India’s trillion-dollar manufacturing ambition requires a workforce productivity revolution

India's ambition to become a USD30 trillion economy by 2047 will depend on manufacturing contributing approximately USD7.5 trillion to the economy. While organisations continue to invest in capacity, technology, and automation, our research suggests that one of the most powerful growth levers remains under utilised: workforce productivity. Based on an analysis of 130+ large Indian manufacturing companies over the last 10 years, we found a clear link between workforce productivity and enterprise value creation.

Workforce productivity is India's most underleveraged growth lever. The next era of manufacturing competitiveness will not be won only by adding more people or assets, but by fundamentally redesigning how work gets done. Organisations that act now can unlock significant value, accelerate growth, strengthen profitability and help power the next chapter of India's manufacturing journey

Sunit Sinha

Partner and Head, Human Capital Advisory Solutions (HCAS)

KPMG in India

Why should CEOs care?

The evidence is compelling:

What's inside the report?

The report uncovers the hidden productivity leakages that often go unnoticed despite busy shop floors and growing investments, from organisation complexity and supervisory capability gaps to workforce design, decision bottlenecks, and ineffective operating models.

It also introduces the Productivity Triad, a practical CEO playbook built around three dimensions:

cases

Reimagine work

To eliminate non-value-adding activities and accelerate decision-making

business

Redesign the organisation

To simplify structures, roles, and accountability

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Remodel the workforce

To optimise skills, workforce mix, and AI-enabled productivity

Many organisations continue to face a productivity illusion, where high levels of activity disguise underlying inefficiencies. Sustainable productivity gains will require businesses to simplify structures, strengthen frontline capability, codify critical knowledge and build workforce models that can adapt to changing business needs. Organisations that take a systematic approach to productivity transformation will be better positioned to improve performance and competitiveness

Sharad Maloo

Partner, Human Capital Advisory Solutions (HCAS)

KPMG in India

The message for manufacturing leaders

The next era of manufacturing competitiveness will not be won through additional capacity alone. It will be won by organisations that fundamentally redesign how work gets done, how organisations are structured, and how talent is deployed. For CEOs looking to accelerate growth, improve profitability, and create sustainable enterprise value, workforce productivity may be one of the largest untapped opportunity.

Download the report to benchmark your organisation against leading manufacturers, identify hidden productivity leakages, and learn how to unlock 15-30 per cent productivity gains through strong transformation framework.