Concerned over slowdown in manufacturing, the prime minister-chaired committee is likely to finalise its report by month-end suggesting a blueprint for providing momentum to the sector which accounts for over 15 per cent of India's GDP.
"The report of the committee will form basis for the country's manufacturing policy," National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council Chairman V Krishnamurthy, who is also member of the panel, told reporters.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced setting up of the high-level committee in 2006. Its mandate included looking into macro-economic issues stifling the growth and competitiveness of the manufacturing sector.
The policy, expected to be out by the end of this year, will aim at achieving 12 per annual growth in the manufacturing sector.
After showing impressive performance till 2007, the sector has come under stress because of increasing interest rates and inflation retarding the demand.
"There are lot of hiccups...in the last six months because of the certain steps to curb inflation," he said.
Manufacturing, which has a weightage of over 85 per cent in the country's total industrial production, witnessed a sharp decline in growth to a mere 2.9 per cent in March 2008 from 16 per cent a year ago.
Krishnamurthy said that Indian industry can compete on a global scale, if it is 'given a level playing field.'
The home grown industry suffers from high interest cost and infrastructure bottlenecks. However, it enjoys the comparative advantage of less expensive labour cost.