Lok Sabha Question No. 3269 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-09
Subject: Promotion of Trade, Investment and economic Growth
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Devji Mansingram Patel, Sudhakar Tukaram Shrangre, Ranjeetsingh Naik Nimbalkar, Naranbhai Bhikhabhai Kachhadiya, Saikia Dilip

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT FOR PROMOTION OF INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3269. TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 09 TH  AUGUST, 2023.

## PROMOTION OF TRADE, INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

## 3269.  SHRI DEVJI M. PATEL:

SHRI SUDHAKAR TUKARAM SHRANGARE: SHRI RANJEETSINGH NAIK NIMBALKAR: SHRI NARANBHAI KACHHADIYA: SHRI DILIP SAIKIA:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state:

## वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री

- (a) the significant initiatives and achievements undertaken in the last four years by the  Ministry  of  Commerce  and  Industry  to  promote  trade,  investment,  and economic growth in the country;
- (b) whether the Ministry has worked towards improving the ease of doing business, simplifying  trade  procedures  and  attracting  Foreign  Direct  Investment  (FDI) during this period and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the measures taken by the Ministry to promote exports and enhance market access  for  Indian  products  in  global  markets,  specifically  focusing  on  key sectors;
- (d) whether  the  Ministry  has  implemented  any  policy  reforms  or  initiatives  to support domestic industries, foster entrepreneurship and promote innovation, aligning with the Make in India and Startup India campaigns;
- (e) whether  any  significant  trade  partnerships,  agreements,  or  trade  facilitation measures have been established with other countries or regions to enhance bilateral trade and economic cooperation during the last four years; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्रालय में राज्य मंत्री ( श्री सोम प्रकाश ) THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI SOM PARKASH)

- (a) & (b) :   The Ministry of Commerce & Industry is entrusted with the task of formulating and monitoring Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), multilateral and bilateral commercial relations, export promotion, trade facilitation etc. The Ministry also promotes Industrial Development of the country by facilitation Investments in new and upcoming technology, accelerating Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and supporting a balanced development of Industry & Trade.

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  Businesscentric 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.

- (c), (e) & (f): 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.
- (d) : 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.

***********