Within a week of setting up a high level board to give a boost to the manufacturing sector, Commerce and Industry Ministry Anand Sharma today announced that five more mega industrial zones would be notified by August.
"Seven NMIZs (National Manufacturing Investment Zones) already have been notified, that includes two in Maharashtra and five more in pipeline. I think by August we will notify those," he said at a CII meet here.
The government has been taking several steps to increase the share of the manufacturing sector in the GDP to at least 25% by 2020 from the present 16%.
In this regard, a new National Manufacturing Policy (NMP) was announced recently, which provides for NMIZs.
NMIZs will be mega industrial zones with world class supporting infrastructure. The government is offering a host of incentives like exemption from capital gains tax and a liberalised labour and environment norms to promote these zones.
The NMP proposes to create 100 million jobs by 2020.
Also on Sunday, the government set up a 13-member Manufacturing Industry Promotion Board (MIPB) under Sharma to periodically review the overall situation of the manufacturing sector in the country.
As per the latest GDP data, the manufacturing contracted to 0.3% during the January-March quarter from 7.3% in the corresponding period of 2010-11.
