Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday asserted that manufacturing, one of the major backbone of the Indian economy, still remains a challenge and that entry into the sector should be made easier.
Addressing a 'Make in India' seminar, Jaitley laid stressed on manufacturing for the betterment of the economy and said entry point into the sector should be eased and barriers have to be lowered.
The entry point into manufacturing sector needs to be eased, if we keep doors closed investments won't come in, the finance minister said.
India's industrial output growth rate contracted by 4.2 percent in October, a 3-year low, dragged down by a fall in the manufacturing and the capital goods sector.
In recent months and years, cost of capital has been a single factor that slowed down manufacturing, he also said.
The finance minister also said the government has to put house in order to accelerate growth in manufacturing.
He also pointed out that the last 2 years saw economic slowdown but expressed confidence that growth would be better this year.
The Indian economy grew by 5.3 percent in the September quarter from a year earlier, and is expected to grow 5.5 percent in the current financial year that ends on March 31.
India has had two successive years of below 5 percent economic growth and is still recovering from its worst slowdown since the 1980s.
In September this year, PM Narendra Modi launched his ambitious 'Make in India' campaign to make India a manufacturing hud.
During the event, Modi called upon domestic and international companies to invest in India, saying his government's focus was not only to 'Look East' but also to 'Link West'.
With Agency Inputs
