Budget 2015 is positive for manufacturing, although specific focus on the ESDM sector would have been encouraging given the nascent nature of the ecosystem. The budget certainly shows the desire to make India investor friendly, and is promising on the whole for the growth of our economy. We welcome the emphasis on skills development and employability, which, as Applied Materials has consistently advocated, is a must-have for a stable manufacturing ecosystem. The focus on Infrastructure development is also welcome, since it is a key area that supports high-value manufacturing.
To make India the manufacturing hub of the world, we now need to accelerate the execution of announced policies, make rapid progress along the conveyed directions, and ensure focus on large-scale RD in specific high-value-add manufacturing areas like ESDM and Clean Energy to make the emerging manufacturing ecosystem sustainable.
We await more details of the budget for a more thorough analysis.
--Aninda Moitra, President – Applied Materials, India, ESDM