Rahul Gandhi questions India’s manufacturing progress in Munich, sparking fresh political debate over the outcomes of the Make in India initiative.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, speaking during his visit to Munich, raised questions over India’s manufacturing performance, pointing to a decline in the sector’s share of GDP over the past decade. He argued that manufacturing has not expanded at the pace promised and remains well short of the long-stated target of becoming a key growth engine for jobs and exports.

The remarks triggered a sharp political response. The Congress cited stress in small businesses and rising imports as indicators of uneven industrial growth, while the BJP countered with figures highlighting expansion in electronics, mobile manufacturing, and automobile production under the Make in India push. The exchange once again placed the spotlight on how success in manufacturing is being measured—by output growth or by its overall share in the economy.

The debate reflects a broader policy challenge: headline growth in select sectors has not fully translated into large-scale job creation. For India’s manufacturing ambitions to gain wider acceptance, experts say consistency across MSMEs, exports, and workforce absorption will matter as much as marquee production numbers.