Industry chambers and individual corporate leaders were upbeat Thursday on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India" initiative, saying it was a concrete step that can shape India's economic future.
Ajay S Shriram, president, Confederation of Indian Industry:
"The Prime Minister's emphasis on skill development and mapping of skills to industries is an important endeavour that must be pursued. CII has taken many initiatives in this area and trained many workers with specific skills across sectors by adopting ITIs and developing skill gurukuls. Another new idea in the PM's speech was that India is ideally placed to Look East and Link West. This will help products manufactured in India to enter the global value chain."
Sidharth Birla, president, Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry:
"We have embarked on the path for India to become a global manufacturing power. Never before have we seen so much focus and attention on the vital manufacturing sector. This mission is a tribute to millions of entrepreneurs who effortlessly work over years to show that India is a reliable source of high-quality state of the art products that serve demand not only at home but all over the world."
Harsh Pati Singhania, director, JK Organisation:
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' endeavour is a 'lion step' that has the potential to change India's economic future. After a long time, the government has put its might behind growing the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing is key not only for expanding the GDP but most vitally for job creation. His vision of FDI - aFirst Develop India' and make the country an attractive business destination for domestic and foreign investors is laudable."
Sharad Jaipuria, president, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry:
"The launch of Make in India is expected to inspire the investors to look at India for their future investments as the government has taken various initiatives such as skill development and launch of Digital India which would improve the ease of doing business and spur manufacturing growth, going ahead."
Sumant Sinha, chairman and chief executive officer, ReNew Power:
"The PM said FDI means First Develop India - for Indians, while for foreign investors, it means 'Foreign Direct Investment' and that they are parallel tracks. Further, effective governance and skilled manpower will provide the right environment to trigger growth."
Anwar Shirpurwala, executive director, Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology
"The launch of 'Make in India' campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a concrete step in the right direction. It was the need of the hour and long overdue. This will also create a positive environment and result in state and center working together to attract investment in the manufacturing sector."
Ashok Chandak, chairman, India Electronics & Semiconductor Association:
"We believe Make in India is to create an Orbit Changing Atmosphere which will be conducive for major breakthroughs in the design led manufacturing. The '3D composition of Democracy - Demography - Demand' will have a multiplier effect on the over-contribution of manufacturing in the GDP with potential to take it from 15 percent to 25 percent in the future."
Naomi Isshi, managing director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor.
"Make in India" campaign is an extremely progressive move by the Prime Minister. At Toyota Kirloskar Motor, we are committed towards the development of manufacturing sector and are confident that with the right support from the government we can charter a sustained growth for Indian automobile industry which has great potential due to its strong supplier base, skilled labor and rising exports."
The campaign highlights global vision through both "Look East" and "Link West" policy which will further ensure stronger bilateral ties between countries and continents."
Sumit Sawhney, chief executive officer and managing director, Renault India:
"What stands out clearly is the intent of easing business processes in India, with further reforms and favourable policy intervention which will attract FDI. I am confident that such pro-business measures will enable the manufacturing sector, led by the auto industry, to bounce back stronger, and deliver on its potential of becoming one of the largest and most efficient in the world."
