The government on Friday said it is likely to come out with a National Manufacturing Policy by the end of this month. Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said it aims to increase the share of manufacturing in the gross domestic product from 16 per cent to 25 per cent while creating 100 million jobs by 2022.
The proposed policy would result in the creation of world-class manufacturing and investment enclaves across the country in order to give a boost to the sector, attract more investments and encourage innovation, he said.
“Hopefully within this month, it will become a reality,” Sharma said at a seminar organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry. The final note would be sent to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, he added.
The initial stages of the formulation of the policy saw several differences arising on the draft recommendations, especially between the ministries of labour and environment, particularly over the issue of creation of huge National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs) that would entail the acquisition of vast areas of land for industrial purposes.
The draft was granted an “in-principle” approval by a high-level panel headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on June 9.
Sharma said the government proposed to establish four to five NIMZs as greenfield integrated industrial townships with world-class infrastructure. “It will be financed by the Centre in partnership with state governments with a competitive regulatory environment for attractive investments,” he added.
As per the draft policy, an NIMZ would have an area of at least 5,000 hectares and the states would be responsible for the selection and acquisition of the land. States that have land in short supply would have an NIMZ set up with a minimum area of 2,000 hectares. The NIMZs are proposed to be specifically delineated for the establishment of manufacturing facilities for domestic- and export-led production, along with the associated services and infrastructure. The processing area may include one or more special economic zones, industrial parks, warehousing zones and export-oriented units. The land would be acquired by the state governments.
