Key measures and initiatives to promote exports and enhance market access through Periodic engagement at G-G level with partner countries

Government has undertaken significant initiatives to promote economic growth besides converting the disruption caused by COVID 19 into an opportunity for growth and investment. These includes Atmanirbhar packages, introduction of Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme in fourteen (14) sectors, investment opportunities under National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) and National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), India Industrial Land Bank (IILB), Industrial Park Rating System (IPRS), soft launch of the National Single Window System (NSWS), etc. An institutional mechanism to fast-track investments has been put in place, in the form of Project Development Cells (PDCs) in all concerned Ministries/ Departments of Government of India. All the above initiatives/schemes are implemented across various Ministries/Departments, Central Government, State Governments.

Further, to improve Ease of Doing Business ecosystem in the country, DPIIT coordinates with Ministries/Departments and States/UTs for initiatives to reduce compliance burden on citizen and business activities. The objective of this exercise is to improve Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living by Simplifying, Rationalizing, Digitizing and Decriminalizing Government to Business and Citizen Interface across all the States/UTs. In order to have a continuous evaluation framework, DPIIT initiated a dynamic reform exercise called Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) for assessment of business environment in the States/Union Territories (UTs). Under BRAP, States and UTs are assessed on the basis of implementation of designated reform parameters contained in the Action Plan. BRAP covers both the Business-centric and Citizen-centric reforms spread across various reform areas. Some of the reform areas are Investment Enablers, Access to Information and Transparency, Online Single Window System, Land Allotment, Construction Permits Enablers, Labour Regulation Enablers, Environment Registration Enablers, Inspection Enablers, Obtaining Utility Permits, Contract Enforcement, Citizen- centric Certificates, Public Distribution System, Healthcare, etc.

To attract more FDI, the Government has put in place an Investor friendly Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy, wherein most sectors, except certain strategically important sectors, are open for 100% FDI under the automatic route. Further, the policy on FDI is reviewed on an ongoing basis, to ensure that India remains an attractive and investor friendly destination. FDI policy provisions have been progressively liberalized and simplified across various sectors such as Pension, Other Financial Services, Asset reconstruction Companies, Broadcasting, Pharmaceuticals, Single Brand Retail Trading, Construction & Development, Power Exchanges, e-commerce activities, Coal Mining, Contract Manufacturing, Civil Aviation etc. In the recent past, reforms in the FDI Policy have been undertaken in sectors such as Defence, Insurance, Petroleum & Natural Gas and Telecom. Further, all proposals seeking Government approval under FDI route are now filed on National Single Window System (NSWS) Portal.

Some of the key measures and initiatives undertaken to promote exports and enhance market access are holding Periodic engagement at G-G level with partner countries. One such engagement is that of the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region under the existing Institutional mechanisms with specific objective to propel bilateral Trade and Investments forward including through addressing any issues/hurdles affecting Trade and Investments. Various Export promotion events, including under the Market Access Initiative (MAI) scheme, have been organized in target markets in the WANA region, by the Department, in association with Export Promotion Councils, Industry Associations, and respective Indian Missions in the region. For instance, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in February, 2022, on the side-lines of the India-UAE Virtual Summit which provides for an institutional mechanism to encourage and improve bilateral Trade and Investments between the two countries.

Make in India initiative was launched on September 25, 2014, to facilitate investment, foster innovation, building best in class infrastructure, and making India a hub for manufacturing, design and innovation. The development of a robust manufacturing sector continues to be a key priority of the Indian Government. Since its launch, Make in India initiative has made significant achievements and presently focuses on 27 sectors under Make in India 2.0. which is implemented across various Ministries/Departments, Central Government, State Governments.

In addition to ongoing schemes of various Departments and Ministries, Government has taken various steps to boost domestic and foreign investments in India. These include the introduction of Goods and Services Tax, reduction in corporate tax, improving ease of doing business, FDI policy reforms, measures for reduction in compliance burden, measures to boost domestic manufacturing through public procurement orders, Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) and QCOs (Quality Control Orders), to name a few.

Further, in order to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation, startups and encouraging private investments in the startup ecosystem of the country, the Government launched the Startup India initiative on 16th January 2016. Since the launch of Startup India initiative in 2016, DPIIT has recognized 98,119 entities as startups as on 30th April 2023. The recognized startups have reported to have created over 10.34 lakh direct jobs.

Keeping in view India’s vision of becoming ‘Atmanirbhar’, PLI Schemes for 14 key sectors have been announced with an outlay of Rs. 1.97 lakh crore (over US$26 billion) to enhance India’s Manufacturing capabilities and Exports.

With the announcement of PLI Schemes, significant creation of production, employment, and economic growth expected over the next 5 years and more. The PLI Schemes will help achieve following objectives:

• Attract investments in sectors of core competency and cutting-edge technology;
• Ensure efficiency and economies of scale in the manufacturing sector; and
• Make Indian companies and manufacturers globally competitive so that they can penetrate global markets and integrate with global value chains.

The 14 key sectors are: (i) Mobile Manufacturing and Specified Electronic Components, (ii) Critical Key Starting Materials/ Drug Intermediaries & Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, (iii) Manufacturing of Medical Devices (iv) Automobiles and Auto Components, (v) Pharmaceuticals Drugs, (vi) Specialty Steel, (vii) Telecom & Networking Products, (viii) Electronic/Technology Products, (ix) White Goods (ACs and LEDs), (x) Food Products, (xi) Textile Products: MMF segment and technical textiles, (xii) High efficiency solar PV modules, (xiii) Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery, and (xiv) Drones and Drone Components.

PLI Schemes for all 14 Sectors have been notified by the concerned Ministries/ Departments after approval of the Union Cabinet. These Schemes are in their various stages of implementation. Approvals to 733 applications have been accorded under all 14 PLI Schemes so far.

This information has been provided by the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Shri Som Parkash in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

Investment facilitation through liberalized FDI policy and single window clearance to boost manufacturing competitiveness and export access. Investment attraction is pursued through an investor friendly FDI policy with broad automatic route access and ongoing liberalisation, with all government approval filings channelled via the National Single Window System. Project Development Cells in Ministries/Departments and the Business Reforms Action Plan drive administrative facilitation and state level reform assessment. Manufacturing and export competitiveness are supported by Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Schemes across fourteen priority sectors, alongside Make in India and Startup India initiatives.