The Hindu Business Line : Manufacturing policy on the anvil; medium-sized cos likely to get relief

New Delhi, June 10 Medium-sized manufacturing units facing the brunt of competition from a free import regime may get some relief soon with the high-powered group on manufacturing likely to make a case for the removal of “all indirect burden” on such enterprises.

“With customs tariffs having come down in a big way, what we are worried about is that large amount of import is going to hurt only the SMEs. It is not the big enterprises we are worried about.

“The Tatas and Birlas are not going to be affected at all. Free imports of goods are affecting those mid-sized enterprises which are into traditionally manufactured Indian goods,” Dr V. Krishnamurthy, Chairman of the Group and also Chairman of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) told Business Line on the sidelines of an industry event here.

Without going into specific recommendations, Dr Krishnamurthy said that the report will have elements of the manufacturing policy that is expected to be finalised during the current fiscal.

“The unfortunate thing in India is we do not have a manufacturing policy. When the Government takes a policy decision, we must know how does it affect the manufacturing sector,” he said, pointing out that the measures taken in the last six months to curb inflation had impacted manufacturing growth.

Dr Krishnamurthy said that the country’s manufacturing share in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) should be 35 per cent against the current 16 per cent.

In January this year, the Prime Minister had constituted the Group to suggest measures to ensure the continuous growth of the manufacturing sector, which was then showing signs of deceleration.

The Group was also asked to suggest policy measures and immediate steps to boost exports of Indian manufactured goods in the face of appreciation of the rupee and high interest rates, particularly with respect to labour intensive sectors such as textiles, leather and handicrafts.

It was also required to suggest policy measures to leverage Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to modernise manufacturing in India and create a strong technological base.

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