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Companies need to focus on innovation to boost the manufacturing sector and create jobs in the country, a senior government official has said.
“If you do not embrace innovation in manufacturing, increasing the share of the sector in the country’s GDP and creation of jobs will not be possible,” National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) Member Secretary Ajay Shankar said here today at CII’s ‘Manufacturing Innovation Conclave’.
The National Manufacturing Policy aims at increasing the contribution of manufacturing to the national GDP from the current 16 per cent to 25-26 per cent by 2025 and also creating 100 million jobs in the next decade.
NMCC was set up by the Government to suggest ways to enhance the competitiveness of manufacturing sector in the country.
Economic uncertainties
Shankar said that at a time when the country’s economic growth is decelerating due to global economic uncertainties, Indian corporates should invest more in research and development activities.
“We should aspire to be the Germany of the Asia. We have to think beyond cost-cutting. Wage arbitrage is no longer a medium to grow. Corporate India really needs to think hard and put innovation in the centre...Innovation has to come to the central process in manufacturing,” he added.
He also said that small and medium enterprises should encourage innovation in their units as “innovation is not the prerogative of large firms’’.
Rupee fall
Further, he added that the current rupee fall would benefit the manufacturing sector.
Continuing its slide, the rupee weakened further by 13 paise to trade at Rs 59.70 against the US dollar in early trade today.
Economic growth rate slipped to a decade low of 5 per cent in 2012-13 on account of poor performance of farm, manufacturing and mining sectors.
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