Speaking at the CII Session on ‘Make in India: The Next Wave’, Prof Lord Kumar Bhattacharya, Chairman, Warwick Manufacturing Group, said that ‘Make in India’ should ideally be ‘Made by India’, to foster the indigenous manufacturing and thereby facilitate economic growth. He stressed that India’s future should be to lead global innovation and it should invest in global partnership of innovation for creation of outstanding products.

Prof Bhattacharya praised the ‘Make in India’ initiative spearheaded by the government. He said that the Make in India initiative has a huge momentum not only in India but abroad as well.

Reflecting on his journey as a part of the Warwick Manufacturing Group, Prof Lord Bhattacharya stressed that technology, training, skills and infrastructure had helped renew and restore Britain’s manufacturing industry and Indian should learn from Britain’s experience.

He compared the current positive developments in manufacturing sector in India with that in China in 1980s and felt that India’s growth was looking self-sustaining at this stage. He, however, cautioned that India should not become complacent and underestimate China. Over the recent years China has adopted the culture of innovation and has moved away from the culture on imitation and India should learn from China too, he added.

Mr Amitabh Kant, Secretary, DIPP, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, reflected on the achievements of Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharya in transforming several Chinese and Indian companies. Mr Kant sought to partner with Prof Lord Kumar Bhattacharya to take forward India’s manufacturing several notches up.

Mr Kant observed that India is at the cusp of a major change, and it should fully utilise its growth potential, by focussing on a paradigm shift in manufacturing sector.

Praising India’s manufacturing prowess, Mr Sudarshan Venu, Joint Managing Director – TVS Motor Company, commented that passenger vehicle manufacturers across the globe are now leveraging the Indian advantage provided by India’s manufacturing hubs. He stated that India’s manufacturing sector has a potential to contribute 25 per cent to GDP and generate 80 million jobs in the next decade.

Mr Banmali Agrawala, President & CEO – GE South Asia, General Electric Company, highlighted that in order to promote the Indian manufacturing sector there must be focus on improving the market size, financing the manufacturing units and making technology relevant to Indian standards.

Dr Mukund G Rajan, Member – Group Executive Council, Brand Custodian and Chief Ethics Officer, Tata Sons Ltd. commented that India should embrace the domestic as well as the global market. He noted that a way forward for India needs to focus upon preparation for climate change as it would drive us towards renewables, embrace digitization & innovation and creation of intellectual property rights.

Speaking at the Session, Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, stressed on private sector participation in facilitating innovation.