India's Capital Goods Sector Production Doubled In 10 Years

(MENAFN- KNN India) New Delhi, April 3 (KNN) The capital goods sector in India has witnessed significant growth in recent years, playing a crucial role in driving industrial development and economic progress.

According to data from the Ministry of Heavy Industries, production in this sector has nearly doubled from Rs 2,29,533 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 4,29,001 crore in 2023-24.

India now stands as the third-largest market for construction equipment globally, with the electrical equipment industry experiencing consistent double-digit growth in power equipment, particularly in transmission equipment and transformers.

This growth has been fueled by both domestic demand and expansion into international markets, according to the Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers' Association.

The capital goods industry, which contributes approximately 1.9 percent to India's GDP, encompasses several major sub-sectors including dies, moulds and press tools, plastic machinery, earthmoving and mining machinery, metallurgical machinery, textile machinery, process plant equipment, printing machinery, and food processing machinery.

The sector benefits from a favorable policy environment that permits 100 percent FDI through the automatic route except from countries sharing land borders with India, imposes no restrictions on imports and exports, and requires no industrial licenses.

The National Capital Goods Policy, formulated in 2016, established a comprehensive framework aimed at increasing the sector's contribution to manufacturing activity from 12 percent to 20 percent by 2025.

The policy seeks to position India among the top capital goods producing nations by more than doubling production and increasing exports to at least 40 percent of total output, while enhancing technological capabilities within the industry.

To implement these objectives, the Ministry of Heavy Industries launched the Scheme for Enhancement of Competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector in two phases.

Phase I, initiated in November 2014 with an outlay of Rs 995.96 crores, established eight Centers of Excellence that successfully developed 30 niche indigenous technologies, 15 Common Engineering Facility Centers including four Industry 4.0 SAMARTH centers, and six web-based Technology Innovation Platforms that have registered over 76,000 students, experts, institutes, industries, and laboratories.

Phase II of the scheme was notified in January 2022 with a financial outlay of Rs 1,207 crores, including Rs 975 crores in budgetary support and Rs 232 crores in industry contributions.

By August 2024, 33 projects with a total cost of Rs 1,366.94 crores had been sanctioned, with government contributions amounting to Rs 963.19 crores.

These projects span across six components, including advanced centers of excellence, common engineering facility centers, promotion of skilling, augmentation of testing centers, industry accelerators for technology development, and technology innovation portals.

Recent achievements under the Capital Goods Scheme include the indigenous development of a 6-inch BLDC submersible pump with 88 percent motor efficiency by Sitarc, Coimbatore, reducing imports by 80 percent and earning recognition from the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation.

Additionally, CMTI has developed a high-speed rapier loom machine capable of weaving yarns up to 450 RPM, which was showcased at ITMA 2023 in Milan, Italy.

The Make in India initiative has had a transformative impact on the heavy industries and engineering sector by fostering technological advancements, increasing domestic production, enhancing competitiveness, and generating employment.

(KNN Bureau)

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