Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will chair a high-level meeting on manufacturing on Tuesday to discuss ways and means to revive the manufacturing activity, and also set up a mission to develop and build a medium size mid-range civilian aircraft in India. The meeting, earlier scheduled to be held on July 3, was postponed as the Commerce and Industry Minister, Anand Sharma, was away on an official tour to Mauritius. The committee comprises Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Mr. Sharma, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Chairman, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council and the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.
The meeting comes close on the heels of the declining manufacturing activity and the need to accelerate growth. It is understood that the Commerce and Industry Ministry has prepared a list of projects and measures that need to be taken to give a big boost to manufacturing sentiment. The meeting will also seek to put in place a mission to kick-off preparatory work on building a civilian aircraft with medium range and mid-size segment. Similarly, it would also look at alternative fuel-based transport: electric, hybrid and a proposal to launch a pilot project for public transport and re-charging infrastructure.
An action plan would be taken up for discussion to develop production capacity in advanced alloys and composites by creating a special purpose vehicle (SPV). Similarly, a plan would also be discussed to give a big boost to textile industry and exports, given the price advantages that India has now and also aim at a quantum jump in steel production using existing plants and land.
