In this, no one can deny the fact that the service sector has not only made India’s economy among the top economies of the world, but it has also led to a significant increase in India’s per capita income. Now the question is, will India decide the journey from a developing country to a developed country on the basis of this sector alone? Or will India have to focus on the development of other sectors as well!
The answer is- India needs a continuous double digit economic growth rate to become a big economy. India can achieve this economic growth only if India’s manufacturing industry also achieves the same growth rate as the service sector. Therefore, India also needs the support of a strong manufacturing wheel to make its development chariot gallop.
In the year 1991, when the Indian economy became liberal and the license raj ended in the country, it was expected that India’s manufacturing sector would now grow favorably. But it didn’t happen! If we explore the reasons behind this not happening, then we will find that the government has abolished the license raj, but it still continued to strictly regulate the industries. With strict rules and regulations, industries cannot flourish as this affects their innovation and risk taking ability.
Due to the lack of proper development of the manufacturing sector, India’s per capita income is currently stuck at $ 8600, while in China this figure is $21,000, while South Korea’s per capita income is $ 53,000. You will be surprised to know that in the year 1947, the per capita income of these countries was equal to that of India, but the per capita income of South Korea was less than that of India. But today this country is many times ahead of India in per capita income.
If these countries have progressed so far on the path of progress, then the main reason for this is that they are manufacturing hubs. The share of manufacturing sector in India’s economy is only 15-16 per cent at present, whereas if India has to compete with countries like China, then it will have to be increased to 25 per cent in the next ten years.
The present government of India has also paid a lot of attention in this direction. The Make in India campaign was brought with the aim of bringing revolutionary changes in the manufacturing sector. However, this plan did not achieve as much as it was expected. Nevertheless, the effects of this scheme will be visible in the long run.
Since India jumped directly from the primary sector ie agrarian economy to the tertiary sector ie the service sector, this gap is visible in the form of reduction in India’s manufacturing sector. Now many policies and schemes are being brought to bridge this shortcoming.
The Insolvency Bankruptcy Code brought by the government, Goods and Services Tax system, Real Estate Regulatory Authority, policies to encourage these industries of MSMEs have affected the manufacturing sector a lot. Apart from this, there are also systems such as the ever-growing digital infrastructure, codification of labor laws, etc., which have contributed to the establishment and safe operation of manufacturing industries.
The ever-improving ranking of India in the Ease of Doing Business Index also proves that India has done extensive work in this direction. Apart from this, many provisions have been made illegal under the Corporate Law, which has increased the risk taking ability of the business and has also removed the fear prevailing within them about the system.
The government now encourages an industry to exceed its target production and sales. This has made the help of the government more rational. The electronics and food processing industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India. The government has also made a lot of arrangements to promote them.
It is the result of all these policies of the government that for the first time India has exported more than $ 400 billion worth. Today India has a dynamic startup ecosystem. Here are 99 unicorn companies. The recent India Technology Trends report states that there will be 250 unicorn companies in India by 2025, half of which will provide their services to the global market system.
Today, even developed countries do not have such a great digital payment infrastructure as India. As the financial literacy and digital gap in India is bridged, India will continue to take more advantage of industrial technology 4.O. Now India is also working on green hydrogen technology. In the coming times, India will not only be self-sufficient in terms of green hydrogen but will also export it.
If India has to progress on the path of progress and join the developed economy, then India will have to work on an integrated economic development model. In this model, an integrated economic development policy will be adopted, linking agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors to each other.