‘Make in India’ is the flagship initiative of the Modi government. In the last four and half years, various efforts have been made by the government to promote the manufacturing sector in India. The global economic climate is also favorable for ‘Make in India’ as trade war is going on between the US and China. The USA is the largest outsourcer of manufacturing jobs and China has been termed as the ‘factory of the world’. But in the changing global political climate and domestic conditions, China does not appear capable enough to retain its position. In the last few years, the price of labour has gone up exponentially in China and therefore, manufacturing no longer remains cheap in the country. The companies are looking for cheap alternatives to outsource manufacturing activities and this can be a golden opportunity for India to replace China in the manufacturing field. Modi government is leaving in stone unturned in the process and is trying to capitalize the opportunity through various initiatives.
Alstom SA, a French multinational operating in rail transport exported 22 metro train sets for Sydney metro. The six-car train sets were fully designed and manufactured in India at the company’s plant in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh. “This is a very important milestone for us because the Sydney Metro project was the first international project fully delivered from India,” said Ling Fang, SVP, Alstom South Asia. The French transportation major won the contract to deliver 22 six-car train sets for NorthWest rail link of Australia in 2014. The company’s last train for Chennai Metro Rail was flagged off on December 6. “These achievements prove that our strategy to make India an international hub for engineering and manufacturing is justified,” said Fang.
The company also got the contract of train sets for Mumbai metro and Montreal’s light metro. The work on Montreal metro railcar will start in early 2019 while for Mumbai metro, it will start in the second half of 2019. The Mumbai metro project is worth 320 million euros, one of the largest projects ever received by the company. “Production for Montreal and Mumbai Metro will begin in October and November 2019, and the first train will be delivered in 2020,” said Alain Spohr, MD, India, and South Asia, Alstom. The Sri City facility has provided railcars to Chennai, Lucknow, and Kochi metro projects. The plant has the capacity to deliver 240 railcars per annum. “We firmly believe in India’s role as a manufacturing and engineering hub for international markets, and this milestone bear witness to that,” said Fang in a statement.
In 2014, Alstom won the contract to deliver 22 six-car train sets, as well as the CBTC signalling system, for the North West Rail Link which is Australia’s biggest public transport project and the first fully-automated metro network. “We are immensely proud to have completed the last train for Sydney Metro in this landmark project for the Asia Pacific region. We are also proud to see Sricity concluding its first export order on time, delivering on expectations and winning our customer’s trust,” said Ling Fang.
The world has surely taken the notice of the conducive investment environment in India. World’s biggest tech giants and entrepreneurs have already made their expansion plans in India. Investors around the world have shown immense confidence in India which will be helpful in meeting the needs of the Indian economy and hence, employment generation in India will see the boost. The onus of success largely goes to initiatives like the Make in India, Digital India and Skill India by the NDA government.