This perspective is an attempt to understand the linkages between trade in value added and employment in India’s formal manufacturing sector. The article uses the techniques of panel data and simple time-series regression analyses. The main contention of this study is that trade in value added positively influences employment in the manufacturing sector. This research has a potentially immense impact on India’s future industrial policies, especially considering the country’s strong focus on the manufacturing sector in recent years. Initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ and ‘Production Linked Incentive’ schemes highlight this emphasis. Given the imminent significance of global value chains for the country’s manufacturing and economic landscape, the outcomes of this research would greatly assist stakeholders in India’s manufacturing sector towards devising and executing pro-industrial policies, with a key focus on socio-economic factors, particularly employment.
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