National Mission on Manufacturing aims to double mnfg contribution to GDP by 2035

The National Mission on Manufacturing (NMM) has set ambitious targets to double the manufacturing sector's contribution to GDP to 25 per cent by 2035 from 12.9 per cent, while generating 143 million jobs, according to the Economic Survey.

The mission was announced in the Union Budget 2025-26.

It represents the foundational policy blueprint for accelerating India's industrial growth and global competitiveness over the next decade.




The mission "sets ambitious targets for 2035, aiming to double the manufacturing sector's contribution to GDP from 12.9 per cent (2023) to 25 per cent and generate 143 million jobs, along with boosting merchandise exports to USD 1.2 trillion by deepening integration into GVCs (global value chains)".

The NMM has a strategic two-pronged approach, dedicating major focus to sector-specific interventions across 20-30 prioritised industrial clusters.

This would, it said, entail identifying industrial clusters based on parameters, such as demand potential, employment generation capacity, and the presence of natural endowments, and classifying sectors into three archetypes.

It includes scale (automotive and pharmaceuticals) for rapid expansion; fix and transform (Electronics and Capital Goods) for structural reform; and seed (semiconductors and electric vehicles) for strategic, innovation-led growth.

The other core activities are expected to address vital, cross-cutting challenges essential for competitiveness, including enhancing the Ease of Doing Business, strengthening plug-and-play infrastructure, and improving workforce productivity through targeted skilling, empowering MSMEs, prioritising technology and provisions for industrial housing.

"The NMM is thus expected to act as the central facilitator to align efforts across the Centre, states, and clusters, ensuring unified direction and convergence," it added.

Commenting on the country's manufacturing sector, Rumki Majumdar, Economist, Deloitte India, said the country is moving from low-value shipments to electronics, engineering goods, complex pharma and auto components, which reflects that manufacturing is climbing the value chain.

"The survey is clear - India's next leap is from import substitution to strategic resilience and ultimately strategic indispensability. That means upping our game in critical sectors, such as semiconductors, batteries and renewable energy, so that trade frictions, export controls or carbon border taxes don't derail growth," she said.

Scale, advanced manufacturing, and a structurally lower cost of capital, not high walls, are the real foundations of self-reliance in a volatile world, Majumdar said. PTI