By Ayesha Mudassar ISLAMABAD, May 31 (INP-WealthPK): The fast-growing large-scale manufacturing industry (LSMI) of Pakistan reflects the country’s efforts to achieve fast-paced industrialisation. With little more efforts and focus, the LSMI output could increase further, enabling the country to capture more space in the world market for exports. Among the top-performing sectors in the LSMI, auto-manufacturing showed a growth of 26.8% in July-March period of 2021-22. Talking to WealthPK, Eng Asim Ayaz, Secretary of Auto Industry Development Committee, said that the Auto Policy 2021-26 had encouraged localisation and value addition of parts used in car manufacturing, somewhat enabling the country to reduce reliance on imported parts for local manufacturing. Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical industry witnessed a growth of 12.6% during the nine months of the ongoing fiscal year. According to Pharma Natura Pakistan, a pharmaceutical company in Pakistan, the government’s support has and would help local manufacturers attain self-reliance in terms of import substitution. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), production during the three quarters of the current fiscal year (2021-22) increased in textiles, tobacco, food, beverages, coke and petroleum products, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, iron and steel products, paper and board, chemicals, engineering products and furniture. Production decreased in leather, electronics, rubber and non-metallic mineral products. According to the Quantum Index of Large-Scale Manufacturing Industries, the output increased by 26.9% in March 2022 compared to March 2021. LSMI accounts for approximately 80% of the manufacturing sector and contributes 9.73% to GDP. The small-scale manufacturing industry accounts for 2.12% of GDP. The LSMI data, collected from the Provincial Bureau of Statistics (BOS), the Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC), and the Ministry of Industries, indicated that the OCAC reported a 13.4% growth in March 2022 against the previous month of February 2022 and a 7.6% increase in March 2022 compared to March 2021.   The data also showed that sectors related to the ministry of industries witnessed an increase of 8.9% in growth in March 2022 compared to February 2022. Furthermore, a positive growth of 37% was recorded in March 2022 compared to the same month of 2021. Textile, which accounts for 20.91% of the LSMI, increased by 1.6%, food, beverages and tobacco by 17.4%, petroleum products by 1.1%, and chemicals by 6.9% during the July-March period of 2021-22 compared to the same months of 2020-21. The government also needs to provide subsidies to export-oriented industries to promote industrialisation as growth in LSMI is vital to employment creation.