Commerce ministry plans DPIIT cell to spur industry

Source: The post is based on the article “Commerce ministry plans DPIIT cell to spur industry” published in Livemint on 31st October 2022.

What is the News?

The Department for promotion of industry and internal trade(DPIIT) is preparing a comprehensive industrial policy statement to give a renewed push to manufacturing activity and private investment.

What is the purpose of the Industrial Policy Statement being prepared by DPIIT?

The policy aims to provide a broad framework to address manufacturing-related bottlenecks and facilitate investments while leveraging the realignment of global supply chains due to geopolitical factors.

Its six core objectives include 1) promoting India as an attractive investment destination by ensuring policy stability, 2) transparency and ease of entry, 3) strengthening intellectual property rights awareness, 4) promoting IP dialogues with industry, small businesses and academia, 5) ensure a better land availability process, creation of a logistics ecosystem and 6) sustained increase in labour productivity.

Key reforms planned under the policy: 1) Establish a cell in the DPIIT. The cell will ideate, implement and monitor India’s industrial development strategy, 2) Expansion of production -linked incentive(PLI) schemes, 3) Strengthen the cluster development model, 4) Incentivize public procurement, 5) Promote research and development funding on a “mission mode”, 6) Reform outmoded laws and 7) Ensure seamless enforcement of contracts and end-to-end digitization of all procedures.

Significance of the policy: The government has been trying to increase the share of manufacturing in India’s GDP to 25% from the current 17% and move up the global value chain.

Further, this policy statement is important as it comes at a time when private investment is yet to pick up pace amid monetary policy tightening.