As the fastest-growing country in the world, India has been making massive strides in improving areas of underdevelopment. From working on renewable energy projects to sustainable agriculture, the Government of India has made notable advancements through the use of government-funded projects. However, one initiative in particular has and will continue to bring a tremendous amount of change not only in the way that India runs but in how it combats poverty.

The Make in India Campaign

The Make in India campaign is a series of initiatives meant to boost national innovation, manufacturing, the economy and Indians’ livelihoods. The initiative has four major pillars: new processes, new infrastructure, new sectors and new mindsets. These four pillars serve as the foundation for policies and ideas and all individuals work to combat severe poverty.

Poverty plagued India during the early 2010s, with nearly a billion people facing significant economic challenges. Despite efforts, the country could only generate roughly 1.2 million jobs annually, leaving the majority struggling to secure employment, often resorting to low-paying agricultural work. Although there was a gradual increase to five million jobs by 2015, it paled in comparison to the 12 million entering the workforce that same year.

Recognizing the urgency, it became evident that cohesive government intervention was imperative. Hence, in 2014, the Make In India campaign was unveiled as a comprehensive solution aimed at alleviating poverty and reforming the nation’s economy.

Interview With the Borgen Project

The Borgen Project spoke with a source who lives on the outskirts of Delhi, one of the most populated cities in India, about how Make In India has caused change in the job market and opportunities around them. The source has asked to be kept anonymous. During the interview, the source describes how, originally, work in the city was scarce. Often, people without education couldn’t work in anything besides minimum wage jobs, such as maids, sewage pipe management and taxi drivers.

With many of these jobs being unappealing, most people attempt to work in the factories and travel great distances to either work in factories or shift back to agricultural work. Since 2014, our source tells us that not only have there been more government jobs but also more private sector jobs that provide a basic income and good working conditions. The source also explains that the technology sector has seen rapid growth, especially with new infrastructure requiring massive amounts of labor, which reduces the population without jobs. The numbers agree, with India having created nearly 192 million new jobs in the past 10 years.

The massive creation of jobs and the focus on boosting the economy have left India in the amazing position of eliminating extreme poverty. Overall, while India still has much potential to improve and work on removing pay inequality and other societal issues, it has demonstrated that the Make In India campaign was a success.

– Aman Chaudhary
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