WHY AN INDUSTRIAL POLICY IS CRUCIAL

Prelims level : E8 Industries Mains level : GS3A Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment
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Why in News:

  • No major country has managed to reduce poverty or sustain economic growth without a robust manufacturing sector.

Background:

  • The contribution of manufacturing to GDP in 2017 was only about 16%, a stagnation since the economic reforms began in 1991.
  • The contrast with the major Asian economies is significant. For example, Malaysia roughly tripled its share of manufacturing in GDP to 24%, while Thailand’s share increased from 13% to 33% (1960-2014).
  • In India manufacturing has never been the leading sector in the economy other than during the Second and Third Plan periods.
  • Core to growth:

    • No major country managed to reduce poverty or sustain growth without manufacturing driving economic growth. This is because productivity levels in industry (and manufacturing) are much higher than in either agriculture or services.
    • Manufacturing is an engine of economic growth because it offers economies of scale, embodies technological progress and generates forward and backward linkages that create positive spillover effects in the economy. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development or UNCTAD finds that over 100 countries have, within the last decade, articulated industrial policies. However, India still has no manufacturing policy.
    • Focussing (as “Make in India” does) on increasing foreign direct investment and ease of
      doing business, important though they may be, does not constitute an industrial policy.
    • Even neo-classical economists accept government intervention in the case of market failures. Mainstream economists point to specific instances of market failure that require a government-driven industrial policy:
    • a)Deficiencies in capital markets, usually as a result of information asymmetries; lack of adequate investments inhibiting exploitation of scale economies;
    • b)Imperfect information with respect to firm-level investments in learning and training; and lack of information and coordination between technologically interdependent investments.

    Way Forward:

    • These are good reasons why an economy-wide planning mechanism is needed in India. However, the Indian state should steer clear of the “command and control” approach that harks back to pre-1991 days.
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