The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in its manifesto , Sankalp Patra, for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections unveiled on Sunday, outlined a series of initiatives to transform India into a global manufacturing hub.
Over the past decade, the party said significant strides were made in the manufacturing sector through flagship initiatives such as Make in India, Production Linked Incentives (PLI), and streamlined compliance procedures. Leveraging these foundations, the BJP pledged to further harness the potential of manufacturing to generate employment opportunities and spur economic growth.
Under the Make in India programme, India has witnessed remarkable success across diverse sectors, including electronics, defence, mobile and automobiles. The BJP vowed to capitalize on these achievements, steering the country towards global manufacturing leadership while bolstering employment prospects in key industries.
Recognizing India’s prowess in engineering and design services, the manifesto emphasized on the integration of design capabilities with manufacturing to establish the country as a major product nation. Additionally, the party committed to development of industrial cities along strategic corridors, fostering balanced regional development and promoting industrialization in underdeveloped regions.
The manifesto noted that in the past 10 years, the country has established over $100-billion electronics manufacturing industry. “We have already become the second largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. Our policies have resulted in generating huge employment opportunities in this industry,” it noted.
“We will consolidate our efforts and expand electronics manufacturing three times to become a major player in the global value chain. We will leverage our design capabilities to develop indigenous brands,” the manifesto added.
Furthermore, the manifesto spoke about the emerging chip industry in India, stating: “Building on our success of electronics industry, will deepen our component ecosystem and take semiconductor design and manufacturing to a new level to become one of the global majors in chip manufacturing.”
In the automotive industry, the BJP pledged support for transition to electric vehicles (EVs), along with investments in nationwide EV charging infrastructure. The party aimed to capitalize on India’s position as a major automobile manufacturer, fostering growth in EV production while promoting sustainable transportation solutions.
INDUSTRIAL AND DIGITAL GROWTH
In line with the principles of PM-Gatishakti, the BJP has envisioned the establishment of industrial cities and corridors to drive industrialization and regional development. The party also underscored its commitment to promoting technology and sustainability transitions in key industries such as steel, cement, metals, and engineering goods, with a focus on greener manufacturing processes.
Furthermore, the BJP pledged to significantly expand domestic defense manufacturing and exports, accelerate indigenisation in defense equipment platforms, and position India as a leading global railway manufacturing hub.
The manifesto has outlined a multifaceted approach to bolstering various sectors critical to India’s economic growth. It envisions the establishment of a commercial aircraft manufacturing ecosystem, formulation of aerospace manufacturing policies and development of indigenous passenger aircraft.
Additionally, the party has emphasized the expansion of the civil aviation ecosystem, including Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) activities, aircraft financing, and leasing programmes.
The manifesto underscored the BJP’s commitment to fostering a vibrant startup ecosystem, expanding employment opportunities, and addressing the diverse needs of different segments of society. It outlined plans to expand existing schemes such as the Startup India Seed Fund and Startup Credit Guarantee Scheme, along with initiatives to support youth entrepreneurship and provide enhanced credit facilities for MSMEs.
Additionally, in terms of digital growth, it said: “We will expand the 5G networks and take the lead in the development of 6G technology… We will develop a comprehensive ecosystem under the IndiaAI mission, driving AI innovation through collaborative strategic programs and partnerships to position Bharat as a global leader in AI innovation and build domestic capacities to ensure tech sovereignty.”
“The role of Digital Public Infrastructure in revolutionising public service delivery is appreciated all over the world. We will work towards sharing this technology with partner countries,” the manifesto noted.