New Delhi, India

The ‘Make in India’ campaign to boost manufacturing in the country has completed eight years on September 25, the government said. India is also on course to attract at least $100 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the current fiscal year, which the government has attributed to economic reforms and ease of doing business in the country. 

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“Make in India has substantial accomplishments across 27 sectors. These include strategic sectors of manufacturing and services as well”, the commerce and industry ministry said on Saturday in a statement. 

In 2021-22, India also received the “highest-ever” FDI of $83.6 billion. “This FDI has come from 101 countries, and invested across 31 union territories and states and 57 sectors in the country.” According to the government, FDI inflows were at $45.15 billion in 2014-15 and have been increasing ever since reaching a record high of eight years. 

The statement also said New Delhi has installed a more liberal and transparent policy to attract FDI, adding that currently most of the sectors in the Indian economy are open to FDI via the automatic route. The automatic route is one of the ways that foreign investments can be made in India, the other being the government route. Under the automatic route, the investors do not require, or need lesser permissions from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or from the Government of India to invest in various sectors of the economy. 

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The reforms also included the liberalisation of certain guidelines and regulations to reduce unnecessary compliance burdens and bring down the cost of doing business in India, said the statement. Furthermore, in line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative and to reduce the foreign import of toys while also enhancing the country’s production of toys domestically the Basic Customs Duty on the import of toys was increased from 20% to 60%. 

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The ministry also indicated that despite the pandemic, the Indian toy industry has grown with exports worth $326 million in FY21-22, which is an increase of over 61% from FY18-19. Meanwhile, the import of toys during FY21-22 reduced by 70% to $110 million. 

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Furthermore, in line with  â€˜Make in India’, the government had also introduced Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, across 14 key manufacturing sectors in 2020-21. This reportedly included a $10 billion incentive for the production of a semiconductor, display, and design ecosystem in India which was done after recognising the importance of semiconductors in the world economy.  

Furthermore, the scheme also incentivised strategic growth sectors where New Delhi has a comparative advantage. This included strengthening manufacturing in India, forming resilient supply chains, making Indian industries competitive and boosting exports. 

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry statement also addressed an initiative called One-District-One-Product (ODOP) which aimed at promoting the production of indigenous products from every district of the country. The manufacturers and artisans aiming to contribute to the socio-economic growth of different regions of the country were provided with an international platform, said the statement. 

(With inputs from agencies)