21 million new jobs by 2025?

​New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the National Capital Goods Policy-2016, which aims to create 21 million new jobs in the country by 2025.

The decision was among a series of others made by the Cabinet on Wednesday, including ideas on promoting the government’s flagship ‘Make in India’ scheme and approvals for major Railways projects and new Indian Institutes of Technology.

An official statement issued after the Cabinet meeting said the National Capital Goods Policy seeks to raise production of capital goods from Rs.2.3 trillion in 2014-15 to Rs.7.5 trillion in 2025.

It also aims to raise direct and indirect employment in the sector from the current 8.4 million to 30 million. The new policy proposes measures to improve availability of finance and raw material, and promote innovation, productivity, quality and environment-friendly manufacturing practices.

It also suggests ways to promote exports and create domestic demand. The policy envisages increasing exports from the current 27% to 40% of production.

It also aims to increase the share of domestic production that fulfils local demand from 60% to 80%, making India a net exporter of capital goods.

The policy will facilitate the use of technology across sub-sectors, increase skill availability, ensure mandatory standards, and promote growth and capacity-building in micro, small and medium enterprises. The heavy industry department will implement the policy provisions.

The meeting also approved Rs.10,736 crore worth of investments by the Indian Railways to expand its network, Rail minister Suresh Prabhu told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

“The idea of the policy on capital goods is to see how we can make these goods in India. When China increased its share of manufacturing in GDP to 40%, its capital goods manufacturing base too had gone up.

Local production of construction cranes and other equipment in China helped its manufacturing industry. If we also make the capital goods required by the manufacturing sector, the entire economy will get a fillip,” said Prabhu.

The cabinet also approved the introduction of two bills in Parliament for amendments in the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, to modify the list of Scheduled Tribes in five states and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

These are Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and Tripura, and Puducherry.