BANGALORE: The lop-sided focus on information technology industry by the government may lead to a social problem in the future. Yes, the IT sector may have the power to increase the per capita, but it is only the manufacturing industry which can provide the job opportunities.
Basing the theme on the need to give manufacturing industry its due, the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta Alumni Association, Bangalore Chapter, is hosting a seminar on ‘Indian Manufacturing, challenges, strategies and best practices’ in Bangalore on April 12.
Chairman of the organising committee Anil Tendulkar said that India has been missing out on opportunities in the manufacturing industry both locally and globally, by not creating an environment conducive to the growth of the industry.

“Take the case of China, where 35 per cent of its GDP is from manufacturing. In India, the contribution of manufacturing industry has slipped from 19 per cent to 16 per cent over a period of three years. Considering the importance of the manufacturing industry for creating jobs in the future, it is imperative that we take corrective action.”
While liberalising labour laws, steps should be taken to reduce cascading taxes through VAT and bringing down taxes to a level of 15 per cent.

Tendulkar said there is a misconception that liberalisation of labour laws will lead to mass unemployment. On the contrary, the opposite is true. Liberalised labour laws may lead to retrenchment in the short run. In the long run, many industries would want to set up factories as they would feel secure to the flexibility in connection with labour deployment.
China creates 2.50 million jobs per year in the manufacturing sector as against only one million in India. Also, drop in local taxes will lead to a spurt in domestic demand, which in turn will promote local manufacturing industry and employment.
The objective of the seminar is to drive home the need to speed up the actions required to capitalise on the opportunity that manufacturing offers and also to educate participants on the various issues involved.

A number of eminent personalities including Tata Sons Limited executive director R. Gopalakrishnan, Hyundai Motors India Limited president BVR Subbu, BEA country manager Srikanth Rao, Asea Brown Boveri vice chairman and managing director Ravi Uppal, McKinsey India engagement manager Deepak Goyal, The Economic Times senior editor Narendar Pani and Peenya Industries Association founder secretary and ex-president N. Narasimhan, will form the panel of speakers.