NEW DELHI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge criticized the Modi government on Saturday over the ‘Make in India’ scheme, saying that the BJP’s promise to make India a global manufacturing hub has not been fulfilled. In a post on X, he said, “Modi government’s ‘Make in India’ is a classic case of giving importance to publicity rather than delivery. In its 2014 Manifesto, the BJP made 10 promises to make India a ‘Global Manufacturing Hub’, none of which have been fulfilled.”
The ‘Make in India’ initiative was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 to boost manufacturing, attract foreign investment, and position India as a global production center. The initiative aimed to increase manufacturing’s share in India’s GDP and create employment opportunities.
Kharge claimed that instead of improvement, the situation has worsened. He pointed to a “massive decline” in manufacturing employment and a reduced contribution of manufacturing to GDP. He also said that public sector undertakings (PSUs) are being sold, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are struggling. “PSUs are being sold. MSMEs are suffering. Bureaucratic hurdles are the order of the day. Indian entrepreneurs are moving abroad and setting up companies there, instead of preferring India. Exports are in a free fall,” Kharge pointed out.
The Congress president also raised two specific questions about government policies. “Has the Modi government wound up the Phase 1 of the much-hyped PLI Scheme worth Rs 1.97 Lakh Crore, after 12 out of 14 identified sectors failed to take off? Why has the share of merchandise in India’s total exports fallen to its lowest level in at least 50 years under Modi government?”
He also compared the current situation with the Congress-led UPA era, saying that manufacturing had grown at its fastest pace during that time. “Perhaps, Modi ji would now realise that the real ‘Aatmnirbhar Bharat‘ was under the Congress,” Kharge said.
Referring to media reports, he also pointed out that as of October 2024, the government had used less than 8 per cent of the funds allocated for manufacturing incentives and had achieved only 37 per cent of the production target.
