By the middle of the 2010s, India's economic boom had tapered off after the global financial crisis. India did not suffer as much as the advanced economies did because of its large domestic market and relatively modest exposure to international capital flows. However, India's growing import dependence and rising share of short-term capital inflows in managing the balance of payment deficit became increasingly evident.

The widely accepted view of industrial stagnation gave rise to the clarion call for ‘Make in India’ – as coined by the then newly elected government. Such a policy goal resonated well with the public in response to growing import dependence on China for even simple consumer goods, such as kites or Ganesha idols. Modest output performance also meant a lack of manufacturing employment growth.

Around the time, I reviewed academic research status on India's industrialisation trends and patterns for the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), analysing the reasons for India's modest industrial performance. During a discussion with Srinivasan Iyer of the Ford Foundation and P. S. Vijayshankar of Samaj Pragati Sahayog, Bagli, Dewas, an idea emerged for a research programme on the theme of manufacturing growth, employment and livelihood issues. There are many accounts of industrial performance at the aggregate level. However, our understanding of what has happened at the ground level in recent times seems acutely lacking. Likewise, though there is considerable scholarship on labour and employment, the current academic focus on manufacturing production and its implication for jobs and skills appears sparse.

The above idea, it appeared to me, offered an opportunity to bring together scholars to undertake detailed studies into how the labour-intensive industries, locations and clusters were performing. And what would it take to realising the national goals of ‘Make in India’?

Our effort was, in other words, an attempt to do in India's development discourse what the late Alice Amsden graphically described, ‘Bring Production Back In’. Why has India not performed well even in simple consumer goods? After deliberations with many concerned scholars over a year, the programme took root in 2016 at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai.