Government to publish report card of Make in India's success on its anniversary

Marking the first anniversary of ‘Make in India’ initiative, the government plans would launch a digital campaign highlighting the success of the programme and also announce some big-ticket investments on the occasion.

Although Make in India was launched on September 25 last year, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), which is organising the anniversary celebrations, will not hold the event until November "due to a packed schedule and paucity of time", a senior official told ET.

"We are gathering data about all we have achieved so far financially and sector wise. We are hoping that it will be an even bigger gathering than last year," the official said on condition of anonymity.

The DIPP is also putting together a plan to ease procedures for inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country. FDI inflows jumped 38 per cent to $24.95 billion between October 2014 and March 2015.

The department is also finalizing its recommendations for enforcement of contracts through improvement in judicial processes for quick resolution of disputes.

While the government has opened sectors like the railways, medical devices, insurance & pension, construction & defence for FDI, it is looking for such opportunities in more sectors. A proposal to allow foreign legal firms to invest in India in partnership companies is also in the works.

The DIPP will also be spearheading the 'Start-Up India' mission, work for which has already begun. "We have drafted a proposal from our end. A lot of work still needs to go into it," the official said. The idea is to boost investments from all sources to create more employment opportunities and make India a manufacturing hub.

While states are being ranked on initiatives taken to bring about ease of doing business, the government will hold workshops for those states that are not performing well on such parameters. Most states have reduced the number of procedural requirements and moved various clearances and processes online to improve their ranking on the ease of doing business index.

Make in India is also going to get a big infrastructure push to improve connectivity and economic growth. Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had recently said that infrastructure is the top priority of the government.

In the first year of the Make in India programme, the government has approved 24 new industrial clusters, allocating them Rs 624 crore.

(Image credits: Indiatimes)