Introduction The Indian Engineering sector has witnessed a remarkable growth over the last few years driven by increased investments in infrastructure and industrial production. The engineering sector, being closely associated with the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors, is of strategic importance to India’s economy. India on its quest to become a global superpower has made significant strides towards the development of its engineering sector.

The Government of India has appointed the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) as the apex body in charge of promotion of engineering goods, products and services from India. India exports transport equipment, capital goods, other machinery/equipment and light engineering products such as castings, forgings and fasteners to various countries of the world. The Indian semiconductor industry offers high growth potential areas as the industries which source semiconductors as inputs are themselves witnessing high demand. India became a permanent member of the Washington Accord (WA) in June 2014. The country is now a part of an exclusive group of 17 countries who are permanent signatories of the WA, an elite international agreement on engineering studies and mobility of engineers.

Market size Turnover of capital goods industry is estimated to have reached US$ 70 billion in 2017^. India exports its engineering goods mostly to the US and Europe, which accounts for over 60 per cent of the total exports. Engineering exports for the period of FY18 were US$ 76.20 billion as against US$ 65.23 million in the same period previous year. Exports of electrical machinery and equipment grew at a CAGR of 7.00 per cent during FY10-18 to reach US$ 6.7 billion in FY18. The figure stood at US$ 5.61 billion for Apr-Nov 2018.

The electrical equipment industry observed a witnessed a record seven-year high growth of 12.8 per cent in 2017-18, on the back of increase in government spending on rural and household electrification schemes and programmes to improve power distribution. Construction equipment industry of India is expected to grow over 18 per cent in 2018-19. Investments The engineering sector in India attracts immense interest from foreign players as it enjoys a comparative advantage in terms of manufacturing costs, technology and innovation. The above, coupled with favourable regulatory policies and growth in the manufacturing sector has enabled several foreign players to invest in India.

The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into India's miscellaneous mechanical and engineering industries during April 2000 to June 2018 stood at around US$ 3.45 billion, as per data released by the Department of Industries Policy and Promotion (DIPP). In the recent past there have been many major investments and developments in the Indian engineering and design sector:

• As of December 2018, SANY India, the Indian arm of Beijing-headquartered construction equipment maker SANY Group, is planning to invest Rs 1,000 crore (US$ 142.49 million) to expand its construction machinery production capacity to 25,000 units.

• Schneider Electric and Temasek acquired Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) electrical and automation business in May 2018. Government Initiatives The Indian engineering sector is of strategic importance to the economy owing to its intense integration with other industry segments. The sector has been de-licensed and enjoys 100 per cent FDI. With the aim to boost the manufacturing sector, the government has relaxed the excise duties on factory gate tax, capital goods, consumer durables and vehicles.

• In the Union Budget 2018-19, the government allocated US$ 92.22 billion for the infrastructure sector. Allocation to the defence sector was raised to US$ 45.57 billion under Union Budget 2018-19. In addition, Make in India policy is being carefully pursued to achieve greater self-sufficiency in the area of defence equipment including air-craft.

• The Union Cabinet has approved incentives up to Rs 10,000 crore (US$ 1.47 billion) for investors by amending the M-SIPS scheme, in order to further incentivise investments in electronics sector, create employment opportunities and reduce dependence on imports by 2020.