India's 2047 vision: Uniting industry, innovation, and gender equality for global prosperity

India’s vision for a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047 calls for all stakeholders to work in cohesion, doubling down on efforts to unlock the nation’s true potential. While the government must continue addressing bottlenecks and creating pathways for growth and prosperity, delivering these outcomes remains a key responsibility of the industry.

With this objective, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has outlined four key priorities for the year that align with the goals of Viksit Bharat. We have been actively engaging with our members to drive this agenda forward in order to deliver meaningful results.

Make in India

For India to emerge as a global manufacturing hub and a “product nation,” domestic manufacturing must undergo a significant transformation. Our aim should be to increase the global share in manufacturing from the current 3.1% to 12%, requiring a 16-fold growth in manufacturing GDP. To achieve this, we must position India as a high-quality producer, achieve scale, and localise innovation. Industry leaders can play a pivotal role in upgrading India’s quality testing infrastructure. Large companies should mentor MSMEs, particularly those in their value chains, by organising training programmes and facilitating exposure to new technologies and production processes through ‘go and see’ visits.

We must also strive for global leadership in Industry 4.0 technologies and self-reliance in strategic sectors. A comprehensive plan covering the entire value chain—from design to manufacturing—is essential, especially in high-tech areas like defence, electronics, and semiconductors.

Scaling up R&D investments is crucial to establishing India as a leading innovation hub. Companies need to enhance their R&D efforts to develop, deliver, and scale new products, services, processes, and business models. The private sector can also contribute by adopting industrial training institutes, upgrading curricula to meet industry needs, and promoting Industry 4.0 tools and techniques.

Women-led Development

A critical pillar of inclusive development is increasing women’s participation in the workforce. We should target a 45-50% labour force participation rate for women. The focus should be on enhancing women’s employability in manufacturing roles by collaborating with ITIs, leveraging digital platforms for skill development, and promoting equal pay for equal work. We must create a socially attractive and safe environment for women in factories. Efforts to build a robust care economy and adopt gender-friendly corporate policies are vital in this regard.

Farm Prosperity

Structural reforms in agriculture are essential. We need to increase farm productivity, boost farmers’ incomes, reduce food wastage, and ensure agricultural sustainability.

An efficient farm-to-fork ecosystem is crucial for self-reliance and addressing food inflation. Through collaborative efforts and public-private partnerships, India can enhance mechanisation from 40% to 60%, develop over 100 horticulture clusters, double agricultural exports, and improve water efficiency from 38% to 60% in the next five to six years.

By leveraging digital and AI solutions, agri-tech start-ups can enhance productivity through optimal use of resources. For instance, digital marketplaces for renting farm machinery can significantly boost mechanisation on farms.

Several corporates have launched training programmes to skill farmers, which can be scaled up. We can create meaningful rural jobs by developing 3 million farm technicians nationwide within five years. Each village in India could have technicians skilled in areas like soil testing, micro-irrigation, drones, sensors, farm machinery, and so on.

R&D partnerships between agricultural institutes and the private sector to develop climate-resilient and water-efficient seeds could be transformative. The recent Budget announcement of a comprehensive review of agricultural research and funding is a welcome step.

Sustainability

Sustainability remains a critical focus area, requiring accelerated efforts from all stakeholders. With a net-zero target set for 2070, we must aim to reduce CO2 emission intensity by 80-90% by 2047. The industry should collaborate with the government to create pathways for green transitions across all sectors. GHG-intensive sectors must prioritise decarbonisation strategies. Large companies should lead by initiating decarbonisation pilots, carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) projects, and embracing circular business practices. The industry must develop green alternatives (e.g., sustainable packaging, green building materials) and green waste management technologies while supporting MSMEs in their supply chains.

FICCI has been actively collaborating with industry members on all these priority areas. For example, our ‘Go and See’ programme for SMEs has engaged over 100 companies across 10 modules, hosted by leading corporates. We are also working with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and leading management institutes to enhance curricula for 42 ITI courses. On women’s skill development, we aim to train 500,000 women in non-traditional areas over the next five years. Significant efforts are being made in agriculture—our digital app, Krish-e, has already onboarded over 15,000 farmers for renting farm equipment. Multi-stakeholder projects have been launched in over 15 interventions, impacting more than 500,000 farmers.

To promote sustainability, we have compiled a compendium of 32 case studies on circular economy best practices, and a sustainability playbook is in the works. Additionally, 150 member companies have committed to achieving net-zero targets.

My vision for India is one of inclusive growth and shared prosperity. Achieving this will require smart and strategic planning with defined targets, followed by effective implementation through collaborations and partnerships.

The author is President, FICCI. Views are personal