New Delhi, Nov. 8 -- As preparations for the Union Budget gather pace, India must confront a structural flaw in its development model and that is a manufacturing base being concentrated in a few states, leaving much of the country outside the industrial growth cycle. Successive Budgets have offered incentives for production, logistics and industrial infrastructure, yet the geography of Indian industry has barely shifted.

Where the factories are

The Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) 2024-25 shows that five states, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, account for over 54% of manufacturing gross value added (GVA) and over 53% of industrial establishments. Basic metals, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals an...