From ‘Make in India’ to ‘Make in India Brand’: Reimagining rural manufacturing

Manufacturing, being the DNA for our nation, stands out to be the greatest back bone of India’s economy in the current decade. The reason behind this is pathbreaking revolutionary schemes, robust policy frameworks and most importantly the super active, power combined with smart governance models.

Make in India Mantra gets a new transformation and shape to “Make in India Brand” to be launched by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Government of India. Make in India Brand will set a benchmark for large manufacturing industries, MSMEs, startups, and academia as well. Make in India Brand will be set the tone for enormous assurance to quality and packaging. This will in turn, create value addition for Swadeshi and Vocal for Local innovation-led product development and deployment across India and globe.

Under the Make in India Brand, a brand new unique and interesting manufacturing products, ranging from automotive, steel, agriculture, healthcare, and many more are identified and well recognized. The main objective is to enhance scalability, stability and reach widely to the last mile across local and global international markets. This will boost our nation’s manufacturing mission, leading to steer our nation’s economy and thereby achieve the visionary path of Viksit Bharat@2047.

India has been identifying its strength through establishing a robust manufacturing ecosystem in rural locations across PAN India. This will accelerate rural employment and push women's self-help groups. Government of India’s pioneering Rural Prosperity and Rural Resilience program [RPRP] will increase resilience and active participation and collaboration of larger, small, and medium enterprise, industry associations, academia, research laboratories like CSIR, DRDO and global players in rural locations, thereby achieve enhanced research and development and rural productivity combined with sustainability. This will lead to rural economic stability as well.

Rural Prosperity and Rural Resilience programs change the mindset of our nation and thereby transform the lives of rural communities. In addition to the above, RPRP will pave the way for the livelihood security, development of village-level rural infrastructures, creating a balance in human harmony enrooting to local economic growth in India. This program will make India to achieve a landmark milestone in the historic rural development. RPRP will also increase the value of artisans

 and small-scale farmers. It will also push the rural technologies and supply chain and demand for the Swadeshi product. Swadeshi rural products produced in villages also will make a vibrant entry in MSMEs pioneering Government e-Marketplace [GeM] and Open Network for Digital Commerce [ONDC].

India is rapidly working to identify one hundred Unique products which are not either manufactured or produced in ample quantity. These products will be rejuvenated and marketed under Make in India Branch name across local and global value chains.

Successful Case Study

Rural Prosperity and Rural Resilience program:

ZOHO Corporation, Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu — ZOHO, a pioneering IT giant has established its hub in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu is the first to change the rural dynamics of our nation by developing IT solutions, ZOHO desk in rural village. This has changed the traditional old urbanization to rural talent hub. It focuses on hub-spoke models thereby creating nerve IT centres nearby locations. This is the first industry in India to contribute for community-based employment. increase the scientific innovation and research and development Training school has also started thereby training and nurture youth, making them capable for market ready employment in ZOHO and allied industries. ZOHO is the testament for rural development leading to achieve labor productivity in terms enhancing the livelihood, employment, skill development for youth and self-help groups.

ZOHO is the best proven example in India for the development modern rural infrastructures, youth employment, harnessing the potential of natural resources leading to improve the rural economy of our nation. ZOHO is the classical example for RPRP of Government of India and adds enormous rural productivity leading to prosperity of our nation.

IEEE Smart Village (ISV): Community driven empowerment of climate change resilience

IEEE Smart Village (ISV), a philanthropic program facilitated by IEEE Philanthropic Division, launched its first historic rural project in June 2025 in Ernakulam district of Kerala. It has established a resilient rural hub called a Climate-Resilient Enterprise (CRE) Hub. The objective of the hub is to promote and empower self-help women group leading to build and run by community-based rural women enterprises.

The hub successfully supports and partners with twenty-five local MSMEs. This is principally a technology-driven program which constitutes creating a solar-powered dryer and cold storage for fisheries, agriculture, dairy products, and various livestock. In addition to the above, this program supports frugal innovation-driven solar-powered EV vehicles, which are created to reduce the carbon footprints and promote clean energy and green mobility transportation.

India’s community-driven program like Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, RuTAG (Rural Technology Action Group) and My Bharat being Government of India initiatives of the Ministry of Education and IIT Delhi.

Office of Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports respectively, emerge as driving force for technological innovation, scientific and interdisciplinary research. This will form as fulcrum to accelerate the local rural manufacturing in collaboration with industries, especially the Indian MSMEs.

Rural Prosperity and Rural Resilience program will create modern and model villages across PAN India. It will also build harmony across our people and nation. RPRP will form a smart roadmap for Viksit Bharat@2047.

Head Institute Industry Interface Program Hindustan College of Science and Technology, Mathura; Views presented are personal.