Elsewhere, India announced a slew of measures to boost its manufacturing
sector in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first budget since winning a third term.
For a decade now, Mr.
Modi has urged foreign companies to move their production lines
to the subcontinent in a flagship policy known as Make in India.
Neha Punia visited a factory to see how this is playing out.
Shaping not just children's dreams, But also crafting India's future.
This is one of India's oldest and largest toy manufacturing firms, and 80 percent of
the toys being brought to life here, from dolls to books, will be exported to the U.
S.
and Europe, but not under the company's own brand name.
They mass produce products custom ordered by foreign companies.
So our biggest market is USA and we are working with some of the
top brands and retailers there.
Sunlord Apparel started manufacturing plush toys three decades ago, but
Karbanda says it was only after the COVID 19 pandemic that western
companies started toying with the idea of diversifying their supply lines.
from China.
India is the o working population that c company
employs 400 peopl toys every day.
And compa and large labor pool is w companies to India.
It's is hoping to leverage to jobs.
In 2021, a major U Toymaker approached Sunlord Apparels
with an offer to collaborate.
Karbanda says their production has since more than doubled and now requests from
other Western companies are piling up.
Yes, we've already started a new factory last year which is focused
more on, uh, high volume production.
Uh, and, uh, we've got, uh, uh, we've got connections with
quite a few large, uh, uh, U.
S.
brands who want to, uh, source from India who already visited
the factory and audited it.
In the last four years India's toy exports have increased, but even as
the government markets India as a growing manufacturing hub, in truth, the
industry's success is largely dependent on raw materials imported from China.
Despite heavy restrictions on Chinese investments following a border standoff
in 2020, India has continued to allow the import of industrial goods from China.
More recently, the Modi government indicated it may consider
allowing Chinese investment.
to boost the sector, a development welcomed by industry players.
Economies of scale has always been a challenge.
Uh, we would love to be able to import more materials from China
more easily for, to help us meet the global requirements that we have.
India's push to become a global manufacturing hub is why Modi's first
budget of his third term saw cuts on custom duties to make the import
of certain raw materials cheaper.
There were also incentives for factories to hire more workers and more
dormitories to support a labor expansion.
For years now, Modi has struggled to tackle record unemployment levels.
And a robust manufacturing sector, which now employs 11 percent of the workforce,
could help add millions of jobs.
Experts say India's manufacturing goals can best be achieved if the pivot of
supply lines to India is more permanent.
We have to look into developing an ecosystem where parts and components
are also manufactured into the country.
Today, most of the large companies are procuring from India.
They have not set up their base in India because once they are settled
in India, probably they will help us in developing an ecosystem for that.
India's mobile manufacturing industry is one such success story.
As of this year, India's mobile phones are made locally while 30
percent of output is exported.
Experts say Apple moving part of its production line from China to India
was partly responsible for that.
This brought ancillary players that make cameras and phone
components to the country as well.
Analysts say if India can convince western companies to move entire production lines
here, that's when it can truly claim to be a global manufacturing powerhouse.
and transform its Make in India scheme to Made in India.
Neha Punia, CNA, New Delhi.