Business Today – 13 September 2026

Summary

India's manufacturing sector is accelerating, with states competing for industrial investment and companies like Reliance and Jaquar expanding capacity — Business Today's September 13, 2026 issue publishes a BT-Deloitte India special study titled "India's Manufacturing Surge," tracking how state-level competition, supply chain restructuring, and policy support are driving the Make in India agenda. The cover package reports that Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh have emerged as the top three manufacturing hotspots.

The BT-Deloitte study covers manufacturing output data, state-level policy comparisons, and company-level case studies. Reliance's new petrochemical complex in Gujarat and Jaquar's bathroom-fittings plant in Rajasthan are profiled with capacity and export data. The study concludes that India needs to build a differentiated manufacturing model — not competing with China on scale but on precision, quality, and sustainability.

The issue also includes commentary from Krishna Gopalan and coverage of sector-specific challenges including skill gaps and logistics costs.

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Content Guide

▸ Cover Story / Manufacturing

p.0 · State Champions: Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh
The BT-Deloitte study ranks states on manufacturing output, ease of doing business, infrastructure, and labour productivity. Tamil Nadu leads on auto and electronics output at 52 billion dollars. Gujarat tops on chemicals and petrochemicals at 38 billion dollars. Uttar Pradesh recorded the fastest growth in manufacturing at 14 percent year-on-year, driven by defence and aerospace. Site-selection consultants can use the state rankings in their location advisory reports.

p.0 · Reliance's Gujarat Complex
Reliance Industries' new petrochemical complex at Jamnagar is profiled with a 5-billion-dollar investment figure and projected export value of 3.2 billion dollars annually. The complex includes India's largest ethylene cracker with 2.5 million tonnes per annum capacity. Supply chain analysts tracking India's chemical export capacity can use the 2.5-million-tonne figure in their sourcing models.

p.0 · Jaquar's Bathroom-Fittings Plant
Jaquar Group's new manufacturing facility in Rajasthan involved an investment of 1,200 crore rupees and created 3,500 direct jobs. The plant exports to 45 countries and achieved 70 percent local content within 18 months of commissioning. Procurement teams in construction and real estate can use the 70 percent local content achievement as a benchmark for supplier qualification.

▸ Policy / Competitiveness

p.0 · Make in India Champions
The study identifies 5 sectors where India has the strongest manufacturing competitiveness: automotive components, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, electronics assembly, and textiles. Each sector is scored on cost competitiveness, quality ratings, and export growth. The electronics assembly sector scored highest on export growth at 22 percent CAGR over 3 years. Sectoral investment bankers can use the 5-sector framework for client targeting.

▸ Infrastructure / Logistics

p.0 · Growth Hotspots
The article maps 8 emerging manufacturing clusters beyond the traditional hubs: Hosur, Sri City, Sanand, Chakan, Bhiwadi, Pantnagar, Tumkur, and Visakhapatnam. Each cluster profile includes land availability, power supply reliability, and proximity to ports. Logistics managers can use the cluster data to optimise their distribution network design.

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Editor's Take

The BT-Deloitte manufacturing study is the kind of proprietary research that reinforces BT's brand as a business intelligence source beyond daily news. The state-level ranking and company case studies give the issue a reference value that extends well beyond the publication fortnight. Reliance and Jaquar profiles provide concrete investment figures that procurement and supply chain teams can use. The issue's main weakness is readability — the report is dense with data tables and maps and could have benefited from more narrative storytelling. The skill-gap section is too brief for a problem that the study itself identifies as critical. Advertising from industrial companies is appropriate but heavy in the back half.

Strengths
• State manufacturing rankings are a practical site-selection tool
• Reliance and Jaquar profiles with hard investment data
• Five-sector competitiveness framework is investment-bank ready

Weaknesses
• Dense data presentation reduces readability
• Skill-gap coverage is insufficient for the problem's scale

Verdict: Essential — Buy for the BT-Deloitte manufacturing data; the state rankings and company case studies will be referenced for months.