On the road to self-sufficiency - Indian Manufacturing Sector

From being an agrarian economy, India jumped to a service dominant economy, sidelining core manufacturing. While there were some gains in the process, the manufacturing sector did not record the growth that was expected. Mr. G K Pillai, Director & Advisor, Walchandnagar Industries Limited shares with Pro MFG Media the glorious past of Indian manufacturing and its upcoming ambitious future.

The Indian manufacturing industry goes back for more than one hundred years, Walchandnagar Industries, itself is a 111-year-old organization. The companies which started way back, are still existing, for example, currently known as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, was established in 1941 by Walchandnagar group. The courage and the competency of the organization can be gauged from the fact that; during the early 1940s, when the country did not have a single cycle manufacturer, HAL was making aircrafts.

The Indian manufacturing industry has been in existence for a long time, however even with such a glorious past, the industry hasn’t been able to hit the right note at a global level. The impetus on the service industry and the timing of the introduction of globalization are primarily two reasons why the Indian manufacturing sector did not flourish. In the early ’90s, the service sector got higher importance while the manufacturing sector was a low-key affair. Students studying at the premier Indian technical Institutions chose the software industry over manufacturing , which has been the bane of the Indian manufacturing sector.

Considering the current scenarios, the Indian manufacturing sector has never been in a much better position, where it can climb the ladder and reach the position it deserves. The new initiative by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan will be highly beneficial in achieving the title of a global manufacturing hub. It is just not a slogan but a way to boost the fellow citizens to produce goods of global standards. We need to achieve the goals of Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan successfully which are primarily the development of the country, providing employment, and being self – sustaining. Even though it has commenced with the defense sector, it will soon cover all the respective sectors.

There are few challenges for the manufacturing sector in India, such as lack of infrastructure, low operational efficiency, lack of engineering skills, and poor-quality management. The large or even small-scale Indian companies need to do the following:

• ● modernize their current infrastructure
• ● elevate operational excellence
• ● improve engineering skills
• ● provide excellent quality
• ● and commitment to delivery

In today’s time, if the manufacturing sector focuses on the following loopholes, we would be able to create Atmanirbhar Bharat as we have an advantage of manpower and technical skills. We must harness our forte and make them sustainable.

Even though the government has implemented this ambitious policy, the Indian companies should aim to be globally competitive while also serving the local needs as that’s the only way we can build a sustainable model of the manufacturing industry.

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