“Forget the Ministry of Information of Broadcasting, we will work with you to make India into a land of experiences,” Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion may have made the statement in a light vein but he left key members of the Indian events and experiential business encouraged during his address on the first day of EEMAGINE 2015. He explained that while a growth pace of 9-10 per cent per annum and a young population were two of India’s biggest strengths, these traits also created challenges that required a nation of job creators and not job seekers. Technology played a key part in addressing these challenges but India needed a balanced economy where both services and manufacturing contributed.
There are perils of a non-industrialization strategy, and it is imperative now for us to focus on making India a place that is easy to do business in. We need to unleash young entrepreneurial spirit of India so we take on the western world like China has. Prime Minister NarendraModi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative is on these lines.
There were four more points on his list that characterized India today. The second on this was opening up India to a global economy. “India must be part of a global supply chain,” he stated, making the third point, adding, “And we are already doing that very well in the way that various multinational companies have relocated their R&D departments to India.
The fourth was about India becoming a great centre for innovation, wherein the country had already blended its hardware and software capabilities to become a unique nation that was excelling and growing on both counts.
The final point reiterated the importance of the entertainment industry in India. Mr Kant explained that in the government’s plans, tourism and entertainment were two sectors that were integral to the ‘Make in India’ campaign. For every direct job that these sectors created, there were nearly five indirect jobs.
“The world is moving from five star hotels to experiences and no other country can provide what India does. We have 5000 years of legacy and heritage and today we are making technological breakthroughs. No other country has this vibrancy, and it is in this spirit that I invite you all to join us as our true brand ambassadors in our Make in India initiative,” Mr Kant concluded.
