India Marching towards Manufacturing

Entrepreneurs are very optimistic about central government’s ambitious “Make in India” campaign. However, path towards making India a leading manufacturer is full of challenges and the success of the project is largely depends on willpower and the policies of the government.

During his recent visit to India, Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft expressed his willingness to contribute towards central government’s ambitious “Make in India” and “Digital India” initiative. Since PM, Modi has vowed to make India a manufacturing hub, many industrial tycoons have shown their keenness in the campaign. However, the path towards “Make in India” is full of challenges and the success of the project is largely depends on the policies of the government.

Hassle-free clearance mechanism

The very first challenge in the “Make in India” campaign is making administrative machinery industry sensitive. India is a stringent country when it comes to procedural and clearances. According to the World Bank, India ranks 134 out of 189 countries in terms of the ease of doing business. There is an urgent needfor eliminating the rigidity in the administration and making it flexible towards industries. It is a bitter truth that many small and medium business units have been closed down because of harassment by authorities. Highly skilled entrepreneurs prefer to settle down abroad because the clearance processes in India is nothing but fighting a battle. Single window clearance has been the prolong demand of the entrepreneurs that seems to become a reality with the campaign.

Jayesh Kotak, VP, Product Management and Marketing, Smartlink Network Systems

Smartlink Network Systems, one of the leading brands in networking technology said that entrepreneurs expect loose hand from the government in terms of approvals. Jayesh Kotak, VP, Product Management and Marketing, Smartlink Network Systems said, “Governments should put in directives and guidelines for different projects to support and benefit from domestic offerings, and empower single-window approvals.”

Kotak said that proper implementation of the project would give tremendous boost to the hardware industry in the country and encourage setting up of units for the manufacture of components.

“Government support plays a pivotal role in expediting this campaign, and they can help speedup the process by creating more flexible policies for interested vendors, provisioning suitable land at subsidized rates for building data centers, faster license clearances, power subsidies, and introducing other incentives such as tax rebates and encouraging FDI to attract foreign investors”, said Shridhar Luthria, director, marketing and business Development at ResellerClub.

The significant investment in the campaign is the foundation and the pro industry policies will create the framework that will ensure that this campaign is an unmitigated success.

Cleansing corruption infected system

Kshitij Kotak, chief innovator of Gre@cells BLACKBOX Data Safe

Second and the most complicated challenge in the campaign is to remove the virus of corruption in the Indian bureaucracy. Corruption delivers a non-starter to entrepreneurship. From local municipal registration with shops and establishment, to registration of lease documents, to licenses, state and central tax registrations, employee welfare scheme participation everything is under the strong grip of corruption. Therefore, it becomes inevitable for the government to clear the entire system for the success of the campaign.

Kshitij Kotak, chief innovator of Gre@cells BLACKBOX Data Safe said, “Corruption has infected our DNA. Ease of doing business is still on paper. Starting a business is a pain point, except for giant corporations where files are cleared through agencies. Corruption thus, delivers a non-starter to entrepreneurship with rats nibbling at the morale of entrepreneur.”

Kotak also said that consistent policies, protection against tens of uncoordinated local, state and federal government departments, speedy justice and tough action is what every entrepreneur expects to be a part of Make in India.

Requires Support Raj

Champakraj Gurjar, MD of Maxtone Electronics

Initiatives like “Make in India” and “Digital India” seeks support Raj. It is an investment on the part of thegovernment, which would yield fruits in the next couple of years. Therefore, the government needs to actively support start-up ecosystem with favorablelegislations and right incentives. Significantly, the government should also be ready to reform taxation policy for the benefit of the industries.

Champakraj Gurjar, MD of Maxtone Electronics, said that government should set up industrial and IT zones and provide all amenities for manufacturing. He said that small and medium-sized industries can play a crucial role in the project. Therefore, government should also focus on this segment along with big giants.

“Industries will flourish and process only under Support Raj. The government should give free line to the industries for next five years where there is no hassle of taxation and procedurals compliance. It should form core teams to assist foreign investors”, Gurjar said.

Sudheer Nair, CEO of Eresource Infotech, said that SMBs to be the high beneficiaries of 'Make in India' campaign and it would bring growth in Indian manufacturing and its related industrial segments and benefit its IT supporters.

Devendra Deshmukh, CEO e Zest

Devendra Deshmukh, CEO of Global IT solution provider company e Zest, said that along with the government machinery, industry and entrepreneurs support and commitment is also key to make the campaign successful.

India currently exports software services worth 120 bn US$. To Make in India and Digital India initiative, e-Governance and encouraging entrepreneurship, software will find a greater market within the country.

Brand Awareness

Kailash Katkar, CEO of Quick Heal Technologies

Though people are changing their perspective towards Indian brands, there is a need for more efforts in brand building of indigenously developed products and software. Even if the products bear the international quality standard, confidence building among the Indian customers is not going to be that easy. Once the government succeeds in that, a big obstacle will get removed.

Kailash Katkar, CEO of Quick Heal Technologies, said that the currency difference the only factor for which people consider foreign brands are superior that indigenous products.

“Quick heal anti-virus has all capabilities to compete with any highly compatible anti-virus solution. Not only India but in foreign countries as well people have started looking at Indian offerings positively and we need to bank on it”, Katkar said.

Mr. Champakraj Gurjar said that in western countries one of the top three brands is a local brand. India is blessed with a skilled labor force, abundant natural resources and favorable weather conditions. I do not think that anything stops us to make our own brand”, said

Along with brand building, India should be more focused towards innovation and encourage high-tech imports, R&D to upgrade 'Make in India' and give competition to competitors.

Looking forward for “Acche Din”

“Make in India” campaign has certainly given hopes of “Acche Din” to Indian entrepreneurs who wish to exploit their skills in their homeland and contribute in nation building. Entrepreneurs are optimistic that the initiative will create a pro business environment in the country and encourage home grown industries to prosper. On the other hand the program has rightly hit it many foreign multinationals who are keen to invest in the manufacturing sector in India. However, just the policies cannot bring 'Acche Din' for the industry. Both the government and industry should collectively help the country to become the first choice of manufacturing.