Govt failed to realise 'Make in India' due to 'complete inaction': Kharge

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday targeted the Centre on 'Make in India' and alleged that the government has failed to realise the initiative due to "complete inaction" in creating jobs and utilising funds.

He posed several questions on why the government did not create enough jobs and on the under-utilisation of funds in key sectors to promote manufacturing in the country.

"The Modi government failed to realise 'Make in India'! The loud drumbeating on their interventions in the manufacturing sector has been drowned by complete inaction," he said in a post on X.

Posing several questions, the Congress chief asked why the value added by manufacturing in India's GDP declined from 16 per cent to 13 per cent over the past decade.

He also asked why the average manufacturing growth plunged under the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"It was 7.85 per cent during Congress-UPA which dropped to almost 6 per cent only," he said.

Recalling that the Centre had promised 10 crore manufacturing jobs by 2022, Kharge asked, "Where are those jobs? Why has the workforce in manufacturing declined in the past 10 years?"

"Is it not a fact that a majority of the Production-Linked Incentives (PLI) Scheme failed to take off? Why was there a massive under-utilisation of funds for key sectors?" he asked and alleged that 96 per cent of funds for the PLI scheme in the textiles sector remain unused.

Kharge also claimed that zero funds have been provided for the PLI scheme in the renewables sector and 95 per cent of funds for the scheme in white goods for manufacture of components and sub-assemblies of ACs and LEDs remain unused.

"How did the percentage increase in India's exports, which was 549 per cent during Congress-UPA, fell to just 90 per cent during the Modi government?" he asked.

Targeting the Centre over the rise in imports from China despite border transgressions, the Congress chief asked, "Is it not the BJP's fake nationalism which led to a 45 per cent increase in Chinese imports, even after 20 bravehearts sacrificed their lives in Galwan?"

Kharge asserted that India needs robust and inclusive job creation and noted that it needs to promote job creators' capabilities and organise production by connecting high-tech networks.

It needs to concentrate on value addition in manufacturing and spur exports, he added.

"Only the Congress party has done it in the past. Only the Congress party is capable of doing it now," he claimed.