The Modi government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign is aimed at transforming the country into a global manufacturing hub and creating millions of jobs for those who will join the workforce in the coming years.
With the global industrial powerhouse China moving towards consumption-led growth, the time is ripe for India to raise the profile of its manufacturing sector. But a high-cost domestic steel industry does not augur well for the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
Out of the nearly two dozen sectors identified by the government as focus areas under the campaign, the cost of steel is crucial to the competitiveness of manufacturing in at least nine industries – automobile, automobile components, construction, defence manufacturing, electrical machinery, railways, renewable, thermal power, and oil and gas.