Thaindian News

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) India will have its first national policy on manufacturing by the end of this month that would aim to create at least 100 million additional jobs in the next 10 years, the government said Friday.

?The national manufacturing policy has reached the final stage and hopefully by the end of this month it will become a reality,? said Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma.

According to the draft prepared by a high-level committee headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the policy would aim to increase the share of manufacturing in the country’s GDP to over 25 percent by 2022 as against the current level of nearly 16 percent.

The key focus of the policy is to improve business environment to enable easy technology acquisition and development, provide access to capital for small and medium enterprises and enhance the role of the private sector in skill development.

The focus of the policy would be on minimizing the role of government and creating an environment of self-regulation, Sharma said at a meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industry here.

The government would set up four-five national manufacturing and investment zones as green field integrated industrial townships with ?world class infrastructure financed by the central government in partnership with respective state governments with a competitive regulatory environment for attractive investments”.

The minister said the proposed Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor would also help boost manufacturing activities in the country.

?We have completed the perspective planning of the entire Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor region and I have moved the cabinet for seeking support of Rs.18,500 crore for establishment of seven new investment regions across the six states of the country,? Sharma said.

?These two steps will help unlock the true potential of manufacturing in India,? he added.