December 4, 2025
Rajya Sabha MP Mohammed Nadimul Haque’s Special Mention on the need to improve India’s manufacturing sector
Sir, the economic growth of the country continues to be adversely affected by the stagnant manufacturing sector. In India, the manufacturing sector contributes to just 17 per cent of the GDP. Even if we look at the decadal figure, the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the overall Gross Value Added has been around 17 to 18 per cent for the last 10 years. We have not achieved the scale necessary to drive employment, exports, or technological upgradation which would integrate the Indian industries into the global manufacturing network. If we look at the global picture, India has only 3.3 per cent share in the global manufacturing output, which is disproportionately low for the world’s 5th largest economy. One major reason is that India is still not integrated well into the Global Value Chains (GVCs), while GVCs make up about two-thirds of all world trade. The current global context necessitates such participation. The US-China strategic rivalry, new tariff and non-tariff barriers, and recurring disruptions in key shipping corridors such as the Red Sea, have increased uncertainty in cross-border supply chains. Further, in the year 2024-25, merchandise trade deficit increased by 17 per cent to US$ 282.8 billion from last year. This raises concerns about the increasing import dependence of the country. Without reducing logistics and input costs, and building domestic capacity in high-import sectors, India’s manufacturing sector remains exposed to external shocks and cost volatility. I urge the Government to look into it.
