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Govt. may meld Make in India with Invest India, says Prabhu
Context
Centre mulls new approach to attract more foreign investment in manufacturing
What has happened?
Centre is thinking over a new approach to attract more investment, including from overseas, in manufacturing sector by combining the strengths of its ‘Make in India (MII)’ & its ‘Invest India’ initiatives
MII & Invest India
The MII was unveiled in September 2014 to “transform India into a global design and manufacturing hub” while ‘Invest India’ is the government’s investment promotion and facilitation agency envisaged to be the first point of reference for potential investors
What will be & is being done?
Main idea is that manufacturing and exports sectors should get a big boost through measures in the Union Budget. Government willbe identifying 5-6 sectors, and there will be certain incentives for such newly identified manufactured products to help them scale up globally. It is trying to work on a holistic strategy to make India a global manufacturing and export hub
- Making apt changes to Start-upIndia: Start-up India policy was unveiled last January but only 74 start-ups have qualified for tax benefits under it. Measures would be taken by introducing appropriate changes in the Start-up India policy by making it more Start-up friendly
- Efforts will be made to strengthen the State governments’ Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agencies
- There is a need to hold regular sector-wise and country-wise round-tables as well as create specific groups using the latest technologies including social media to get quick feedback on policies
- While there is already a State-wise ease of doing business rankings, there can be State-wise rankings in areas such as ‘start-up’- and ‘tourism’-friendliness
- Helping out laggard states will also help because ultimately investment happens at the state-level. Invest India is in the process of identifying the strengths of each State to help them go in for tie-ups with countries that are world leaders in those areas
- An exercise has already begun to identify the countries attracting the maximum investment sector-wise, the reasons for the same, as well as efforts to convince those very investors that India can provide better return on their investments and greater efficiency in those sectors
