Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Saturday called for a ground-level transformation in India’s manufacturing sector, arguing that the country must move beyond assembling products to become a genuine manufacturing power.
In a series of posts on X, he lambasted the ‘Make in India’ initiative, claiming it has failed to create real industrial capacity or generate sufficient employment.
India only assembling, not manufacturing: Rahul
Gandhi highlighted that much of what is labelled as “Made in India” is actually dependent on imported components. “Do you know that 80% of the components of most TVs made in India come from China? In the name of ‘Make in India’, we are merely assembling, not truly manufacturing. From iPhones to TVs — the parts come from abroad; we just put them together,” he said.
The Congress leader blamed a lack of supportive policies, burdensome taxation, and corporate monopolies for stifling small manufacturers. “Small entrepreneurs want to manufacture, but there’s neither policy nor support. On the contrary, heavy taxes and the monopoly of select corporates — which have gripped the country’s industry,” he added.
‘Need for genuine self-reliance’
Gandhi asserted that until India becomes truly self-reliant in production, rhetoric around jobs, growth, and manufacturing will remain hollow. “Until India becomes self-reliant in production, talks of jobs, growth, and ‘Make in India’ will remain mere speeches,” he wrote, adding that a shift is needed to enable India to compete with China on equal terms.
Referring to data from previous sessions of Parliament, Gandhi noted that the share of manufacturing in India’s GDP has dropped from 15.3 per cent in 2014 to 12.6 per cent — the lowest in the past 60 years — under the Modi government. He also pointed out that China had spent the last decade developing key technologies such as batteries, robotics, motors, and optics, giving it a significant head start.
In a follow-up post, Gandhi outlined the need for a new vision that addresses India’s twin challenges of unemployment and limited opportunity. “Jobs come from production, which Make In India has failed to revive,” he stated. He urged the country to seize the opportunity presented by the global shift to renewable energy, electric mobility, and AI.
“India must master a central role in this revolution and boost production to give our youth hope for the future,” he concluded.