Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday outlined a six-point roadmap aimed at accelerating and sustaining India’s economic growth, placing manufacturing, infrastructure, MSMEs and urban development at the centre of the government’s strategy.

Presenting the Union Budget, Sitharaman said the government’s priority was growth-led development, adding: “Under our first duty, to accelerate and sustain a sustainable economic growth, I propose interventions in six areas.”

She listed the focus areas as: “Scaling up manufacturing in several strategic and frontier sectors, rejuvenating legacy industrial sectors, creating champion MSMEs, delivering a powerful push for infrastructure, ensuring long-term security and stability, and developing city economic regions.”
eiterating the framework later in her speech, Sitharaman said: “I propose interventions in six areas one, scaling up manufacturing in seven strategic and frontier sectors. Two, rejuvenating legacy industrial sectors. Three, creating champion MSMEs. Four, delivering a powerful push for infrastructure, and five, ensuring long term security and stability. And six, developing city economic regions.”

Manufacturing push led by strategic sectors

A central pillar of the growth strategy is the scaling up of manufacturing across strategic and frontier sectors, with a particular focus on health, electronics, semiconductors, chemicals and capital goods.