If India had to sustain a high growth trajectory, it could only happen if the developmental model for that was inclusive, said CII recently.

It was imperative that the manufacturing sector played a much more significant role in the country's growth. A robust manufacturing sector had the potential to create the kind of employment required in India, the apex body said

A dedicated Manufacturing Policy should be the bedrock for this to happen, the CII said, if India had to emerge as a location of high value addition, technologically advanced and globally competitive manufacturing base.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry had taken a step in this direction, CII said alluding to the draft Manufacturing Policy.

The policy has tried to address the key issues that come in the way of manufacturing assuming a much larger share in India's GDP.

By providing the necessary infrastructure, easier clearance and approval mechanism, flexible yet secure labour rules, focus on clusters and necessary skill development facilities, the proposed National Manufacturing and Investment Zones are ideal locations for Indian manufacturing to emerge as globally competitive entities from, CII said.

Not being based on a model of tax sops, the proposed manufacturing policy tries to deal with the issues that have historically come in the way of India emerging as a strong base for manufacturing.

CII concluded by saying that it hoped that the Government of India would be able to drive this necessary policy in time for investments to pick up, as the announcement of a policy like this would certainly improve sentiments among the investing community.

CII President Mr B Muthuraman said that the ultimate objective was to have the manufacturing sector must account for at least 25 percent of GDP by 2025.