Chennai:
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president and Virudhunagar Lok Sabha MP B. Manickam Tagore has questioned the performance of the Centre’s Make in India initiative after 12 years, citing manufacturing growth, investment, exports and employment figures that he said point to continuing challenges in the sector.
In a statement marking 12 years of the Make in India initiative, Tagore alleged that the programme had not delivered the level of manufacturing expansion and employment generation promised by the Union Government. He based his criticism on figures that he said were drawn from official government data.
Tagore said manufacturing growth had remained below overall economic growth under both the old and new national accounts series. According to the figures cited in his statement, manufacturing’s share of gross value added stood at 17.3 per cent in 2014 and was 17.1 per cent in 2025-26 under the old series. Under the new series, he said, the share stood at 15.6 per cent.
He also questioned the country’s performance in global merchandise exports, claiming that India’s share had remained around 1.7 per cent since 2012. He argued that the Make in India initiative had not produced a significant change in India’s position in the international export market.
On private investment, Tagore said capital formation by the private sector had remained under pressure and that the anticipated expansion in new manufacturing capacity had not occurred at the expected pace.
He also raised concerns over foreign direct investment in manufacturing. Citing figures in his statement, he said manufacturing FDI growth had remained below overall FDI growth in several years during the past 12 years, and referred to a decline of 31.2 per cent in manufacturing FDI in 2022-23.
Tagore further referred to capacity utilisation in Indian factories, stating that it had remained below the 80 per cent level that he described as important for encouraging fresh private investment. He said capacity utilisation had fallen to 47.3 per cent in 2020 and stood at 77.4 per cent thereafter, according to the figures cited by him.
On industrial credit, he said bank credit to industry had risen to Rs.45.8 lakh crore, but argued that the increase had not translated sufficiently into new capital investment and large-scale manufacturing facilities.
Tagore also questioned the distribution of benefits under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. He said the government had highlighted investments of around Rs.2.4 lakh crore, but alleged that investment and employment gains were concentrated in selected sectors. He specifically referred to textiles, IT hardware and medical equipment as areas requiring greater attention.
The Union Government has separately reported that PLI schemes covering 14 sectors had attracted more than Rs.2.40 lakh crore in actual investment and generated over 14.15 lakh direct and indirect jobs as of March 31, 2026.
On employment, Tagore said the number of people working in manufacturing had increased only marginally, from 5.1 crore in 2016-17 to 5.3 crore in 2025-26, according to the figures cited in his statement. He further claimed that manufacturing’s share of total employment had declined from 12.5 per cent to 12.1 per cent.
Tagore said the government should move beyond publicity around Make in India and focus on strengthening industrial policy, expanding manufacturing opportunities and creating sustainable employment for young people.
The Make in India initiative was launched on September 25, 2014, with the stated objective of strengthening investment, manufacturing, innovation and infrastructure and positioning India as a global manufacturing hub. The Union Government has highlighted growth in sectors including electronics, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, steel and defence during the 12-year period.
Tagore’s statement represents the Congress party’s assessment of the programme’s performance, while the Union Government has presented the same period as one of expansion in manufacturing capacity, investment, exports and employment through initiatives including PLI.