'Make in India' nets Rs 15.2 lakh crores from manufacturers

India has received total investment commitment worth Rs 15.20 lakh crore from domestic and foreign manufacturers during the Make in India Week providing a major boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign to turn India into a global manufacturing hub. The week-long summit, which was flagged-off by the Prime Minister on February 13, also saw the host state Maharashtra walking away with over Rs 8 lakh crores or 52 per cent of the proposed investments.

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Speaking to reporters on the concluding day, Amitabh Kant, secretary, department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), said the summit was a phenomenal hit as it received investment proposals much more than what the government had anticipated. Expressing confidence that 85-90 per cent of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) would be converted into actual investments, Mr Kant said the aim is to have at least 10 states that could grow at over 12 per cent per annum with Maharashtra becoming the gateway for the rest of the country.

Stating that at least 30 per cent of the total investment commitments were from foreign manufacturers, Mr Kant added that it would take atleast 2-3 years for the actual execution of these projects. Seeking to increase the share of manufacturing sector in India’s GDP from 15 per cent at present to 25 per cent by 2022, Mr Kant said, “We have already opened the economy across sectors to the world. We are now showcasing, connecting and collaborating for manufacturing in the country. The summit is not just about manufacturing alone, but Indians turning innovators and Indians turning inventors”. The multi-sectoral exhibition, the biggest ever in the history of India saw participation from over 9,000 Indian companies and 2,000 foreign companies besides the Swedish, Finnish and Nepalese PMs.

Lockheed ready to make F-16s in India:

US fighter jet maker Lockheed Martin on Thursday said that it is ready to manufacture F-16 aircraft in India and supports the ongoing talks between the two countries to set up the first manufacturing facility, which could be one of the largest projects under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. “We are ready to manufacture F-16 in India and support the Make in India initiative,” Phil Shaw, chief executive of Lockheed Martin India told reporters at the Singapore Airshow 2016.

But the official did not commit any time-frame to have the plant operational, saying the group supports the ongoing government-to-government talks. Mr Shaw expressed strong interest in having the F-16 made in India “soon” without elaborating on the time-frame, linking it to the progress of the government-to-government talks.

Currently, Lockheed Martin manufactures one jet a month from its plant in the US and has a series of contracts and joint ventures in India with over 1,000 employees. It has supplied six C130J Super Hercules planes to India in 2011 and will be delivering another six helicopters next year. Industry observers said Lockheed Martin’s “wish to manufacture F-16 is based on the strong demand from the Indian armed forces and would want to lower the cost of the planes for exports by using the low-cost capability in India”. The making of F-16, which will be among the largest projects under the Make in India initiative, will be conditional to the Indian government making contractual commitment to buy the fighter jets for its armed forces, said the source.

IKEA plans to double its India sourcing:

Swedish retail major Ikea on Thursday said that it plans to double its sourcing from Indian suppliers over the next five years. The company currently procures materials worth 300 million euros per annum. “We source materials like textiles, carpets and plastics among others from about 50 suppliers in India. We want to double our sourcing from India in next five years besides expanding our supplier base,” said Patrik Antoni, country communication manager at the Make In India Week. He further added that his company also wanted to tie-up with home appliances manufacturers in India.