दृष्टिकोण – Indra's Viewpoint

I was reading a blog of some one from the Lab Media of MIT visiting and writing on the ecosystem of manufacturing in Shenzen in China that must be read by our PM and all his men who will like to live up to his dream of making India a superpower in manufacturing.

It was perhaps sometime in 1970s, an employee working for me sold a two-in-tape recorder with a ‘National’ brand tags for my children in hind Motor. Soon I could realise or perhaps an well wisher of mine pointed me out that the recorder was a pirated one. Delhi and Ludhiana were the source of the electronics items in those days. I don’t think there if they still exist. Perhaps, it do not.

While working in HM, I also came to know about the machine tools used extensively in engineering industries that were being made in those days in Punjab. However, in good company such as ours, those machines were considered as one of very poor quality and capability. If the government and the nation’s R&D facilities would have assisted and supported those hilarious entrepreneurs, and the users would not have looked down upon them, India would have become a manufacturing nation today as China is.

Even today, I find the same situation and mindsets. We hardly promote and support the capital goods manufactured against all odds. We all including the government agencies, have love for everything that comes as import even from China.

The sector in my mind at this time is the agricultural machines, implements and appliances. While in my native village in Bihar and all around it, I come across huge harvesters and combines, all made in Punjab. Indian manufacturers can very easily become the significant or may be globally the most competitive players in its manufacture and exports to all the developing and developed countries and underdeveloped Africa. The same may go for many items that already manufactured or has a good potential for getting manufactured in the country. Unfortunately I doubt if the manufacturers are getting the right support to become a global brand. The world knows only few known manufacturers in agricultural machineries such as M&M or TAFE and that too only for tractors. Will the sector get the attention of Modi’s government and bodies such as FICII and CII to make India a global player?

There are many areas where our men have wonderful knowledge and skill in manufacturing. We all know about the illegal manufacture of small arms in certain pockets of the country. Sometimes, we come across about their wonderful quality through media reports. One certainly may not support the illegal work being done by some of those craftsmen But we should not overlook the high skill of these people. Can’t the administration think of a way out for using these human resources?

Finally, I shall like to quote a portion of the blog for those who can not or does not want to take the pain of using the internet:
“We started in the section of the market where people were taking broken or trashed cellphones and stripping them down for all of the parts. Any phone part that conceivably retained functionality was stripped off and packaged for sale in big plastic bags. Another source of components seemed to be rejected parts from the factory lines that were then repaired, or sheets of PCBs in which only one of the components had failed a test. iPhone home buttons, wifi chipsets, Samsung screens, Nokia motherboards, everything. bunnie pointed to a bag of chips that he said would have a street value of $50,000 in the US selling for about $500. These chips were sold, not individually, but by the pound. Who buys chips by the pound? Small factories that make all of the cellphones that we all buy “new” will often be short on parts and they will run to the market to buy bags of that part so that they can keep the line running. It’s very likely that the “new” phone that you just bought from ATT has “recycled” Shenzhen parts somewhere inside.
The other consumer of these parts are the people who repair phones. Phone repair starts with simple stuff like replacing the screen to full-on rebuilds. You can even buy whole phones built from scrap parts – ”I lost my phone, can you repair it for me?”
After this market where phones were “recycled” we saw equivalent markets for laptops, TVs, everything.”

The great policy makers of the country must realise that every great nation of the present era starting from the great power USA, the miraculous Japan and today’s indomitable manufacturing power China, have gone up through piracy at the initial stage. Today, if India wishes to be a manufacturing power and supplier of consumer items all over the world as China, India will have to go all out starting with manufacturing for local markets, refining, innovating, patenting and capturing the world market through manufacturing units located all over India, perhaps in every household with 3D printers. If Modi wishes to make India a manufacturing power, he must not be wasting the national resources on keeping many of the manufacturing PSU units just breathing.

Can just with few announcements and policy declarations as done in the previous government too, India move ahead fast in real term to become a manufacturing super power? Even many Modis can’t do it with many a sermons such one by him on the Independence Day.

1. It will require a change in mindsets of those who matter, in big way. Naturally, to start with, it will be that of the head of the government. It must not come as few knee jerk actions, but as focused strategy planning and effective policy deployment with monitored progress in measurable terms.

2. FDI in manufacturing is certainly one route. Can some efficient and rightly qualified officers in our consulates in the countries strong in manufacturing such as US, Japan, Germany, market India to the targeted companies whom India wants to come in and set up its manufacturing facilities in India, facilitate if they decide so and ease the rest of the processes? It will be necessary to make the policy effective. Without sufficient marketing, no one is going to come.

3. As claimed, the quick clearing of defence orders such as helicopters in hundreds, Avros to private sector and the vessels for navy will certainly rejuvenate the manufacturing, but simultaneously restructuring of PSUs such as HAL and manufacturing dockyards for warships, submarines-traditional or nuclear powered, and ordinance factories for army hardwares such as tanks etc and building strong professional management at unit level with opening them for exports, will be necessary to give the real boost to manufacturing in big way. For example, the different facilities of HAL must be restructured as fully independent units with R&D, for manufacturing and marketing: one for helicopters, the second for fighting planes and ,may be third for transport carriers.

4. A revolution in Indian manufacturing sector is inevitable if manufacturing PSUs become globally competitive and profitable, and are not kept alive with repeated budgetary supports draining the national resources. But the level of professionalism in their management will have to be improved. Many things such as the constitution of board of directors, or the selection of CEO must be only based on merit.

5. The manufacturing sector must reach small towns and rural India for creating employment. Let the rural carpenters, blacksmiths or others with family traditions of manufacturing become the new manufacturers in village. Many items for mass market and daily use, be it the cheap sanitary towels or organic soaps, knit wears or soft toys, can easily be produced in many households. The IAS officers at block and district level, particularly those with engineering background must be asked to encourage young local entrepreneurs through a little handholding and out of the way assistance and their performance in that regard must be monitored.

6. Other e-selling companies must also encourage local manufacturers as Flipkart plans. Big organised retailers of Corporate India such as Big Bazaar can get the world class products being sold abroad by big retailers there, manufactured through the indigenous manufacturers.

7. The system and those who matter must see that the jobs of engineers in manufacturing become sufficiently lucrative, that the engineers particularly from IITs and other great institutes remain in industrial activities rather than getting into IIMs straight and then in finance or UPSC, that the entrepreneurs in manufacturing find it hassle free to get into the business with prompt supports from the financial institutes and banks, that the skilling starts right in school, and for all graduates a fixed amount of credit hours for the courses on wealth creation,entrepreneurship and innovation be made compulsory.

8. The government develops more and more fully serviced clusters for various products as it is being planned for electronics goods.

Unfortunately, even with so huge a market in manufacturing, the big corporate houses of the country are hardly entering the manufacturing sector. Many who were in the sector are leaving it for greener pastures of retail and finance.

Many in the country need implements and machines to ease the working for their bread. A huge potential is there for those who can develop, manufacture and market them. I read recently about the story of a juggad for baking corn. I am sure that can be improved and marketed all over India.

Let all avenues be explored and used to reach the goal of making India a superpower in manufacturing. It is but a national necessity.