Taxation
Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been another relief for the manufacturing industry towards achieving the dream of India being a manufacturing hub. Sharing his thoughts on it, Sameer Gandhi, Managing Director, Omron Automation India said, "GST will play a significant role in reducing the production cost, which will have a direct impact on the state of the manufacturing industry - a highly competitive arena where cost of production is one of the most important performance indicators. This will translate into creating better values for the consumers." Projecting its effect on the unorganised sector, he continued, "It will be a great influence in boosting demand too which will lead to rise in production levels. Lot of unorganised sector, which is thriving because of tax arbitrage, is expected to move to organised sector. This is expected to cause a spur in demand for better manufacturing facilities fuelling the growth in factory automation sector."

"Uniform tax structure across the country will provide the much needed boost to the overall industry. Roll out of GST is definitely a positive step which will provide manufacturers great relief from multi-level tax structures and will boost our business," added Cooper. According to Somany, GST would be the largest taxation reform in independent India. "It will have long term effect on industry and will bring down the cost of products. Single tax will help in increased tax compliance," he said.

In efforts of providing maximum aid to the industry to grow, Skill India plays an important role. "The initiatives, especially Skill India, are addressing the right concerns and will deliver fruitful results to strengthen the overall profile of the manufacturing sector. The skill-divide, prevalent in the sector, is one of the key concerns. Augmented with the unemployment concerns, the sector needs this kind of initiative not only to expand the skill base but also get upgraded in sync with the current trends and needs of the promising sectors," Gandhi mentioned.

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