Centre seeks inputs on trade, industrial policies, services:

Centre seeks inputs on trade, industrial policies, services:

Academia has to do research in emerging areas: Sitharaman Context: Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday sought inputs from the academia on three topics –Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) review, the proposed revamp of manufacturing and industrial policies and India’s proposal at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on services sector liberalisaton. Introduction:

• The Centre is working on a new manufacturing and industrial policy to increase the contribution of the manufacturing sector in the country GDP to 25% by 2020 from the current level of about 16%.
• The government is working on these new policies to align the current manufacturing polity of 2011 and the industrial policy of 2009 with the Fourth Industrial Revolution that includes AI, robotics and IoT.
• The global Industrial Revolution 4.0 is happening, the country needs more research on this emerging area showing how Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, and Internet of Things(IoT) will impact India’s manufacturing and services.

Key points:

• India’s new manufacturing and industrial policies will bring manufacturing and services closer to ensure an increase in the contribution of services to manufacturing.
• India is already a part of many global value chains
• The two new policies will aim to make India a global manufacturing hub in items including textile, pharmaceuticals and electronics.

Trade Facilitation in Services (TFS) pact:

• India proposed Trade Facilitation in Services (TFS) Agreement at the WTO for easing norms, including on movement of foreign professionals and skilled workers across borders for short-term work

Hurdles:

• Many policy-level related challenges have retarded growth in the manufacturing sector in India.
• These challenges include, among other, difficult business environment, infrastructural constraints, including peak power deficit, labour market limitations including a surfeit of labour legislations and trade unionism as well as the difficulty in availing commercial bank credit particularly for small firms.

Conclusion: India needs to generate good quality manpower in large numbers at all stages of the knowledge pyramid if it has to become globally competitive in the manufacturing sector.