‘Make in India’ initiative of Modi Govt a prominent example of policy failure: Cong

PTI, Jan 13, 2025, 7:04 PM IST

Pawan Khera (pti/file)

New Delhi: The Congress on Monday alleged that the ‘Make in India’ promise of the Modi government has been reduced to mere rhetoric and the initiative has become a prominent example of policy failure and neglect of Indian manufacturers.

In a post on X, Congress leader Pawan Khera said that even tenders floated by the Modi government fail to comply with the policy guidelines under the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the government.

“The Modi government’s ‘Make in India’ promise has been reduced to mere rhetoric. A recent report exposes how government tenders have failed to comply with their own ‘Make in India’ guidelines,” he claimed in his post.

Khera said the details are shocking as in the last three years, around 40 per cent of over 3,500 high-value tenders, valuing Rs 64,000 crore, were flagged as “non-compliant” with ‘Make in India’ rules by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

“The 2017 ‘Make in India’ procurement rules were introduced to prioritize domestic suppliers. But in reality, the subsequent tenders favored foreign brands, citing economic and quality reasons, leaving Indian manufacturers sidelined.

“Out of 3,590 tenders floated by the Modi government since the launch of the ‘Make in India’ initiative, the DPIIT found that by November 2024, 1,502 tenders, amounting to a staggering Rs 63,911 crore, failed to comply with ‘Make in India’ policy guidelines,” Khera said.

The Congress leader alleged that key ministries like defence, atomic energy, telecommunications, and steel failed to update procurement rules despite repeated instructions.

“All of this to benefit whom? Certainly not Indian businesses. Even CPWD struggled to procure quality made-in-India products like lifts while, tenders openly favoured foreign brands for telecom, IT, and infrastructure products, violating both the 2017 rules and General Financial Rules,” he said.

In 2019, Khera said top bureaucrats were instructed to fix these issues, yet by 2024, 18 ministries had failed to even file action reports on violations.

“10 years after ‘Make in India’, the initiative has become a prominent example of policy failure, mismanagement, and neglect of Indian manufacturers. This has only exposed the gaps between promises and reality under the Modi Government,” the Congress leader said.