India needs to transition from a ‘Make in India’ to a ‘Make for the World’ approach: Dr. Ashok Kumar Lahiri

• CPP Conference on Public Policy & Management 2026 kicks off with the NITI Aayog Vice Chairman providing a roadmap for India evolving into a global manufacturing hub

BENGALURU: “India has unique advantages such as a large domestic market, young workforce, reasonably good literacy, health status, entrepreneurial ability, a growing technology ecosystem, improving financial and physical infrastructure, expanding trade relationships, and an increasingly sophisticated manufacturing base. The nation has already demonstrated that it can leapfrog in manufacturing.

The next decade needs to focus on deepening, diversifying and upgrading India’s participation in GVCs. The goal should be to ensure increasingly that the world cannot manufacture efficiently without India”, said Dr. Ashok Kumar Lahiri, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, at IIM Bangalore, on 2nd September.

He delivered the keynote address on ‘Leapfrogging in Manufacturing Sector - Participation in GVCs’, during the inaugural session of the XXI International Conference on Public Policy & Management, being hosted by the Centre for Public Policy (CPP) from 2nd to 4th September 2026, at the IIMB campus. The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. 

For more details, please visit: https://www.iimb.ac.in/cpp-xxi-2026/

The CPP has been organizing the international conference on public policy and management every year since 2005. This year, the conference received 490 research paper submissions, out of which 76 have been selected for full presentations and 64 for poster presentations.

The annual CPP Conference on Public Policy & Management is an interdisciplinary conference that draws scholars representing diverse perspectives on public policy issues and provides a forum for showcasing the latest developments in policy research and practice. The conference hosts pre-conference activities, academic sessions, topical policy debates, workshops, panel discussions and practitioner-oriented discussions on contemporary topics in public policy and management. The conference is ideal for academicians, students, research scholars, policy practitioners, lawyers, NGO professionals and others with an interest in public policy.

Manufacturing mantra: Bypassing traditional industrialization for advanced technologies

Dr. Lahiri took the audience through the history of manufacturing in India, defining Global Value Chains (GVCs), providing examples of other countries that India can look up to, the country’s reforms and successes so far, specific schemes adopted, transition of India in terms of industry-specific aspects, identifying how India can move up the global value chain, and more. He also provided a roadmap on how India can strategize for deep integration into GVCs to transform itself into a global manufacturing hub.

“India was not always laggard in manufacturing, according to ancient history – stagnation and retrogression were responsible for India becoming one of the poorer countries of the world; and now we need to reclaim our glorious tradition in manufacturing. After independence, we did make some progress, and the rate of progress has been noteworthy since the liberalization of 1991 and changes in policies in recent times.

We have improved our ranking from being 10th in 2014 to fifth or sixth largest economy in the world now. In terms of growth, India has been widely cited as the world’s fastest-growing large economy in recent times. Industrial growth and investments have increased as well. However, we need to do more to consolidate the progress and focus on the unfinished job in the realm of manufacturing.”

He explained that now the question was not merely whether India can manufacture, but whether it can do so at a global scale, at globally competitive costs, with globally relevant technology, and as an integral part of the global value chain. “The manufacturing ambition should not be limited to increasing domestic production, but should extend to making India an indispensable node in global production networks. That would lead to leapfrogging - by avoiding the traditional sequential path of industrialization and moving rapidly into globally integrated, technology-intensive, high-productivity manufacturing.”

He also discussed the enormous diversity in manufacturing structures across major economies, variety of models, etc., and added, “GDP is equally important. Manufacturing success is not described by its size as a share of GDP alone. It is determined by what a country manufactures, how productively, and where it sits in the international production network. India can choose its own model and move. One lesson is that we have to produce in scale. We also need competitiveness, technology, ecosystem, logistics, quality, trade integration and speed.”

Listing India’s important strengths as exports, engineering and electronic goods, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, automobiles and auto components, textiles, food processing, steel, gems and jewellery, and electronics, he said, “However, participation across global production networks is uneven, and GVCs will provide the opportunity. The rapid rise of electronics is an encouraging development. Smartphones were India’s top exported commodity in 2025. This tells that India is participating in some GVCs. But this participation is only at the beginning stages.

The real aim should be from assembly to components, from components to subsystems, from manufacturing to design, from cost competitiveness to technology leadership.” He also pointed out that a country does not have to produce everything, but should become exceptionally competitive in particular stages of production, and move to higher stages of value.

“The crucial elements for being competitive include availability of skilled workers, technology, infrastructure, logistics, reliability of power, quality standards, intellectual property protection, taxation, trade agreements, regulatory predictability, proximity to suppliers and markets, and the ability of the ecosystem to scale. Cheap labour is not the only important element - ecosystem is very important. The World Bank’s work on GVCs shows that countries that embraced GVCs grow faster. India should view the GVC as a mechanism for acquiring scale, technology, markets, managerial capacity and eventually domestic competitiveness.”

He also discussed schemes adopted by India to improve the manufacturing environment to be implementation of GST, liberalized FDI, Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, industrial corridors, PM GatiShakti, logistics reforms, production-liked incentive schemes, etc. He also spoke about NITI Aayog’s engagement in this direction.

Explaining that occasional mistakes should not act as a deterrent in taking the right steps, he recommended focus on selected industries. “A portfolio approach is needed, we should choose sectors where we already have capabilities, sectors where global demand is expanding rapidly, sectors where India can build strategic technological capabilities. These include, electronics and semiconductors, automobiles and auto components, chemicals, textile and apparel, pharmaceuticals and medical products, and clean tech. These sectors can serve as the backbone of India’s next manufacturing wave.” He also discussed sector-agnostic interventions to deal with uncertainties.

He recommended three transitions for participation in integration into GVCs - from assembly to components, from components to systems and from manufacturing to innovation. “Success in integration into GVC should not be measured only by export value, but also by domestic value addition, foreign and domestic R&D, technology intensity, participation of MSMEs in supply chains, number of products meeting global standards, number of Indian firms becoming Tier 1 global suppliers, etc.”

As its long term objective, he said that India should become a global manufacturing platform, not merely a market or assembly location, or a low cost destination. “India should become the nation where global countries come to design, manufacture, source, innovate and export. For that to happen, a fundamental change in mindset is required on how much of the world’s production can India take completely through specialization, imports of competitive inputs, exports, technology partnerships, etc.”

Dr. Ashok Kumar Lahiri pointed out that India is standing at a rare convergence of opportunity. “The global manufacturing landscape is being reshaped by geopolitics, supply chain diversification, digitalization, AI, electric mobility, energy transition and the search for resilient production networks. We possess unique advantages such as a large domestic market, young workforce, reasonably good literacy, health status, entrepreneurial ability, a growing technology ecosystem, improving financial and physical infrastructure, expanding trade relationships, and an increasingly sophisticated manufacturing base. But opportunity does not automatically translate to competitiveness. We need to make a conscious choice between being a large manufacturing economy for India and for the world – the first requires production while the second requires integration into global value chains.”

“We have already demonstrated that India can leapfrog. The next decade needs to focus on deepening, diversifying and upgrading India’s participation in GVCs. The goal should be to ensure increasingly that the world cannot manufacture efficiently without India. Transitioning from a ‘Make in India’ philosophy to a ‘Make for the World’ one will ensure national prosperity. It is not enough to make India a factory, but to make India an indispensable part of the world’s factory and centres of innovation.”

Post the keynote address, Prof. Anil B Suraj, Chairperson, N.S. Ramaswamy Pre-doctoral Fellowship and Committee on Diversity & Inclusion, and faculty of the Public Policy area of IIMB, conducted the Q&A session.

Inaugural and closing sessions

Day One of the conference on 2nd September 2026 began with Prof. U Dinesh Kumar, Director-in-charge, IIM Bangalore, delivering the inaugural address, during which he highlighted the importance of every country in the world becoming self-reliant, given the current geopolitical situation. “I hope, at the end of the conference, we will be able to come up with concrete recommendations for the government to help achieve a self-reliant India. By achieving a certain status, we will also make the world great again.

History has shown us that the contribution of traditional institutions such as the Nalanda University to humanity, through being a giver of pure and divine knowledge, has been immense. It is time again for us to create institutions across different domains, that would plant seeds for ideas and strategies that can be passed on to the government not just for individual countries to achieve self-reliance, but also to contribute to the development of humanity across the world.”

Prof. Dinesh Kumar’s address was followed by Prof. Gopal Naik, Chairperson, Senior Fellow and Jal Jeevan Mission Chair Professor at the Centre for Public Policy, IIM Bangalore, delivering the welcome address. Offering an overview of the functions and role of the Centre for Public Policy, he also explained how the annual CPP conference on public policy and management has evolved over the years. “This conference reflects our shared commitment to improving public policy and governance through evidence, innovation and collective learning, with research remaining at the heart of CPP’s mission.

The journey from policy formulation to policy outcome for meaningful and sustainable change, is crucial. CPP and the conference is aimed at building capability, confidence and capacity to transform nations into positions of strength, rather than dependence.” Discussing the theme of the conference, he made special mention of Project Saksham, IIMB’s rural school development initiative, launched in 2020.

The vote of thanks was delivered by Dr. Anjana Dube, Consultant – Chief Policy Officer, CPP. The remaining sessions on Day One included paper presentations.

The conference committee for this year comprises Prof. Rajalaxmi Kamath, Chairperson, Internal Committee and faculty of the Public Policy area of IIMB; Prof. Arnab Mukherji, Chairperson, Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy & Management (PGPPM) and faculty of the Public Policy area of IIMB; Prof. Gopal Naik; Prof. Soham Sahoo, faculty and Chairperson of the Public Policy area of IIMB, and Dr. Anjana Dube.

Day Two: Experts delve into core pillars of self-reliance for a new India during Centre for Public Policy panel discussion

A highlight of Day 2 (on 3rd September 2026) was a panel discussion titled, ‘India Policy Panel on Atmanirbhar Bharat and Self-Reliant Development Pathways’, featuring Oliver Chinganya, Former Director of the African Centre for Statistics (ACS) at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA); Zuzana Schwidrowski, Director of Socio-Economic Development, UNECA; Dr. Rupa Chanda, Director of Trade, Investment and Innovation, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and former faculty of the Economics area of IIMB; Saurabh Sinha, Former Chief of Social Policy, UNECA, Visiting Professor, Institute of Human Development, New Delhi, and Zelalem Taffesse, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF. The session was moderated by Shri Parameswaran Iyer, Former Executive Director, World Bank, and Former Secretary, Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation (DDWS).

Oliver Chinganya pointed out that African nations and India can learn a lot from each other and exchange vital strategies and ideas. “India’s expertise in rolling out UPI, interoperable payments, digital public infrastructure are things that Africa could borrow, while India can learn valuable lessons from Africa’s intergovernmental processes and regional trade integration. Instead of the two countries replicating each other, they can collaborate to boost self-reliance and resilience through structured programs which can be evaluated and measured, helping chart the road ahead.”

For India’s own progress towards Viksit Bharat, he suggested strong linkages between academia and industry and a mechanism to measure the efficiency and success of development programs. “India’s institutional capabilities need to be boosted and the nation should become quick to recover from shocks, financial or otherwise. Vulnerable households should receive adequate support, and there has to be legislation to carry these initiatives forward. There should be measurable indicators which should be aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) laid out by the United Nations”, he added.

Zuzana Schwidrowski called for deeper partnerships between India and Africa, leveraging the comparative advantages between the two countries, which she said would be mutually beneficial in multiple spheres. “Common challenges faced by both countries include creating jobs and avoiding the middle-income trap. On the advantage side, Africa operates under the Free Trade Agreement and India has excelled in technology. If these two elements are linked in a fair and sustainable way, it would really help the cause of job creation.”

Ms Schwidrowski also suggested a roadmap for India in achieving its mission of Viksit Bharat by 2047. “There should be nuanced policies supporting export capabilities of MSMEs, which should be anchored to larger enterprises and supported to grow. The other crucial elements would be regional value chains, common databases and indicators, FDI, social norms, care economy, and support of the government in each of these parameters.”

Dr. Rupa Chanda, former faculty of the Economics area of IIM Bangalore, stated that to achieve strategic self-reliance, India needs to focus on developing domestic competitiveness, vie for better integration into GVCs, boost its capabilities, secure advanced technology partnerships, modernize trade agreements, and more. She also discussed targeted tariffs, subsidiaries, skilling, infusion of capital in sunrise sectors - particularly MSMEs, role of exports, R&D spending in GDP, FDI, value chain mapping, and nationally focused missions, in the context of India’s overall development.

“Trade, investment and innovative policies play a very important role in any country’s progress. In India, there is often a disconnect between domestic and international policies, and adhoc changes go against policy predictability. Sometimes regulatory reforms do not go the full way. India has to calibrate how it engages multilaterally. Apart from all these, India needs to leverage Free Trade Agreements and diversify the services sector. Another priority is ensuring environmental sustainability, and all these will enable India to transform itself into a fully developed and self-reliant nation.”

Saurabh Sinha spoke of inclusive self-reliance, equitable social distribution and how the demographic dividend can be an advantage. “India is at the peak of its demographic window currently and we need to make the most of it now. We have to focus on scaling the population – the women, youth, as well as the ageing population.”

“We already have a lot of initiatives in place. However, although we are doing the right things, we may not be doing it right. The focus needs to be to assess if the social welfare measures adopted are reaching the intended beneficiaries, on skills mismatch, care economy, gig economy, girls’ education, at least till secondary level, especially in STEM subjects, etc. Bias towards capital-intensive, large-scale organizations has to be looked into.

The informal sector should be another focus area. VB goals should be made like UN’s SDGs. We have spoken a lot on leapfrogging, but just like national, sub national and local goals, we should have individual goals too. Africa and India have huge diversity and can work together for mutually beneficial outcomes. The two nations have to start talking to each other and learn.”

Zelalem Taffesse drew attention to what he termed the ‘wisdom’ of the Indian Constitution that mandates ensuring health and nutrition for all. “VB is focused on the size of the economy alone, but the focus should actually be on social sectors, equitable access to services, nurturing of children so that they grow up to be productive citizens, etc. Meaningful economic dividends will benefit society at large. So, create sustainable systems linking services to communities. Make people part of the solutions they need, and ensure data integration and accessibility. Ensure quality services reach the marginalized. Strengthen local governance and financial mechanisms, innovation, investing in youth, scaling, etc. Remember, civil society can actually help government achieve the core objectives. Institutions such as IIMB and its CPP can link research to social development, charting out a government agenda. Actually, 2047 cannot be a government agenda alone – it should be owned by all.”

Shri Parameswaran Iyer spoke of the role of the 4 Ps - political leadership, public/private partnership, partnerships and people’s participation, in the pursuit of attaining Viksit Bharat status. “Ambitions, institutions, and implementation and scale will take us forward.” He also discussed the necessity for external/reputed organizations assessing performance and progress of the programs. “External agencies’ rating will ensure credibility.”

Other sessions on Day 2 included paper presentations.

What is in store

The three-day conference comprises parallel paper presentation tracks spanning themes such as AI sovereignty and emerging technology, agriculture and food policy, digital public infrastructure and governance, banking and fiscal policy, labour markets, gender and women's empowerment, health policy, education policy, industrial and innovation policy, climate and sustainability, and trade and the digital economy, alongside practitioner-oriented sessions on foundational learning, skilling and MSMEs, and decentralized governance.

Each day also includes poster presentation sessions showcasing research across themes ranging from digital public infrastructure and agriculture to governance, health, education and MSMEs. Poster Presentations on Day 1 focused on areas such as DPI, Finance, AI, Agriculture, Labour and Gender, while on Day 2 the focus was on Infrastructure, Governance, Health, Education, Industrial Policy and MSMEs.

The conference will conclude with the valedictory address on Day Three.