Productivity boost key to a robust manufacturing sector

Companies and policymakers need to expand their focus beyond job creation

Few large countries have achieved the kind of sustained high growth that India will need if it is to transition to being a middle-income country. The traditional prescription by economists as well as industry leaders has been to accelerate the industrialisation process to meet the need for 30 to 50 million new jobs required over the next decade.

Last year we highlighted the sense of urgency on this. The long-established industrialisation pathway is losing its ability to generate masses of new jobs, as manufacturing firms face competitive pressures and the cost of automation falls. Recent political changes and protectionist rhetoric in