'Make in India' Updated Action Plan Introduced by the Government

We have witnessed many action plans in last few years. Manufacturing and MSMEs have managed to gather the centre stage attraction of policymakers. Make in India is a flagship initiative in this league. Now, in order to give an added thrust on ‘Make in India’, Government of India under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry have introduced a slightly enhanced and even more aggressive version of the new ‘Make In India’ action plan.

Under the “Make in India” action plan 21 key sectors have been identified for specific actions under: (i) policy initiatives (ii) fiscal incentives (iii) infrastructure creation (iv) ease of doing business (v) innovation and R&D and (vi) skill development. This was informed in the Rajya Sabha by the Minister of State of Commerce and Industry, C.R. Chaudhary while replying to a question.

Under this, the FDI policy and procedure have been simplified and liberalised progressively. Key sectors have been opened up for FDI: defence manufacturing, food processing, telecom, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, civil aviation, space, private security agencies, railways, insurance and pensions and medical devices.

In 2015-16, FDI inflow crossed the USD 55 billion mark in one fiscal year, for the first time ever. Total FDI inflow was USD 198.48 billion between April 2014 and October 2017, representing 38% of the cumulative FDI in India since April 2000. In 2016-17, FDI inflow stood at a record of USD 60 billion, highest ever recorded for a fiscal year ever. According to IMF World Economic Outlook (April2017) and UN World Economic Situation Prospects 2017, India is the fastest growing major economy in the world and is projected to remain so in year 2018.