Rural development necessary to increase GDP: Godrej

Without stepping up economic activities in the country's villages, it is difficult to raise the gross domestic product (GDP) beyond the current levels, Jamshyd N Godrej, CMD of Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Company said today.
"Unless villages of India become productive and centres of economic activity suited for their own purposes, it is difficult to raise India's gross domestic product beyond the stage they have reached so far," Godrej said while addressing the CII Visionary Leaders for Manufacturing (VLFM) convention.
Referring to the VLFM Village Buddha programme, he said a clear focus of society to go beyond manufacturing industry will help the villages and rural society.

"Through the 25 years of reform, there has been a significant difference in the graph in growth of GDP per person, and manufacturing is clearly the engine of growth for India," he pointed out.
According to him, it is important to channel time and effort to convert the industries and make them more vibrant to further economic development.
Supply chain can make an enormous difference, he said.

"Every company in India needs to understand critical importance of supply chain and how it can make a significant difference to win in manufacturing," he said.
"We all recognise investment in supply chain has to be a lot more than what it is today. Smaller companies can work with significantly large companies to make a difference on this front," he added.

He stressed that Indian industry is quite capable of moving forward in the manufacturing sphere.