India in 2025 is a manufacturing economy: BJP defies Rahul Gandhi's claims

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Launching a scathing attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for misrepresenting India in his speech abroad, BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya on Thursday said the country in 2025 is a manufacturing economy.

Speaking at the EIA University in Medellin, Colombia, Gandhi claimed that “India doesn’t manufacture.”

Taking to the social media platform X, Malviya shared "hard numbers and sectoral proof" refuting the claim.

"Every time Rahul Gandhi flies abroad, he finds a stage to demean, insult, and misrepresent India. His script is stuck in 2013-14. But India in 2025 is a manufacturing economy on the move," Malviya said.

Slamming Rahul Gandhi’s talking points as those belonging "to a bygone decade", the BJP IT Cell chief said that "phones, pharma, autos, apparel—plus FDI, skills, and GST 2.0—together show a manufacturing economy in motion".

"Keep misrepresenting India abroad if you must; the factory floor here keeps rewriting the scoreboard," he added.

He also shared the receipts for what changed between 2014-15 and 2024-25 from the field of electronics and mobile manufacturing to pharma to automobiles.

The BJP IT Cell chief said that the electronics goods production in the country saw a sixfold jump from Rs 1.9 lakh cr (2014-15) to Rs 11.3 lakh cr (2024-25).

The electronics exports grew eight times, from Rs 38,000 cr to Rs 3.27 lakh crore; mobile phone production: from Rs 18,000 cr to Rs 5.45 lakh cr - 28×; mobile phone exports from Rs 1,500 cr to about Rs 2 lakh cr - 127×.

"India has moved from a large importer to a global hub; now the world’s second-largest mobile manufacturer," Malviya said.

He also wrote about the rise in FDI in electronics since FY21.

About the pharma industry, Malviya stated that India is now the “Pharmacy of the World”.

The sector "ranks third by volume, 14th by value"; supplies more than 50 per cent of global vaccine demand and about 40 per cent of US generics.

Malviya also shared on investment flows and global confidence. He noted that the total FDI in the last 11 years (2014–25) stands at $748.78 bn -- up 143 per cent vs $308.38 bn between 2003 and 2014, during the Congress rule.

Further, he mentioned that the Indian automobile sector is now the fourth-largest automobile producer, having grown in terms of scale and depth.

The textiles industry became "employment and export engine" about "2.3 per cent of GDP, 13 per cent of industrial production, 12 per cent of total exports".

It is expected to create about 45 million direct jobs, mostly in MSME clusters.

"Manufacturing is not just about machines; it’s about people. It is among the largest job creators, especially for semi-skilled and skilled workers," Malviya said.

He noted that about 17 crore jobs have been created in the past decade, and that the unemployment rate now stands at 5.1 per cent overall.

"A suite of complementary policies—spanning manufacturing, logistics, industrial growth, urban development, and entrepreneurship—is powering the next phase of India’s surge. Adding momentum, GST 2.0’s simplified two-slab structure with reduced rates on essentials has cut compliance costs and boosted consumption," Malviya said.

--IANS

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