Adopt a single-window e-portal to ease land acquisition in India

Source: This post is created based on the article “Adopt a single-window e-portal to ease land acquisition in India”, published in Live Mint on 22^nd May 2023.

Syllabus Topic: GS paper 3 – Land reform in India

Context: The global shift towards a China-plus-one strategy and the Indian government’s push for industry diversification align well with the current economic landscape.

Progressive schemes like the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) and the construction of state-of-the-art infrastructure are accelerating industrial growth.

With India being one of the fastest growing major economies, the domestic demand is booming, and the economy appears to be on solid ground.

What is the Role of Manufacturing in Economic Transformation?

Manufacturing is key to India’s prosperity. Experience from every advanced economy in the world clearly shows that manufacturing delivers high quality, well-paying jobs for large numbers of people.

Currently, about 40% of India’s workforce is engaged in agriculture, which contributes only around 16% of the total GDP. It’s essential to transition this excess labour into the expanding manufacturing sector.

The potential for India to become a global manufacturing hub is high, however, challenges like land acquisition are hurdles.

What are the steps taken for land reforms in India?

1. The Indian government has made significant strides in digitizing land records and related documentation, which provides a strong foundation for further improvements.
2. A unified online portal for land transactions, minimizing the role of intermediaries, can simplify the process significantly.
3. Speeding up the land acquisition process is also crucial for operationalizing auctioned mines, thereby ensuring a domestic supply of raw materials for the manufacturing sector.
4. The implementation of a digital land sale system, appreciating the importance of speed and scale, would be a significant step forward for the nation.