India's economic climate just right to nurture manufacturing: Julie Teigland, managing partner, EY

Indian manufacturing is back on the agenda with the right government support, increasing investment by MNCs and geo-political tailwinds in favour of the country, said Julie Teigland, managing partner, EY (Europe, the Middle East, India, and Africa area).

"For years, the Indian economy was driven largely by professional services. I can see the manufacturing component coming through as India has all the ingredients: the right talent, a government that's driving reforms, and technology. These are solid foundations. Amid geo-political flux, India has a huge opportunity to gain more parts of the value chain," she said.

Although beset with challenges and hamstrung by the pandemic, the Narendra Modi government has taken a multi-pronged approach to make Indian manufacturing competitive through initiatives such as the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme, a benign tax regime, low real interest rates, and a reforms agenda aimed at easing curbs on business.


And global investors are taking notice. FDI worth $54.1 billion was channelled into the country during April-November 2021-22. Teigland said that EY FDI attractiveness studies show India's up there as the fifth strongest market, after the likes of the US, the UK, China and Germany.

"The attraction of India as an FDI destination is actually increasing with so many private equity and venture capital funds looking to invest more in the country," said Teigland. "There's been a terrific focus on the right level of reforms to promote a business community with the right economic foundations." Sixty-three Indian companies raised ₹1,18,704 crore through IPOs in 2021, while Indian startups raised $42 billion in 2021.