Manufacturing competitiveness council to be set up
By Our Economy Bureau | 20 Sep 2004
New Delhi: The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) has approved the setting up of a National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) to energise and sustain the growth of the manufacturing sector. This is part of the proposals put forward in the National Common Minimum Programme.
The finance minister, P Chidambaram, said that NMCC would be under the ministry of commerce and industry and would have members from the other ministries concerned, presidents of industry associations, representatives of research and management institutes, economists and young corporate professionals.
He said that the setting up of the NMCC was based on the understanding that economic reforms, even though calibrated, have exposed the Indian manufacturing sector to greater domestic and global competition. Sectors such as food processing, textiles and garments, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods and others are expected to benefit from this.
The manufacturing sector growth measured in terms of the index of industrial production (IIP) grew to 14.1 per cent in 1995-96 and declined to touch a low of three per cent in 2001-02. Share of industry sector has, after rising from about 25 per cent in 1980s to 27 per cent in 1990s, stagnated at close to 27 per cent in 2003-04. India has a low share of manufacturing contribution of 17 per cent compared to China's 35 per cent.
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