The Electronic Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) that will rise in Jabalpur is expected to generate jobs for 10,000 people and attract investments of ₹100 crore, according to Union Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in a report by The Economic Times.

Together with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the minister laid the foundation stone for the EMC and IT Park. Prasad said that once the EMCs are in place, electronic goods will be manufactured locally, thus reducing dependence on imports. At present, India imports $100 billion worth of electronic products.

Prasad also laid the foundation stone for an EMC and IT Park at Badwai near Bhopal.

Apart from the EMC and IT Park, Prasad said the government also plans to put up Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) centres in smaller cities, which will encourage the youth to work in their localities instead of transferring to bigger cities like Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. To accommodate the demand for skilled workforce, an academy will be established in the state to train young people in the electronics field.

Once the EMC and IT Park is built, Chief Minister Chouhan said the city might eventually be known as a hub of electronic goods manufacturing. He added that products most commonly manufactured in other Asian powerhouses like Japan, China and Korea should instead be produced here.

India is also forecast to lead the growth in South Asia, according to a World Bank report.

The Indian economy, 80 per cent of the region's output, is set to grow by 6.4 per cent in fiscal year (FY) 2015/16 after 5.6 per cent in FY2014/15. Other countries in the region are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Exports have recently shown a strong export performance in many South Asian countries, the report said, growing in the double digits in several of them. While sales abroad were boosted by favourable tailwinds, such as the depreciation of the Indian rupee in 2013, there are also deeper trends at play. Export diversification by type of product increased, as did the share of emerging markets in total exports. These are manifestations of an increasingly stronger position of the region in global markets.

Countries in the region should build on this strength. As East Asian labour costs increase, South Asia has an opportunity to become the manufacturing hub of the world; but achieving this will require boosting competitiveness.

India is benefiting from a "Modi dividend," the report said, with economic activity buoyed by expectations from the newly elected government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Over the next year or so economic growth should be supported by the recovering U.S. economy that would provide a market for Indian merchandise and service exports. Private investment is expected to pick up thanks to the government's business orientation, and declining oil prices should boost private sector competitiveness. But economic reforms will be needed for India to achieve its full long-term growth potential, the report argued.

By: DocMemory
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