New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday brushed aside the Opposition’s criticism of the ‘Make in India’ scheme, saying it is yielding “good results” as the government has taken multiple steps to strengthen the manufacturing sector, including defence production.
Replying to a debate on the supplementary demands for grants and the Manipur budget in the Rajya Sabha, she said that production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes have yielded good results, as they have so far attracted investments of Rs 1.5 lakh crore and generated nearly 9.5 lakh employment opportunities.
Congress leaders take vicarious pleasure in saying, ‘Make in India is dead’. It was this ‘Make in India’, which made India’s defence sector become a net exporter. They have had a hypocritical approach towards Make in India, Sitharaman said.
“Make in India has actually given us good results. We took step after step, after step, to strengthen the manufacturing of this country,” she added.
The Make in India initiative was launched on September 25, 2014, to facilitate investment, foster innovation, build best-in-class infrastructure, and make India a hub for manufacturing, design, and innovation.
“Believe in Make In India. It is giving you results,” the minister informed the House citing data to support her point.
She attacked Congress for taking a lot of time in formulating the national manufacturing policy and for “hurriedly” signing free trade agreements with several countries, which were now being renegotiated and modified.
They were in power between 2004-14. It was in 2011 that they came up with a ‘National Manufacturing Policy’. It took them 7 long years to only make a policy rather than implement it, she noted.
“You claim that Make in India is not working. Doesn’t that mean that the national manufacturing policy itself was flawed. Are you suggesting that? It is your policy. But it remained a policy, it didn’t find an action group. And when we make it an actionable policy, we bring in Make in India, they had problems…,” she said.
Sitharaman claimed that Congress was confused as Make in India had included the national manufacturing policy framed by the UPA.
“Make in India is showing how, for example, the defence industry was able to export,” she claimed.
Criticising the UPA for signing “quick-fix FTAs” which “killed” India’s manufacturing, she said, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is now struggling to get those “hurriedly done” trade agreements reviewed as they were “loosely worded”.
The finance minister also emphasised that the effective capital outlay in the Union Budget is Rs 15.48 lakh crore and the funds for social sector schemes too have been increased to Rs 60,000 crore.
Sitharaman also spoke on the assets and liabilities of Indian households.
She said India’s household debt is relatively low compared to other emerging market economies as well as some developed countries, except for Brazil, where it is 35 per cent.
“Ours is being higher with 39 per cent,” she said, adding that there has been a significant increase in wages during the Modi government.
She said ‘Made in Bihar’ boots are now part of the Russian Army’s equipment, marking a significant milestone for Indian products in the global defence market and showcasing the country’s high manufacturing standards.
The Rajya Sabha later returned the money bills to the Lok Sabha.
With this, Parliament has approved the supplementary demands for grants, which entails Rs 51,463 crore additional spending in the current fiscal, and the Manipur Budget for 2025-26.
