India’s budget on Saturday introduced the National Manufacturing Mission to boost domestic production through the “Make in India” initiative.

The mission comes in the wake of US President Donald Trump pitching his Make in America plank to the world’s elite at last month’s World Economic Forum in Davos.

“Our government will set up the mission covering small, medium and large industries for furthering “Make in India” by providing policy support, execution roadmaps, governance and monitoring framework for central ministries and states,” finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while presenting the budget.

The policy, which will help boost manufacturing of clean tech, will improve domestic value addition and build an ecosystem for solar photovoltaic cells, EV batteries, motors and controllers, electrolyzers, wind turbines, very high voltage transmission equipment and grid scale batteries, Sitharaman said.

Make in India policy

The government also announced adjustments to customs duties to support the ‘Make in India’ policy and streamline the tax structure.

The duty on interactive flat panel displays will increase from 10% to 20%, while it will decrease to 5% for components used in certain electronic displays.

Additionally, parts used in manufacturing LCD/LED TV displays will now be exempt from customs duties.

The government also plans to exempt 63 new types of capital goods used in making batteries for mobile phones (28) and electric vehicles (35) to boost local manufacturing.

Further support comes with a 10-year extension of the duty exemption on materials used in shipbuilding and ship breaking to enhance their global competitiveness.

The government had announced in its July 2024 budget that customs duties were fully removed on 25 critical minerals not found domestically and reduced for two others to boost processing, particularly by small businesses.

In its latest budget, it has extends these exemptions to cobalt powder, waste, scrap from lithium-ion batteries, lead, zinc, and 12 more critical minerals.

The move aims to ensure these minerals are readily available for manufacturing in India and to create more job opportunities for the youth, Sitharaman said.

Nuclear push

The government has also envisaged the development of at least 100 gigawatt (GW) of nuclear energy by 2047, in partnership with the private sector.

“For an active partnership with the private sector towards this goal, amendments to the Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act will be taken up,” Sitharaman said.

A Nuclear Energy Mission for research and development of small modular reactors (SMRs) with an outlay of Rs20,000 crore will be set up, Sitharaman said, adding that at least five indigenously developed SMRs will be operationalized by 2033.

Skilling India

India will also set up five National Centers of Excellence for Skilling to equip youth with the necessary skills for global opportunities, Sitharaman said.

“Global skilling partnerships will enable India to become a key player in global manufacturing. Infrastructure will be expanded in IITs set up after 2015, allowing for 6,500 more students across five IITs,” she said.

“The capacity of IITs will be expanded. The total number of students in the 23 IITs has increased by 100%, from 65,000 to 135,000 in the past 10 years. Additional infrastructure will be created in the five IITs established after 2014 to accommodate 6,500 more students. The hostel and other infrastructure capacity at IIT Patna will be expanded,” Sitharaman added.

Listing out the government’s plans, Sitharaman announced an outlay of ₹500 crore for setting up a center of excellence in artificial intelligence (AI) for education.

“I had announced three centers of excellence in Artificial Intelligence for agriculture, health, and sustainable cities in 2023. Now a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education will be set up with a total outlay of 500 crore,” she added.A Centre of Excellence for artificial intelligence in education will be established with an outlay of ₹500 crore,” Sitharaman said.

Centre of Excellence in AI for Education

I had announced three Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for agriculture, health and sustainable cities in 2023.

Now a Centre of Excellence in AI for education will be set up with a total outlay of Rs 500 crores.

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