New Delhi, April 26: Industry Minister Anand Sharma today said it would be a “historic blunder” for the country not to have a national manufacturing policy.
He said this in the backdrop of reports of opposition from ministries such as environment and labour on the proposal to relax certain laws in the policy.
Sharma made these comments ahead of a meeting on the issue convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on May 4.
Besides Sharma, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Labour and Employment Minister Mallikarjun Kharge, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, Corporate Affairs Minister Murli Deora, HRD and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia are likely to attend the meeting.
The draft policy suggests that industries in the proposed National Manufacturing Investment Zones (NMIZs) – big enclaves which could even subsume special economic zones – should be given flexibilities to downsize labour.
-Agencies