Innovation is an Inexhaustible Engine for Economic Development

One of the BJP-led NDA government’s glorious campaign is Make In India. "Make in India" is a lion's step, the logo is a silhouette of a lion on a prowl made entirely of cogs symbolizing India’s  manufacturing strength and national pride.There are some goals which seem achievable to me and some I think are merely fantasy.The aim of Make In India is to create demand and then incentivise producers to meet the demand.This according to the Make In India campaign consists of 4 broad measures:

1.Cheaper costs of production and movement of goods – Raw materials have to make their way into the factory and finished goods have to move out. In the middle of this the processing of materials into goods would take water, electricity, real estate, clinics and hospitals to support this facility. An alternative is to set up your own unit, that would mean incurring more costs which would go against our aim in the first place. The current energy deficiency in India is around 5 % according to the Central Energy Agency. Water is another short resource and the indiscriminate use of ground water and lack of perennial rivers (especially in the Deccan) is a major issue as well.

2. Ease of doing business- According to the World Bank’s report India comes in at 130^th position out of 190 nations in ease of doing business. Also getting electricity connections in Mumbai and Delhi got much easier under Modi govt. The thing to notice is that despite yawning gender divides in many respects, the country makes doing business just as challenging for women as for men. It takes Mumbaikars 14 procedures and about a month, for instance, to start a new company.

3. Market with the ability to pay that improves margin- It will take time for the market to  take notice of our quality and pay the price for a Make In India product but that may be achieved.

4. Finding  the right skill set- India has the highest population in the age group of 10-24 yrs ,”A Young Country” it is often referred to as. The prime minister’s  new yuva yojana aims at providing entrepreneurship education to over 7 lakh students in 5 years in 3050 institutes. India’s youth is intelligent,smart and has the ability to do hard work. How we capitalize on this potential is a big question.

Make In India by making India a manufacturing hub aims to create jobs for the country ,but automation is a big challenge. Virtualization of human jobs has been the real cause of economic malaise since the Great Recession, given that fact we can’t predict how India takes up on automation. Make In India has attracted large foreign direct investments but three major economic events have played out their cards towards the end of this year,two international and one national. While the Big D of Demonetization announced on 8^th of November was just settling into our understanding, the federal reserve’s Janet Yellen announced a rate hike in the interest rates. The election of Mr Donald Trump as the president of the states who seems keen to not let companies shift their manufacturing base outside the US further gave companies an incentive to pull back international operations. Companies are rushing back as the United States is considered to be a safe haven.

Well, in conclusion I would say the  sword here is a double-edged one The Make in India campaign has received its fair share of flak ,what is to see is its standing after two years and its achievement in the given deadlines. If corruption and red tapism will stand in the way or if we’ll say “Goodbye Red Tape, Hello Redcarpet”. It is for us to ensure that this lion takes a long leap rather than just running the treadmill.

-Palak Jain