Govt. may meld Make in India with Invest India, says Prabhu 

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