The ‘Make in India’ programme launched by the Government has received very positive response, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament.
Sitharaman said the programme aims to project India as an investment destination and develop, promote and market India as a leading manufacturing destination and as a hub for design and information.
Clarifying that no specific concessions have been offered to foreign investors under the Make in India programme, the Minister said the programme aims to radically improve the ease of doing business, open the FDI regime, improve the quality of infrastructure and make India a globally competitive manufacturing destination.
The Minister said a total of 4,896 queries have been received on the ‘Make in India’ web-portal, of which 4.4 per cent relate to textiles and garment sector.
Mentioning the steps taken by the Government to improve the ease of doing business, Sitharaman said an online single window in the form of the eBiz Mission Mode Project under the National eGovernance Plan has been launched. “It aims to create a business and investor friendly ecosystem in India by making all business and investment related regulatory services across Central, State and local governments available on a single portal,” she said.
Secondly, the process of applying for Industrial License and Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum has been made online on 24X7 basis through eBiz Portal. Further, the validity of Industrial License has been extended from two years to three years.
However, major components of Defence products’ list have been excluded from industrial licensing. Dual use items having military as well as civilian applications have been deregulated.
Moreover, twelve services have been identified to be integrated with eBiz platform on priority.
From employees’ perspective, the process of registration with Employees Provident Fund Organization and Employees State Insurance Corporation has been made online. A unified labour web portal has been developed to facilitate filing of a single annual online return.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment has also launched a random Labour Inspection Scheme to bring in more transparency and accountability, Sitharaman said. (RKS)
