately asked New Delhi to lower tariffs on more components used in cameras and USB cables, saying it will help “aligning with the competitive manufacturing economies like China and Vietnam.”

While surging local demand has helped keep the local manufacturing industry profitable, Mr. Chandrasekhar said in his letter that this “domestic market of smartphones will shortly near saturation” and as users don’t change phones that often. India’s goal to take mobile phone production to over $100 billion a year – with 50% of that exported – needs a new strategy, the Minister said.

“Tariffs are becoming a hurdle,” the Minister said in his presentation. “We need to shift tariff policy to suit our new ambitions. Exports, not domestic.”

New Delhi:

India will be an important country in terms of manufacturing in future, Young Liu, Chairman and CEO of Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) has said, his latest comment adding to a growing chorus of global voices acknowledging the country’s bold moves to position itself as electronics and hi-tech production powerhouse.

In an interaction with reporters in Taipei, the top official of the Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant said the development of the entire ecosystem and industrial chain, and opportunities for development in India are “very, very huge opportunities”.

“If there is no big change, India will be a very important country in terms of manufacturing in the future,” Mr Liu said.

In the past, it took 30 years to build the entire supply chain ecosystem in China, he noted, adding that while it will take an “appropriate amount of time in India” and the process will be shorter given the experience. The environment too is not quite the same, he said pointing to the advent of new technologies like AI and generative AI.

In July this year, while addressing SemiconIndia 2023, Foxconn had said it is optimistic about the direction of India’s semiconductor roadmap and asserted that Taiwan is and will be India’s most trusted and reliable partner.

“Let’s do this together,” the top boss of Foxconn had said at that time.

Government sources noted that the Foxconn chief is backing PM’s Make-in-India.

Mr Liu has expressed that reforms and policies in India have created huge opportunities for the development of the entire electronics manufacturing ecosystem, the sources said citing the recent media briefing in Taipei where Liu spoke to reporters.

It is pertinent to mention that India is wooing global IT and electronics players with policy sweeteners and incentive schemes, making a push to position itself as a global hub for hi-tech manufacturing.

India hopes to play on the strength of its storied talent and skill base, vibrant market, and enabling policies to corner a substantial chunk of new investments flowing into electronics and semiconductor production, and global value chains.

Recently, as many as 40 companies, including big names like Foxconn Group, HP, Dell and Lenovo, applied for incentives under India’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) IT hardware scheme for manufacturing laptops, PCs and servers.

Last month, Foxconn also said it sees the potential of investing several billions of dollars in India if it gets to completely implement its plan.

Mr Liu during Foxconn’s second quarter earnings call in August had said that the company’s Indian arm has achieved a turnover of close to USD 10 billion on an annual basis and there is a lot of investment potential in India.

He had said Foxconn operates about nine campuses in India.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Watch | Is India’s ‘Make-at-home’ good industrial policy?

The government of India introduced restrictions on the import of laptops and tablets. The restriction is that only on prior grant of licence can any import take place. This was with immediate effect. With some intense pushback from the industry, the effective date has been deferred to November 1.

Why this move suddenly? Is it to ensure key electronic products do not come from an unfriendly neighbour? Or is this an attempt to encourage local manufacturing and give a nudge to job creation?

Whatever the answers are, the more critical poser is, will this move serve its purpose?

Script and production: K. Bharat Kumar

Videography: Thamodharan Bharath

Production: Shibu Narayan