The Gross Value Added (GVA) of the Industrial Sector increased by 9.3%, according to data from the first half of FY24. This was fuelled by strong increases of 7.6%, 9.3%, and 10.5% in the sectors of mining and quarrying, manufacturing, and construction, respectively.

In 2020, a report by Acuite Ratings & Research identified 40 sub-sectors (such as agro-based products, drug formulations, chemicals, automobile components, handicrafts, cosmetics, and consumer electronics) that accounted for imports worth ~US$ 33.6 billion from China. According to the report, India’s domestic manufacturing possess capabilities to replace 25% of the total imports (indicating savings of ~0.3% of the GDP) from China without additional investments. It added that in FY22, the country could reduce US$ 8.4 billion worth trade deficit with China, by substituting imports from sectors such as drug formulations, chemicals, automobile components, handicrafts, cosmetics, and consumer electronics.

The government announced an Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package (ANB 1.0) in May 2020 and launched two additional Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan packages in end-2020 (ANB 2.0 and ANB 3.0) to maintain the progress. The overall Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package, including the RBI initiatives, was estimated at ~Rs. 27.1 lakh crore (US$ 362.49 billion), or >13% of the GDP.

With the Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package, the government facilitated structural reforms such as redefinition of MSMEs, commercialisation of the mineral sector, agriculture & labour reforms, privatisation of public sector undertakings, One Nation One Ration Card initiative and production-linked incentive schemes.

Under the Self-reliant India (Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan), the government implemented the following schemes:

• Introduced Production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme: To establish India’s manufacturing global leadership and boost the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (self-reliant India) scheme, under the Union Budget 2021-22, the government launched a production-linked incentive scheme (PLI) across 13 sectors, at ~Rs. 1.97 lakh crore (US$ 27.02 billion), for the next five years. 
  • The allocated budget is an additional fund to Rs. 40,951 crore (US$ 5.45 billion), which was for PLI electronics manufacturing schemes. 
  • In addition, these PLI schemes have attracted foreign players to invest in India. For example, in February 2021, Amazon announced to establish a manufacturing plant for its electronic devices in India; in March 2021, Apple started assembling iPhone 12 in India.
• Strengthened Healthcare infrastructure: In the Union Budget 2021-22, the government introduced a new central healthcare scheme that will be implemented over the next six years to improve the country's healthcare infrastructure.
  • Under Pradhan Mantri Aatmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PMANSY), the government allocated funds worth Rs. 64,180 crore (US$ 8.80 billion) over six years to strengthen the existing ‘National Health Mission’ and develop capacities of primary, secondary & tertiary care and healthcare systems & institutions to detect and cure new and emerging diseases.
• Strengthened other infrastructure: Under the Union Budget 2021-22, the government pushed for higher capital expenditure to focus on infrastructure upgrades for roads, rail, and power delivery. The government aims to improve 8,500 kms of highways by March 2022; this will boost India’s competitiveness by lowering transportation costs and improving the network between production and consumption markets, in both domestic and international.
• Increased focus on women entrepreneurship: In 2015-16, the government, under the Department of Science & Technology’s ‘Science & Technology for Women’ scheme, launched women technology park (WTP) programmes to empower women by training them in skills to set up their own microenterprises and become self-reliant. In the last five years (until March 2021), ~10,000 rural women have benefited from this programme, 28 WTPs have been successfully completed and 12 parks are under progress across the country.
• Achieving self-reliance in the defence sector: Under the Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (self-reliant India) scheme, the government launched policies to promote self-reliance in defence manufacturing. For example, the government increased FDI limit to 74% in defence manufacturing, placed ‘import embargo’ on 101 military items and introduced the Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020. The Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), the primary initiative of the Department of Defence Production, has achieved a significant milestone by finalizing its 300th contract. This contract pertains to the design and advancement of cutting-edge Gallium Nitride Semiconductors crucial for the upcoming era of wireless transmitters in defence applications, spanning from radars to Electronics Warfare (EW) jammers.
  • The Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020 (DPEPP 2020) highlights a framework to achieve a turnover of Rs. 1.75 lakh crore (US$ 25 billion), including exports of Rs. 35 thousand crore (US$ 5 billion), in the aerospace and defence goods and services by 2025.
  • As part of the Self-reliant India (Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan) mission, the Ministry of Defence has awarded HAL a contract worth over Rs. 26,000 crore (US$ 3.12 billion) for 240 AL-31FP Aero Engines for Su-30MKI aircraft. HAL's Koraput Division will manufacture these engines, supporting India's defence preparedness. The project aims to enhance indigenisation, involving MSMEs and industries, with 63% local content targeted. Delivery will span eight years, with 30 engines annually.
• As part of the Self-reliant India (Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan) mission, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries launched the 'PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME)’ scheme to provide financial, technical, and business support to upgrade the existing micro food processing enterprises. The government allocated funds worth Rs. 10,000 crore (US$ 1.34 billion) for this scheme, which will be implemented between FY21 and FY25.

Key Achievements

The key achievements of the Self-reliant India (Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan) mission are as follows:

• The 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat Utsav 2024' was inaugurated in New Delhi by government of India. The event highlighted the National ODOP awards 2023, emphasizing India's journey towards a US$ five trillion economies by 2027 through collective effort and promotion of traditional Indian products like ODOP and Geographical Indicators. 
• As of December 2023, Rs. 10,043 crore (US$ 1.21 billion) has been distributed to 60.49 lakh recipients through 1.52 lakh establishments under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana.
• The mission has helped reduce dependence on imports of air conditioners, as between October 2020 and November 2020, India reported 65% reduction in imports of split ACs or air conditioners; this bodes well for the government's ‘Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ policy of self-reliance. In October 2020, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) released a regulation restricting imports of air conditioners with refrigerants.
• Within 60 days of the mission’s launch, India’s domestic producers were able to generate an indigenous supply chain of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, demonstrating the country’s self-sufficiency in PPE kits.
• In January 2020, the country launched the world’s largest vaccination drive with two ‘Made in India’ vaccines—Covaxin and Covishield—and demonstrated its determination to become self-reliant.
  • Domestic supplies: As of April 14, 2021, India’s cumulative vaccination coverage crossed 110 million.
  • International supplies: As of April 15, 2021, the country exported ~65.5 million indigenous COVID-19 vaccines to >90 countries.