The Partnership Summit 2015 was organized by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry in association with the Government of Rajasthan and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at Jaipur, Rajasthan during 15-17 January, 2015.  The Partnership Summit is an annual event, being organized since 1995.  The theme of the Partnership Summit, 2015 was “Partnership for Shared New Realities”.

Trade and Economic Ministers of 24 countries and over 1000 delegates from 54 countries participated in the Summit.  The Summit also featured stalls and exhibition including the “Make in India” by DIPP and an exhibition by the Government of  Rajasthan. Key Indian companies and foreign organisations including C K Birla Group NBC (National Engineering Industries Ltd), Apollo Hospitals, Clarks Group of Hotels, The Bahrain EDB (Economic Development Board), JCB India Limited, Blue Star, Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA), Mahindra World City Jaipur, PI Industries Ltd, The Sona Group, TVS Motor Company, Welspun Renewables Energy Pvt. Ltd., Golcha Associated Group, Hamriyah Free Zone, KPMG  in India, Shree Cement Ltd (SCL), Saint-Gobain India Ltd., Patton, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Ltd., Airtel and Fortis participated in the exhibition.

During the summit discussions were held among the delegates in the following Plenary Sessions:

i.   Plenary Session 1 - “Defining Shared New Realities”

ii.  Special Plenary Session - “Two Decades of WTO : Why it Matters for Development”

iii. Special Plenary Session - “Resurgent Rajasthan : Gaining Speed”

iv.  Plenary Session 2 - “US and India : Co-Creating a Shared Future”

v.  Plenary Session 3 - “Mega-Regional Trading Blocs : Implications for Emerging Economies”

vi.  Plenary Session 4 - “Make-in India : Offering a New Partnership Opportunity to Industry”

vii. Plenary Session 5 - “Revitalizing South Asia Economic Cooperation : The Options in the Midst of Prevailing Constraints”

viii. Plenary Session 6 - “Financing for Growth and Development”

ix.  Plenary Session 7 - “Growing Importance of Service Sector in Manufacturing Value Chains”

x.  Plenary Session 8 - “Global Development Agenda Beyond 2015”

The major initiatives taken by the Government to improve Ease of Doing Business in India include further opening up of multiple sectors for Foreign Direct Investment including Defence, Construction, Railways and Insurance.

            A major thrust has been given to Defence Manufacturing by delicensing almost 60% items. The initial validity of Industrial License for Defence has been raised from 2 to 7 years, extendable upto 10 years. Process of applying for Industrial License (IL) and Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum (IEM) has been made online and this service is now available to entrepreneurs on 24x7 basis at the eBiz website.  This had led to ease of filing applications and online payment of service charges. 14 services including IL, IEM, Employee  Registration with ESIC(Employees’ State Insurance Corporation), Employer Registration with EPFO(Employee Provident Fund Organisation), Company name availability (Ministry of Company Affairs(MCA)), Allotment of Directors' Identification Number (DIN), Certificate of company's incorporation, Declaration of commencement of business (MCA), RBI's Foreign Collaboration-General Permission Route, Advance Foreign Remittance (RBI), Permanent Account Number (PAN), Tax deduction Account Number (TAN), Issue of Explosive license (PESO) and Importer exporter code (IEC-DGFT) have been integrated with eBiz portal which will function as an online single window portal for obtaining clearances from various Governments and Government agencies.

            The number of documents required for export and import has been limited. Six best practices identified by the Government have been circulated among all the states for peer evaluation and adoption.

The Partnership Summit is a platform for dialogue and engagement among top leaders from across the globe, towards a greater understanding of forces that are shaping the world, the challenges that need global policy attention and the responses required to effectively manage them. The Summit did not seek investment announcements.

 This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

Foreign direct investment liberalisation expands sectoral access and eases licensing through online single-window procedures for investors. The Government expanded sectoral access to Foreign Direct Investment and eased regulatory requirements for defence manufacturing, including longer Industrial Licence validity and delisting of numerous defence items, while integrating fourteen central services on the eBiz portal to enable online single-window filing and payment for licences, registrations and clearances, and reducing export-import documentation with best-practice circulation for state adoption.