Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday vowed to make India a manufacturing hub by raising the share of the manufacturing sector from 14 per cent to 20 per cent in the GDP in the next five years if it is voted to power at the Centre.

In a post on X, the Congress chief said, “Congress resolves to make India a manufacturing hub by raising the share of manufacturing from 14 per cent to 20 per cent of GDP in the next five years. The most immediate objective will be to restore a healthy, fearless and a trustworthy climate for businesses.”

“While a Congress government in 1991 abolished industrial licensing and controls, the independent regulatory regime that was put in place has deteriorated into a system of overt and covert controls. We will conduct a comprehensive review of the current rules and regulations and repeal or amend them in order to restore freedom to industry, business and trade,” he said.

Kharge said the Congress will aim for India attaining a position of leadership in multiple industries such as steel, metals, garments and textiles, cement, automobiles, electronic goods, pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, petroleum products, chemicals, and mining rare earths and critical minerals.

Referring to the RBI’s data, he said, “According to the RBI, nearly 60 per cent of the large central government projects have been stalled or delayed and costs have risen by nearly five lakh crores. Congress will address the problem in a mission mode and find ways and means to revive the stalled projects with the help of the private sector.”

Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, further said, “Congress will reform the production linked incentives (PLI) scheme to target specific sectors that can create thousands of jobs by making India one of the top 5 producers in the world in that sector.We will introduce a new employment linked incentive (ELI) Scheme for corporates to win tax credits for additional hiring against regular, quality jobs.”

The Congress will create a “level playing field” for all businesses, he said.

Attacking the ruling BJP, he said: “It is thus no surprise that in the last 25 years, India’s manufacturing share of GDP has been higher during the Congress rule. On the contrary, in the last 10 years (2014-24), the share of manufacturing has stagnated at just 14 per cent.”

He added that the Congress is determined to make India the manufacturing powerhouse that produces goods and services for itself and the world.