Mixed outlook: Manufacturing needs diversification and jobs focus

Economic growth at the expense of labour-income share will not be sustainable in the long term in a labour-abundant country

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation recently released the results of the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) for 2022-23 (FY23). Notably, in FY23, the Indian economy was still recovering from the steep decline in growth observed during the pandemic. However, the results exhibit the resilience of India’s manufacturing in terms of input use, output, and profit. The ASI covers the entire country and remains India’s principal source of industrial statistics. While the manufacturing sector, which contributes around 17 per cent to India’s gross domestic product, did well during the period under review, its relatively small scale