GS3 – IE
Context:
The Finance Minister has outlined a vision to expand the manufacturing sector’s contribution to India’s GDP from the current 12% to 23% by 2047, with an emphasis on nurturing sunrise industries.
Vision 2047: Transforming India through Manufacturing
- Goal: Achieve a 23% GDP contribution from manufacturing by 2047.
- Approach: Strengthen emerging sectors, offer production incentives, build workforce skills, and integrate India into global supply chains to create a self-reliant, inclusive, export-driven, and innovation-led industrial economy.
Understanding Sunrise Industries
- Definition:
Sunrise industries are fast-evolving, innovation-centric sectors that cater to future global demands and are characterised by high growth, strong investment interest, and a dynamic start-up culture. - Examples:
Green hydrogen, renewable energy, electric vehicle (EV) batteries, semiconductors, medical technology, blockchain, technical textiles, cloud services, and clean energy. - Global Alignment:
These sectors are vital for achieving sustainability, advancing digitalisation, and supporting low-carbon economic development globally. - Dynamic Nature:
Without continuous innovation and evolving market strategies, sunrise industries can mature and decline into sunset sectors. Adaptive and forward-looking policies are thus critical to sustaining their growth.
Sunrise Industries: Drivers of Economic Transformation
- Economic Diversification:
Facilitate a shift from traditional industries to modern sectors, reducing over-reliance on declining industries. - Job Creation:
Generate new formal employment opportunities by fostering entrepreneurship and expanding domestic and global markets, tapping into India’s youthful workforce. - Technology Development and Transfer:
Encourage research, attract foreign investments, and build domestic technological capabilities. - Multiplier Effect:
Stimulate growth across interconnected sectors like logistics, education, finance, and digital infrastructure. - Balanced Growth:
Help address India’s current overdependence on services (64% of GDP) by reinforcing the secondary sector. - Boost to Global Competitiveness:
Enhance India’s presence in next-generation global value chains, strengthening its export potential. - Social Upliftment:
Promote dignified employment, stable incomes, and equitable regional economic development.
Key Challenges
- Infrastructure Gaps:
Modern transport, energy, and digital networks are needed, especially in smaller towns and emerging industrial zones. - Regulatory Hurdles:
A stable, predictable policy environment is essential to building investor confidence. - Innovation and R&D Shortfalls:
Fast-moving industries require consistent technological upgrades and breakthroughs.
Government Initiatives to Support Sunrise Sectors
- Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme:
A major program by the Commerce Ministry targeting 14 sectors—including electronics, pharmaceuticals, telecom, and auto parts—to boost manufacturing and exports. - Infrastructure Development:
Initiatives like PM Gati Shakti, dedicated freight corridors, and the establishment of industrial clusters aim to create an integrated and efficient industrial ecosystem. - Skill Building Programs:
Through missions like Skill India and SAMARTH, the government is preparing the workforce with Industry 4.0 skills such as AI, robotics, and smart manufacturing. - National Missions:
Campaigns like Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat are strengthening self-reliance and resilience in critical industries. - Clean Energy Initiatives:
The National Green Hydrogen Mission supports India’s transition towards clean and sustainable energy sources, aligning with global climate goals. - Electronics Sector Growth:
The National Policy on Electronics is focused on boosting domestic manufacturing, fostering innovation, and increasing exports in the electronics sector. - Workforce Formalisation:
Efforts are underway to transition workers from the informal gig economy into structured, secure, and formal employment within high-growth sectors.