Skill development must to match western counterparts

June 23, 2016 12:08 pm

Welding is a highly skill oriented profession and Kemppi stands committed in India to expand this skill with collaboration and cooperation of central and state governments, industry and universities.Rashmi Ranjan Mohapatra, Managing Director, Kemppi India
  Based in Finland, Kemppi is a manufacturer of Arc Welding Equipment and provides “Total Welding Solution” to its customers and has a manufacturing plant in Chennai. Kemppi, an ISO certified and CC compliant is one of the first companies to introduce inverters to the welding world and in 1992 it brought the digital welding machine to the welding world.
In an exclusive interview with OEM Update, Rashmi Ranjan Mohapatra, Managing Director of Kemppi India speaks about the future of ‘Make in India’.
FDI benefitted from ‘Make in India’Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India has received a dramatic boost from the launch of the ‘Make in India’ initiative, according to the latest economic survey. After the September 2014 launch of the initiative, which seeks to promote manufacturing and attract foreign investment, there was an almost 40 per cent increase in FDI inflows from October 2014 to June 2015 over the year-ago period. Under the programme, the government has awarded 56 defence manufacturing permits to private sector entities in the past one year, after allowing 49 per cent FDI in the defence sector in August 2014, compared with 47 granted in the preceding three years. Entities from several countries such as Japan, China, France and South Korea announced their intention to invest in India in various industrial and infrastructure projects.
The major objectives behind the ‘Make in India’ initiative are job creation and skill enhancement in 25 sectors of the economy, including automobiles, aviation, biotechnology, chemicals, construction, defence manufacturing, electrical machinery, electronic systems and mining. According to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, FDI inflows under the approval route (which requires prior government permission) increased by 87 per cent during 2014-15 with an inflow of $2.22 billion. More than 90 per cent of FDI was through the automatic route. Singapore, Mauritius, the Netherlands and the US account for the major share of FDI inflows into India. Out of FDI equity inflows of $24.8 billion during 2015-16 (April-November), more than 60 per cent came from two geographically small countries — Singapore and Mauritius.
The major change post ‘Make in India’ has been on FDI and signing of MOU or showing intent in different greenfield sectors. However, it has to fructify to make an impact in the manufacturing sector.
Opportunities for Indian manufacturersWith the government pushing for the manufacturing sector to grow from 17 – 25 per cent in GDP by 2020; the prospect is very good. Besides this, the government has opened up 25 sectors to attract FDI and make an impact.
The major bottleneck in manufacturing has been the “skill factor” in the country. The Government has been astute enough to put the “skilling” in the forefront. That will help boost the productivity in a big way.
Right action at the right timeIndia has emerged as the most favoured destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), outpacing China and the US. FDI inflows into India during January-June stood at $31 billion, ahead of China’s $28 billion and the US’s $27 billion in 2015. Separately, India also jumped 16 notches to 55 among 140 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index that ranks countries on the basis of parameters such as institutions, macro-economic environment, education, market size and infrastructure among others.
A ranking of top destinations for greenfield investment (measured by estimated capital expenditure) in the first half of 2015 shows India at number one, having attracted roughly $3 billion more than China and $4 billion more than the US.
The government’s push for manufacturing comes at a time when many global companies are searching for an alternative to China as costs and risks there rise. India has also become the world’s fastest growing major economy ahead of China, where recent shocks have sent ripples across the world.

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