“India is set to be the “Vaccine Maker” of the world with 60 per cent of the global vaccine-making capacity. While 2020 was a year of contraction, 2021 is poised for a V-shaped recovery, with IMF projecting India’s growth to be in double-digits at 11.5 per cent in 2021”, said H. E. Mr. Ajay Bisaria, High Commissioner, India to Canada at the webinar on ‘Doing Business in India’s Manufacturing Sector’, jointly organised by World Trade Center Mumbai, The Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal and Export Development Canada.

Mr. Bisaria further remarked that the Indian economy has reached pre-Covid levels in several sectors, with normalisation of trade, investments and mobility. The Indian government has undertook several structural reforms in land, labour, capital, education, manufacturing etc during the Covid 19 period, of which the National Education policy can be a game-changer in building human capital. India and Canada have a strategic relationship since 2015, and Canada can be an important partner for India in the near future.

In his remarks, Mr. Varun Sood, Vice President, Invest India said, India has the third-largest consumer market in the world, is the largest smartphone data consumer, ranks first in the number of internet users and second in startup ecosystem, and is poised to become the third-largest economy by 2030.

India is set to become a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025 with construction contributing USD 640 billion, food processing about USD 535 billion, electronics USD 400 billion, auto and auto components USD 500 billion and renewables about USD 180 billion to manufacturing GDP.

Mr. Sood further said, India is the fourth-largest oil refiner in the world, and is expected to have USD 118 billion investment by 2024. India has the fastest-growing ecommerce market in the world, poised to become USD 99 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 63 per cent. India is the second-largest steel producer with over 140 million tonne capacity, and is the sixth-largest producer of chemicals, projected to reach USD 304 billion by 2025.

India has shown strong resurgence post Covid-19 and significant recovery has been seen in the economic revival phase, with 13 per cent more Kharif sowing as compared to last year, 70 per cent pre-Covid 19 production levels for two-wheelers reached and 100 per cent pre-Covid 19 lockdown levels reached for exports.

The growth drivers for manufacturing in India include Ease of Doing Business, infrastructure development, industrial land parcels, logistics (domestic/exports) and production linked incentives. The top sectors by FDI inflow between FY 2015-20 include computer hardware and software, telecommunications, construction (infrastructure), automobile, chemicals (other than fertilisers), power, hotel and tourism and non-conventional energy, among others.

An amount of USD 1.4 trillion is being invested in infrastructure projects in the next five years, and projects such as Bharatmala, Sagarmala, Freight corridors and Udaan are aimed at reducing logistics cost by 5-6 per cent, increasing average speed of road network by 20-25 per cent and increasing port cargo handling capacity by over 100 per cent.

The GIS-based National Land Bank digital platform will offer seamless access to land records and property registration, and 3,982 industrial parks over five lakh hectares have been mapped. The platform will act as a data repository of vacant lands, sectors, amenities and contact information, and six states are already providing district/sector/available land/state-wise reports with dynamic statistics for smarter analysis.

In his address, Mr. Vijay Kalantri, Vice Chairman, MVIRDC World Trade Center Mumbai said, India recorded 13 per cent FDI growth in 2020, and ranked 63rd among 190 countries in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business 2020 survey. It also ranked 48th in the Global Innovation Index 2020 among 131 countries. The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme announced by the government as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat package, aims to position India as a global manufacturing hub, attract investment in the areas of core competency and cutting-edge technology, create economies of scale and enhance exports.

Mr. Kalantri further said Canadian and Indian manufacturers can partner in areas such as aerospace, food and beverages, automotive, clean tech, life sciences and information and communication technology, among others. We need to collaborate in exchanging information and trade delegations between India and Canada from time to time in order to create business opportunities.

The event was attended by representatives of trade and industry, consular corps and other stakeholders from India and Canada.

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