Despite a sleek marketing campaign, the world isn’t quite ready to “Make in India.”

Last week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in celebrated the inauguration of what Samsung Electronics called the world’s largest mobile phone factory. At the splashy event just outside New Delhi, Modi said the facility was “extremely important” for his Make in India initiative to boost manufacturing to 25 per cent of India’s economy by 2020 and create millions of jobs. Samsung said the plant was a “shining example” of the success of the program.

But the investment is more the exception than the norm. Data from the World Bank and the Reserve Bank of India show manufacturing hasn’t received a significant boost since Modi took office in 2014. While India’s economy has overtaken France to become the world’s sixth largest, manufacturing has shrunk to about 15pc of gross domestic product from a peak of 18.6pc in 1995, according to the World Bank. Other data show new investments in India have dropped and stalled projects are on the rise.

“The Samsung announcement is good news, but it must be seen as a one-off at present,” says Vivek De­­hejia, an associate professor of economics at Carleton University in Ottawa. “Make in India is a noble aspiration of the Modi government. Yet, in the absence of a supporting infrastructure and ease of doing business environment, it’s a tough challenge.”

The initiative is a worthwhile attempt to lure global businesses, analysts say, but it hasn’t been accompanied by enough meaningful changes to revive manufacturing or alter what is essentially a services-oriented economy.

Bloomberg/The Washington Post Service

CLOSURE OF BOOKS & AGM

Company From To Dividend Commence- AGM/
Bonus/Right ment of Spot EOGM

SME Leasing Ltd. 17-07-2018 23-07-2018 — — 23-07-2018
786 Investments Ltd. 17-07-2018 30-07-2018 — — 30-07-2018
Nat Sav. Bonds 18-07-2018 27-07-2018 — — —
Descon Oxychem Ltd. 20-07-2018 27-07-2018 — — 27-07-2018
Macter International 21-07-2018 28-07-2018 — — 28-07-2018
Exide Pakistan 22-07-2018 28-07-2018 NIL — 28-07-2018
Century Insurance 25-07-2018 31-07-2018 — — 31-07-2018
Unicap Modaraba 25-07-2018 31-07-2018 NIL — 31-07-2018

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2018