New Delhi, 18 March (H.S.):

The Central government has accelerated its push to revitalize export‑oriented industrial clusters, with a special stakeholders’ consultation on Wednesday underlining the need to strengthen infrastructure, technology adoption and domestic manufacturing capacity.

The meeting, convened by the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC), focused on how this cluster‑revival agenda can be translated into concrete on‑the‑ground actions.

The consultation, held at Vaddi Bhawan under the chairmanship of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Amardeep Singh Bhatria, brought together representatives of Export Promotion Councils (EPCs), industry associations, financial institutions, research bodies and government agencies. Stakeholders urged a “holistic rejuvenation” of export‑centric clusters, integrating infrastructure upgrades, technology penetration and improved access to credit and export markets.

A broad consensus emerged on placing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) at the core of cluster‑development efforts. Participants emphasised widening access to finance, building technical and managerial capacity, and enabling smaller units to participate more effectively in international value chains. They also stressed the need to align cluster development with global demand trends and to strengthen India’s position within world‑trade and manufacturing networks.

NICDC’s CEO and Managing Director, Rajat Kumar Saini, noted that the session was intended to feed practical recommendations into the implementation of the government’s post‑Budget cluster‑revival programme, which aims to rejuvenate around 200 legacy industrial clusters through infrastructure and technology upgradation.

Saini highlighted that continuous stakeholder engagement is essential to refine the cluster‑development framework and to ensure that budgetary priorities are mirrored in credible state‑level schemes.

The meeting followed a post‑Budget webinar on “Sustaining and Strengthening Economic Growth”, which had already flagged the rejuvenation of industrial clusters as a key priority. Wednesday’s consultation is seen as a follow‑up to those discussions, designed to convert policy announcements into actionable strategies and to keep the dialogue between industry and government constructive and forward‑looking.

Major industry bodies such as ASSOCHAM, FICCI, CII, PHDCCI, NASSCOM, SIDBI, CSIR, the National Productivity Council (NPC), the Indian Dairy Association, the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA) and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers, along with associations of foundries, warehousing, logistics and defence, took part. Leading corporates including Reliance, Tata Chemicals, Relaxo, Bajaj, JLL and others were also represented, underscoring a broad‑based effort to re‑energise export‑oriented manufacturing clusters.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar