‘Make in India’ scheme a failure, says Rahul Gandhi

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Centre’s ‘Make In India’ initiative, claiming that the scheme has been a failure, as he noted that assembling and not manufacturing iPhones in India only profits China.

The Congress MP said this in a post on X after visiting the national capital's mobile phone and laptop repairing, assembling and selling hub --- Nehru Place.

“Make in India promised a factory boom. So why is manufacturing at a record low, youth unemployment at a record high, and why have imports from China more than doubled? The truth is stark: we assemble, we import, but we don’t build, China profits,” he said in the post.

The Congress MP from Raebareli said that he visited Nehru Place in Delhi, and met bright and skilled workers full of promise, who have been denied the opportunity to fulfill it.

“Modiji has mastered the art of slogans, not solutions. Since 2014, manufacturing has fallen to 14 per cent of our economy...With no new ideas, Modiji has surrendered. Even the much-hyped PLI scheme is now being quietly rolled back,” he said in a jibe at the Centre.

“India needs a fundamental shift --- one that empowers lakhs of producers through honest reforms and financial support,” he added.

Rahul Gandhi further stressed the importance of genuine domestic manufacturing, stating that employment in India will come from products that are “Made in India” rather than simply “assembled in India”. “You can assemble as many iPhones as you want, but all you’re doing is enriching India’s major oligopolies,” he said in the post, which also had a video of him interacting with technicians.

Apple, which began assembling iPhones in India in 2017, currently operates three assembly plants in the country --- two in Tamil Nadu and one in Karnataka.

Rahul Gandhi pointed out that people often confuse ‘Made In India’ with ‘assembled in India’, though the two are fundamentally different. He warned that without a focus on true manufacturing, India risks falling behind, citing China’s dominant control over the mobile and laptop manufacturing sectors as an example.

He further emphasised the need for honest reforms and substantial financial support to empower the country’s lakhs of small and medium producers, calling this a critical step toward sustainable economic development.