The importance of manufacturing sector is not completely understood and appreciated in India.

The manufacturing sector, which currently constitutes 18% of the GDP, could rise to almost 30% in the times to come.

At the 7th Manufacturing Summit on ?Building manufacturing, building India? organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Monday, speakers from various manufacturing companies opined that innovation is the key to achieve success in any manufacturing business organisation.

Ajay Shankar, secretary, department of industrial policy and promotion ministry of commerce and industry, government of India, pointed out that in order to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth, it was pertinent to succeed in manufacturing. His optimism on the growing share of manufacturing in the GDP stemmed from two factors which includes the previous year?s growth rate of manufacturing sector; second even if there is a downturn, the investments that are taking place are primarily in manufacturing.

?The growth in the manufacturing segment is reflected by the large inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign institutional investment (FII) into the country. While international confidence in India is high, the Indian manufacturing sector faces the key challenges of skill shortage, infrastructure, availability of land and funding for start-ups and small enterprises,? said Shankar.

However, Bhaskar Bhat, managing director, Titan Industries Ltd said that innovation in any industry not only created value for the consumers but also for the employees. He further gave an example of how success of the company is leveraged against the involvement empowerment of its employees.

He said, ?Titan has created a Karigar (craftsmen) Park wherein artisans who work for the Tanishq brand are not exploited and they also work in good professional conditions.? He added that the company captures their skills to the fullest and are also treated well.

Presenting a global perspective at the CII Summit, Arnoud De Meyer, director- Judge Business School University of Cambridge, said that requisites to take Indian manufacturing sector to the next level were focus on real productivity improvements by introducing global practices and innovation in process systems, development of robust vendor network clusters, commitment to fugal engineering and integration of manufacturing with service.