Apparel April 2019 Apparel April 2019 issue | Page 35

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
From the original goal of being an agricultural
economy, transitioning to a manufacturing
economy has given way to a blooming services
sector. In 1991, India’s annual GDP was nearly
US$275 billion, which is valued at about US$530
billion in 2018. This was also accompanied by
a GDP growth rate of 1.1 per cent and a GDP
per capita of US$364, which is about US$765
in current value. Since then, the growth rate of
the Indian economy has only risen. The current
GDP is nearly US$3 trillion in nominal terms and
US$10.68 trillion in Purchase Power Parity (PPP)
terms. The per capita GDP is now US$2,100 in
nominal terms and US$7,780 in PPP terms.
In 1990, the Indian manufacturing sector had
risen from about nine per cent of GDP in 1950
to just over 16 per cent in 1990. The current
share of the industrial sector is about US$29
per cent and employs about 22 per cent of the
total workforce. As of 2015, India has the sixth
largest manufacturing GDP at US$559 billion.
The manufacturing sector itself has progressed
by leaps and bounds in niche arenas while still
expanding in traditional industries like apparel.
Moreover, the advent of the information and
digital age has exceeded all expectations in its
impact on the whole economy, not only on how
the economic system works but also on how
people’s economic behaviour manifests in a
INDIA HAS EXPERIENCED
RADICAL ECONOMIC
RESTRUCTURING OVER THE
LAST THREE YEARS IN THE
FORM OF DEMONETISATION
AND TAX REFORM .
globalised set-up. And more recently, India has
experienced radical economic restructuring over
the last three years in the form of demonetisation
and tax reform, which has created a whole new
potential for the future.
THE NEW INDUSTRIAL POLICY 2019
India’s continued strength has remained its stable
political and business atmosphere based on
strong macroeconomic fundamentals. Thanks
to this, India has become a major attraction
for foreign investment and as a source of
consumers for global brands. The convergence
of a globalised outlook has led to digital
transformation across the industrial sector. With
Industry 4.0 being driven by data and analytics,
India has shown initiative in addressing these
changes. In 2017, the Department of Industrial
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