“PLI will be ready in five years, and then. You have to think about that. Every manufacturer should think about that,” said HCL co-founder Ajai Chowdhry.
HCL co-founder Ajai Chowdhry said Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) is a long haul in the manufacturing sector and the country needs another decade or two to become self-reliant. Chowdhry, one of the six founders of IT giant HCL, spoke at Financial Express Boardroom 2022. India needs to grow not only in breadth but also in depth to have competitive manufacturing capabilities globally, which is why it needs to look beyond the manufacturing government incentive scheme (PLI).
The government’s PLI scheme is a step in the right direction, but the scheme is time-bound. To reach the next level, India needs to create a global supply chain, drastically improve its logistics and implement the recently announced Prime Minister’s Gati Shakti scheme more quickly. said Chowdhry. Referred to as National Master Plan for Multimodal Connectivity, the PM Gati Shakti scheme is a Rs 100 lakh-crore project that aims to build strong infrastructure connectivity in the country, through channels such as railways, roads, highways and coast .
“PLI will be ready in five years, and then. You have to think about that. Every manufacturer should think about that,” he said. In the future, countries such as Cambodia or Vietnam may also start offering schemes similar to the PLI scheme to international companies – to encourage them to produce in their country. And so India needs to look beyond the PLI scheme, Chowdhry said.
Speaking of labor issues, Chowdhry said India should adopt a system similar to the one in China, where they have built dormitories on the company’s campus. This helps the factory to run 24*7. In India, the government is also working on something similar so that workers can live near factory sites and save time on travel. He also said the country needs a unified labor law.
Chowdhry, who is also the chairman of the Electronics Sector Skills Council and chairman of the FICCI Startup Committee, said India has strong electronics capabilities in areas such as engineering design, silicon foundry and packaging, but we are lagging behind in electronics. research and development.
Nikhil Sawhney, Vice-Chairman and MD of Triveni Turbines, who was also a speaker at the session, reiterated similar views. He said the government’s PLI scheme has helped build fixed assets in areas directly covered by the scheme, such as specialty steels, chemicals and textiles, but it has also spread to the sectors indirectly affected. However, he added that the current need is to focus specifically on building research and development units in the country. To achieve this, even companies need to step in and be more agile.
This post Atmanirbhar Bharat is a long haul, says Ajai Chowdhry, co-founder of HCL; need to look beyond PLI schemes
was original published at “https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/atmanribhar-bharat-is-a-long-haul-says-hcl-co-founder-ajai-chowdhry-need-to-look-beyond-pli-schemes/2464112/”
