Speaking at a symposium organised by the Indian Foundation for Quality Management, he said the country needs to cash in on the opportunity of USD 3 trillion worth of manufacturing shifting from "our neighbour to other geographies" by focusing on quality.
"If we have to become Viksit Bharat, manufacturing clearly will have to really fire on all cylinders. Currently, our manufacturing is the weak link," Bali said.
For the last 20 to 25 years, manufacturing continues to be 15 to 16% of India's GDP, he added.
"Successive governments and various leaders have tried it, but the needle hasn't moved much. So, this has to change," Bali asserted.
Citing examples of countries like Germany, Korea, and China, he said, "Most of these countries have been anchored for 40 to 50 years through manufacturing. India will be no different. So, manufacturing has to jump from 15-16% to 25% of GDP".
Bali acknowledged that this is a big call and this is a challenge in a way.
"For this, the perception of brand India has to change, and that perception can change only with the mindset on quality," he noted.
On the opportunity that India has, Bali said, "We need to really make it count when almost USD 3 trillion of manufacturing is shifting from our neighbour into new geographies".
He, however, said the window of opportunity, which is available to India is finite. It's not going to be forever.
A big advantage India has today is that the world wants to look at India with a very different eye, Bali said, adding that "the only thing required is our gumption to look at quality, not (just) meeting specifications because quality sets standards".
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