Govt takes several steps to promote business, boost exports and manufacturing

The Central Government has undertaken several key initiatives and policy measures to boost exports, attract investments and to promote ease of doing business from time to time.

1. New Foreign Trade Policy has been launched on 31^st March, 2023 and came in to effect from 1st April, 2023.
2. Interest Equalization Scheme on pre and post shipment rupee export credit has also been extended upto 31-08-2024 with total allocation of Rs. 12788 crores.
3. Assistance is being provided through several schemes to promote exports, namely, Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) and Market Access Initiatives (MAI) Scheme.
4. Rebate of State and Central Levies and Taxes (RoSCTL) Scheme to promote labour-oriented sector export has been implemented since 07.03.2019.
5. Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme has been implemented since 01.01.2021. With effect from 15.12.2022, uncovered sectors like pharmaceuticals, organic and inorganic chemicals and article of iron and steel has been covered under RoDTEP. Similarly, anomalies in 432 tariff lines have been addressed and the corrected rates have been implemented with effect from 16.01.2023.
6. Common Digital Platform for Certificate of Origin has been launched to facilitate trade and increase Free Trade Agreement (FTA) utilization by exporters.
7. Districts as Export Hubs initiative has been launched by identifying products with export potential in each district, addressing bottlenecks for exporting these products and supporting local exporters/manufacturers to generate employment in the district.
8. Active role of Indian missions abroad towards promoting India’s trade, tourism, technology and investment goals has been enhanced. Regular monitoring of export performance with Commercial Missions abroad, Export Promotion Councils, Commodity Boards/ Authorities and Industry Associations and taking corrective measures from time to time.

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, 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 to enhance India’s Manufacturing capabilities and Exports.

With the objective to improve Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living, The Government has taken initiatives to Simplify, Rationalize, Digitize and Decriminalize Government to Business and Citizen Interface across all the States/UTs. So far, more than 42,000 compliances have been reduced and more than 3,800 provisions have been decriminalized. National Single Window System (NSWS) is a unified platform for applying for all G2B clearances from various Central Ministries/Departments and State Departments. All 32 in-scope Central Ministries/Departments are integrated on NSWS. A total of 277 Central approvals can be applied through NSWS. Information pertaining to more than 661 approvals is available to investors via the Know Your Approvals (KYA) module. Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 was introduced to further the trust-based governance and enable de-criminalization of minor offences and compliance-based laws and requirements. The Act decriminalized 183 provisions under 42 Acts administered by 19 Ministries/Departments.

The Government has taken several steps to enhance the global competitiveness of Indian industries, foster innovation and entrepreneurship, and facilitate greater integration with global supply chains, as part of the roadmap for India 2047. The details are as under:

(i)    The policy initiatives of the Government for promoting investments and improving ease of doing business have enhanced India’s global competitiveness. India is the fastest-growing major economy the world. India ranks 63rd in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report (DBR), 2020 published in October, 2019. India’s rank in the DBR improved from 142nd in 2014 to 63rd in 2019, registering a jump of 79 ranks in a span of 5 years.

(ii)   Policy and Legislative reforms have been undertaken in last 9 years with respect to institutional strengthening and process digitalization in the area of Intellectual Property Right (IPR). This shall accelerate economic development of the nation through science and technology to fulfil the Viksit Bharat Sankalp. India’s rank in the Global Innovation Index (GII) amongst 132 economies has improved from 81^st in 2015 to 40^th in GII 2023. Number of Patents granted has seen a seventeen-fold growth from 5,978 in 2014-15 to 1,03,057 in 2023-24. Number of Designs Registered has recorded a four-fold increase from 7,147 in 2014-15 to 30,672 in 2023-24.

(iii)  The Startup India initiative was launched with the aim to build a strong eco system for nurturing innovation and entrepreneur ship to drive sustainable economic growth and generate large scale employment opportunities. The Startup India Action Plan comprises of 19 action items spanning across areas such as “Simplification and handholding”, “Funding support and incentives” and “Industry-academia partnership and incubation”. Sustained efforts by the Government have led to an increase in the number of DPIIT re-cognised startups to 1.33 lakh.

(iv)  India has undertaken trade policy reforms to enhance its participation and share in global trade. India's Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) plays a crucial role in promoting the country's integration into global supply chains. India's FTP, with its focus on cost competitiveness, trade facilitation, and emerging sectors, provides a strong framework for promoting global supply chain participation.

(v)   The Government of India launched PM GatiShakti National Master Plan on 13th October, 2021 to facilitate infrastructure and social sector planning using the PM GatiShakti NMP GIS-enabled portal. Utilisation of PMGS promotes multimodal connectivity, enhances last mile connectivity which contributes to Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living. To complement the PM GatiShakti NMP, the National Logistics Policy (NLP) was launched on 17th September, 2022 by Hon’ble Prime Minister to reduce logistics costs and improve logistics efficiency in the country. These policies are fostering innovation and facilitating greater integration with global supply chains.

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