New initiatives ‘Make in India’ and ‘Clean India Mission’ have geared up the socioeconomic feature of the country. Increasing CSR funds and new FDI inflows have been channelized to boost the country’s infrastructure. Suprita Anupam finds out the new market segments coming out of the investments made / being made under these initiatives.
In his Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a clarion call to all investors of the world, “Come, make in India. Sell in any country of the world, but manufacture here.”
The announcement was followed by three big initiatives: Clean India, Digital India and Make in India. The trio together are the biggest steps ever taken by an Indian PM. This is just the beginning. The foundation is laid. The three schemes are aimed to change the image of India as a country; aimed to cater to the three different segments – Cleaning & Hygiene, IT/ITeS and Manufacturing – and boost the country’s infrastructure manifold.
While professionals and entrepreneurs from all other segments are juxtaposing the developments in their perspectives, the cleaning industry is among the few sectors that are benefitting directly by the Clean India Campaign and also find its market in the other two segments.
Under the Make in India initiative, the government has taken a series of measures to speed up FDI and local investments in India. “We want the Indian companies to shine as MNCs. This is your country, the happiness of succeeding here and then taking it abroad has its own taste,” said Modi while launching the Make in India. The initiative will ease the access of doing business in India.
The ‘Make in India’ programme was launched globally on September 25, 2014 with 25 thrust sectors and a dedicated portal with back end support up to Sectoral and State levels for facilitation was created. The initiative was simultaneously launched in the Capital of all States and in several Indian Embassies/High Commissions. Few other Indian Embassies have also organized “Make in India” interactions after the launch.
The ‘Make in India” initiative is based on four pillars, which have been identified to give boost to entrepreneurship in India, not only in manufacturing but also in other sectors. The four pillars are:
New Processes: The programme recognises ‘ease of doing business’, as the single most important factor to promote entrepreneurship. A number of initiatives have already been undertaken to ease business environment. The aim is to de-license and de-regulate the industry during the entire lifecycle of a business.
New Infrastructure: Availability of modern and facilitating infrastructure is a very important requirement for the growth of any industry. The Government intends to develop industrial corridors and smart cities to provide infrastructure based on state-of-the-art technology with modern high-speed communication and integrated logistic arrangements. Existing infrastructure will be strengthened through upgradation of infrastructure in industrial clusters. Innovation and research activities are supported through fast paced registration system and accordingly infrastructure of Intellectual Property Rights registration set-up has been upgraded. The requirement of skills for industry are to be identified and accordingly development of workforce to be taken up.
New Sectors: ‘Make in India’ has identified 25 sectors in manufacturing, infrastructure and service activities. FDI has been opened up in Defence Production, Construction and Railway infrastructure in a big way.
New Mindset: Industry is accustomed to see Government as a regulator. ‘Make in India’ intends to change this by bringing a paradigm shift in how the Government interacts with industry, as a partner in economic development of the country now. The approach will be that of a facilitator and not regulator.
An Investor Facilitation Cell has been created for ‘Invest India’ to guide, assist and handhold investors during the entire lifecycle of the business. This Cell will provide necessary information on vast range of subjects; such as, policies of the Ministries and State Governments, various incentive schemes and opportunities available, to make it easy for the investors to make necessary investment decision. Information on 25 sectors has been put up on
‘Make in India’s web portal (http://www.makeinindia.com) along with details of FDI Policy, National Manufacturing Policy, Intellectual Property Rights and Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor and other National Industrial Corridors.
Business Made Easy
- 100% FDI is allowed in all the sectors except space (74%), Defence (49%) and News Media (26%)
- 100% FDI in railways infrastructure which was zero earlier
- An exemption from basic custom duty will be provided for the manufacture of lithium ion battery packs for supply to manufacturers of hybrid and electric vehicles.
- Foreign equity caps in various sectors were relaxed
- Investment allowance at the rate of 15% to manufacturing companies that invest more than Rs1 billion in plant and machinery acquired and installed between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2015, provided the aggregate amount of investment in new plant and machinery during the said period exceeds Rs1 billion.
- In order to provide a further fillip to companies engaged in manufacturing, an additional deduction of 15% of cost of new plant and machinery is extended for investments exceeding Rs250 Million (acquired and installed during any previous year, until March 31, 2017)
The manufacturing industry, currently constitutes 15% to the country’s GDP, which is very less compared to China’s 32%. The present initiative aims to increase the share by 10%. For this, “we are constructing dedicated freight and industrial corridors and smart cities. We have identified 25 sectors in which India can be a world leader and have created a dedicated team to hand hold investors from across the world”, said Nirmala Sitharaman.