New Delhi: According to NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam, India's manufacturing sector must expand at a rate of 15% year on year in order to contribute at least 25% to India's GDP (or USD 7. 5 trillion) by Viksit Bharat 2047.
Speaking at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) conference, the NITI Aayog head stated that manufacturing contributes for around 17% of India's GDP.
He advocated for the manufacturing sector to expand by at least 15%. That is the only way for it to increase its current share from 17% to 25%.
Given that India's GDP will be USD 30 trillion when it becomes a developed country by 2047, the manufacturing sector is expected to contribute 25%, or USD 7. 5 trillion.
In this context, the NITI Aayog chairman stated that achieving the $30 trillion GDP goal will need a growth rate of around 7. 5 percent.
With India's annual GDP growing at an average of 6. 5%, with 202324 being an exception with approximately 9%, the NITI Aayog director stated that India needs to increase its annual GDP by another 1 percentage point to 7. 5%.
To achieve that level of growth, he suggested a few changes.
First, he advocated for more urbanisation. India's urbanization rate is extremely low, around 30%, and it has to rise to above 50%.
Many more cities and metropolitan regions must be created, he said.
In another proposal, he stated that India should enhance its energy production and make it carbon neutral.
According to him, one positive element of India's industrial growth story is the shift from a net importer to a net exporter of mobile phones. He stated that the defense sector is another area where India is performing admirably.
In other not-so-good news, he stated that India has a limited presence in the global value chain.
We have not yet figured out how to do it. Consider China, which has methodically positioned itself at the center of global value networks over the last three decades. Some or the other pieces originate from China, resulting in a strong reliance on China. Shouldn't we be at the center of the worldwide value chain? he wondered.
He also talked about the regional imbalance in manufacturing.
In India, five or six states contribute for 90% of all activity, including domestic investment, industry, and foreign investment. What about the rest of India? We can't be on a two-speed track; everyone has to grow, according to the NITI Aayog head.
Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked states to develop their vision documents.
All of the states are creating their own roadmaps to contribute to the goal of a "Viksit Bharat". BVR Subrahmanyam announced that by the end of 2025, all states and UTs would have their vision document and roadmap for 2047.
India is an aggregate of individual visions of tiny nations. You cannot have a national vision with states working in various directions. Seventeen states have either completed or are on the verge of finishing their vision documents.
