New Delhi, May 20 -- A recent report by Kearney and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) highlights the urgent need to rationalise the goods and services tax (GST) and import duties to improve cost competitiveness in India's mining and construction equipment (MCE) sector.

The report, titled "Path to Viksit Bharat: Making India a Global Manufacturing Hub in the MCE," identifies the sector's inverted GST structure as a major challenge.

Currently, components like hydraulics and electronics are taxed at 18 per cent, while final equipment such as crawler cranes and drilling rigs attract just 12 per cent. This discrepancy increases the cost burden on manufacturers.

To unlock the sector's full potential, the report recommends streamlini...