1. Ease of Doing Business

        a. Doing Business Report 2020

        ◦ As per the Doing Business Report (DBR), 2020 of the World Bank,  India’s rank has moved upwards at  63rd position amongst 190 countries from its rank at  77nd  position in  2019.

        ◦ India has improved its rank in 7 out of 10 indicators and has moved closer to international best practices.

        ◦ The DBR, 2020 acknowledges India as one of the top 10 improvers, third time in a row, with an improvement of 67 ranks in three years.

        ◦ It is also the highest jump by any large country since 2011.

        b. State Reform Action Plan

        ◦ A 301-point State Reforms Action Plan, 2020 was shared with States/UTs on 25th August, 2020 for its implementation by 31st December, 2020.

        ◦ The Action Plan is spread across 24 reform areas and seeks to promote sector-specific approach so as to create an enabling business environment across various sectors in the country.

        ◦ The various sectors include Trade License, Healthcare, Legal Metrology, Fire License/NOC, Cinema Halls, Hospitality, Telecom, Movie Shooting and Tourism.

        c. District Reform Action Plan

        ◦ District level functionaries are key touch points for an entrepreneur and hence a district level reform exercise is the next logical step in the reform agenda.

        ◦ DPIIT has prepared and shared a 213-point District Reform Action Plan, 2020 with States/UTs on 25.08.2020.

        ◦ The Action Plan covers 8 reform areas with States & UTs.

        ◦ The District Plan covers 43 NOCs/Permissions/ Registrations/ Certificates which will ease regulations for sectors like retail, education, health, food and beverages, real estate, gems and jewellery mining and entertainment.

    2. Investment Promotion

        a. Production-Linked Incentive Scheme

            i. To provide a major boost to manufacturing, the government has launched Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for 13 sectors, 3 sectors in March 2020 and 10 sectors in November 2020 with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore over the next five years.

            ii. The sectors are  

                1. Automobiles and Auto Components

                2. Pharmaceuticals Drugs

                3. Specialty Steel

                4. Telecom & Networking Products

                5. Electronic/Technology Products

                6. White Goods (ACs and LEDs)

                7. Food Products

                8. Textile Products: MMF segment and technical textiles

                9. High efficiency solar PV modules

                10. Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery

                11. Medical devices

                12. Large scale electronics manufacturing including mobile phones

                13. Critical Key Starting materials /Drug intermediaries and APIs.

            iii. The largest financial outlay has been given to the PLIs on Automobile and Auto Components and on Advanced Chemistry Cells (ACC).

        b. Empowered Group of Secretaries and Project Development Cells

        ◦ An Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS), and Project Development Cells (PDCs) in Ministries/Departments have been set up to support, facilitate and provide investor friendly ecosystem to investors investing in India.

        ◦ These institutions are meant to fast-track investments in coordination between the Central Government and State Governments.

        ◦ PDCs have now been established in 29 Ministries/Departments of the Government of India.

        c. Investment Clearance Cell

        ◦ An Investment Clearance Cell (ICC) to provide facilitation and support to businesses through a one-stop digital platform – the central Single Window System (SWS) is being set up.

        ◦ This national portal will integrate the existing clearance systems of the various Ministries/Departments of Govt. of India and State Governments without disruption to the existing IT portals of Ministries.

        d. Industrial Information System

        ◦ DPIIT has developed an Industrial Information System (IIS) which provides a GIS-enabled database of industrial areas including clusters, parks, nodes, zones, etc. across the country to help investors identify their preferred location for investment.

        ◦ 3390 industrial parks/estates/SEZs in 4.76 lakh hectares have been mapped on Industrial Information System (IIS) along with net land area availability.

        ◦ A national level land bank is being developed by integrating IIS with State industrial GIS systems.

        ◦ This will enable the investors to see plot level data and availability of updated land related information in real time. A mobile app is also available for easy viewing by users.

        e. Industrial Park Rating System

        ◦ Industrial Park Rating System (IPRS) is an exercise which recognizes best performing parks, identifying interventions and serving as a decision support system for investors and policy makers in being undertaken by DPIIT, under the technical guidance of ADB.

        ◦ DPIIT now aims to develop the first annual ‘Industrial Park Rating System 2.0’ that shall widen its coverage and aim to bring in qualitative assessment further to the pilot phase. 

        ◦ IPRS 2.0 will include the introduction of tenant feedback mechanism which will help in assessment of the developer’s responses and also engage directly with the ultimate beneficiaries of this exercise.

        f. Focus Sub-Sectors

        ◦ DPIIT is working closely with 24 sub-sectors which have been chosen keeping in mind the Indian industries strengths and competitive edge, need for import substitution, potential for export and increased employability.

        ◦ These 24 subsectors are – furniture, air-conditioners, leather and footwear, ready to eat, fisheries, agri-produce, auto components, aluminium, electronics, agrochemicals, steel, textiles, EV components and integrated circuits, ethanol, ceramics, set top boxes, robotics, televisions, close circuit cameras, toys, drones, medical devices, sporting goods, gym equipment.

        g. One District One Product (ODOP)

        ◦ DPIIT is working on the initiative of One District One Product to be a transformational step forward realizing the true potential of a district, fuel economic growth and generate employment and rural entrepreneurship.

        ◦ ODOP has already been implemented in some of the States (for example, UP)and by upscaling it up as a national movement, a pool of 739 products from 739 districts in India can be created and regulated.

        ◦ To begin with, 103 districts have been identified with specific products having manufacturing / export potential. 68 products out of the 106 products are available on big ecommerce platforms.

    3. Intellectual Property Rights

        a. The IPR regime has effected change in infrastructure upgradation, manpower augmentation, regulatory reforms and IT enablement resulting in speedy disposal of IP applications.

        b. Electronic filing systems are in place for filing of applications for Patents, Trademarks, Designs and Geographical Indications.

        c. The Copyright Office, also has advanced facilities for online filing for registration of copyrights.

        d. Real time dissemination of information, in respect of IP applications, positions India’s IP Offices at par with its peers globally.

Major achievements include

        e. In order to simplify the process and reduce compliance burden, amendments have been made through Patent Amendment Rules 2020, related to the working of Patented Invention in India as required under section 8 in Form 27.

        f. Filing of a statement on the commercial working of a patent within 6 months instead of 3 months as prescribed earlier and only one form may be filled in respect of multiple related patents assigned to common patentee.

        g. To give a boost to the registration of Authorised users of a Geographical Indications product, Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) (Amendment) Rules, 2020 were notified in the Gazette.

        h. The amendment has reduced the fees to be paid for the GI registration process and eased the procedure for registration of an authorized user of a registered GI.

        i. Scheme for facilitating Startups Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP) launched for encouraging innovation and creativity of startups has now been extended up to 31stMarch, 2023.

        j. To encourage Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to seek protection for their innovations processing fees for patent applications by small entities has been further reduced by 80% (from the existing 50% provided in May 16, 2016) as compared to large entities. 

        k. As a result, the patent filing and processing fees for small entities is now at par with the fees for individual applicants and start-ups.

        l. Last year, India and Japan had signed a bilateral "Patent Prosecution Highway". The first year of a three year’s Pilot PPH Program with Japan was a successful drive whereby 100 patent applications were received, which allowed 100 applications from Japan in a year.

        m. International Collaborations - India has signed MoUs with various countries with the aim of strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights for the benefit of innovation and sustainable economic growth.

        n. India this year signed MoUs with the United States of America, Denmark and Portugal.

        o. Keeping with the trend, several social media campaigns related to IPR awareness were executed, such as “Quiz Time with CIPAM”, and “Defeat Counterfeit”.

    4. Startup India

        a. With over 40,000 recognized startups, India has transformed into the third largest startup ecosystem supplementing employability as well as enhancing our self-reliance.

        b. Startup India’s role has been vital in nurturing entrepreneurship beyond Tier 1 cities.

        c. With the launch of the Startup India campaign, recognized startups have now spread across 586 districts with a total of 29 States and UTs with Startup Policies in place, creating more than 4.2 lakh jobs.

        d. Entrepreneurs now have options to avail benefits across a range of laws, regulations, fiscal and infrastructural support. 

Highlights of Startup India scheme

        e. An INR 10294.27 crore Startup Fund of Funds has been launched by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to promote availability of risk capital in the Indian economy.

        f. Startup India has facilitated procurement from startups on the Government E-Marketplace (GeM) portal.

        g. Presently, 7438 startups have serviced orders worth over INR 1800 crores on GeM portal.

        h. A number of ‘Startup Grand Challenges’ with Government bodies and corporates have been organized to channelize them to work with startups and incorporate the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship.

        i. To further bridge the Indian Startup ecosystem with the Global ecosystem, engagement models with 11 countries including Korea, UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal, etc. have been built.

        j. Startup India launched the StartupYatra in 2017 which took the momentum to rural and non-metro regions, reaching the grass root level of the states.

        k. State Startup Ranking launched by DPIIT in 2018, is an effort to identify key actions undertaken by various States to help and scale up Startups. 

        l. It is also an opportunity to recognize and acknowledge relevant departments of the States and UTs that have worked consistently in this mission to make India a thriving Startup nation.

        m. Actions taken by the Startup India initiative have resulted in a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country. The results are visible across all fields of human endeavour and all sectors of the economy.

        n. National Startup Awards, seek to recognize and reward outstanding Startups and ecosystem enablers (incubators and accelerators) that are building innovative products or solutions and scalable enterprises, with high potential of employment generation or wealth creation, demonstrating measurable social impact.

        o. The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) under the Atal Incubation Centres (AICs) scheme has selected 102 incubators across the country to provide financial support, with grants worth INR 201.1 crores being disbursed to 68 incubators.

        p. This fund has supported incubation of more than 1,250 startups, created over 13,800 jobs and has led to over 2,000 events and 700 trainings being conducted.

        q. Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL)by the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) aims to inculcate entrepreneurial skills in school students.

        r. Over 14,000 schools have been selected to set up Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) with 5068 ATLs having received INR 12 lakhs grants each and are operational.

    5. Foreign Direct Investment

    • It has been the endeavour of the Government to put in place an enabling and investor friendly FDI policy.

    • In the last one years, to liberalise and simplify FDI policy for providing Ease of doing business and attract investments, following reforms have been undertaken by the Government across sectors:

    • Insurance Intermediaries:

100% FDI has been permitted in Intermediaries or Insurance Intermediaries including insurance brokers, re-insurance brokers, insurance consultants, corporate agents, third party administrator, Surveyors and Loss Assessors and such other entities, as may be notified by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority from time to time.

    • Civil Aviation:

In order to permit Foreign Investment up to 100% by those NRIs, who are Indian Nationals, in case of M/s Air India Ltd., Government amended the extant FDI Policy to permit Foreign Investment(s) in M/s Air India Ltd. by NRIs, who are Indian Nationals, up to 100% under automatic route.

    • Curbing opportunistic takeovers/acquisitions of Indian companies due to the COVID-19 pandemic:

In order to curbing opportunistic takeovers/acquisitions of Indian companies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, vide Press Note 3(2020) dt. 17.04.2020, Government amended the FDI policy according to which an entity of a country, which shares land border with India or where the beneficial owner of an investment into India is situated in or is a citizen of any such country, can invest only under the Government route.

    • Defence Sector:

Now, FDI in the defence sector is allowed up to 74% through automatic route (from earlier 49%) for companies seeking new industrial licenses. FDI beyond 74% and up to 100% will be permitted under Government route. For existing FDI approved holders/defence licensees, infusion of fresh foreign investment up to 49% resulting in change in equity/ shareholding pattern can be done by making declaration within 30 days (earlier Government approval was required).

    • Consolidated FDI Policy Circular 2020:

This Department has released 'Consolidated FDI Policy Circular 2020' and the same is uploaded on this Department's website for reference of various stakeholders including Ministries/Departments and prospective investors.

    • Standard Operating Procedure (SOP):

SOP has been amended for ease of processing FDI proposals and is uploaded on Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal for reference of various stakeholders including Ministries/Departments and prospective investors.

    • FDI applications disposed of in 2020: 26 FDI applications marked to DPIIT have been disposed of in 2020.

    • FDI Statistics: During the first seven months of F.Y. 2020-21, total FDI inflow increased by 11% from USD 42.06 billion (April, 2019 to October, 2019) to US$ 46.82 billion (April, 2020 to October, 2020). FDI equity inflow increased by 21% to US$ 35.33 billion (April, 2020 to October, 2020) from US$ 29.31 billion reported in the same period of previous financial year.

    6. Public Procurement

        a. To promote “Manufacturing Investment” in India, usage of made in India products is being encouraged in government procurement.

        b. Keeping above perspective, DPIIT has revised its Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order on 16.09.2020 with the following important changes:

        ◦ For purchases with estimated value less than Rs. 200 crore, Global tender enquiry shall not be issued.

        ◦ Suppliers offering items with minimum 50% domestic value addition will get purchase preference over other suppliers in government procurement.

        ◦ Suppliers offering items with less than 20% domestic value addition can’t participate in domestic/national bidding process.

        ◦ Nodal Ministries/ Departments have been authorized to notify higher minimum local content requirement for Class-I/ Class-II local suppliers i.e. higher than 50/20%.

    7. Technical Regulations/Quality Control Orders

        a. One of the instruments for attracting investment in post COVID economy is adoption of Technical Regulations- a WTO compliant instrument. Technical regulations/Quality Control Orders (QCOs) are issued by DPIIT for industries falling under its domain to provide safe reliable quality goods; minimizing health hazards to consumers; promoting exports, promoting import substitutes and restricting imports of sub-standard products.

        b. QCOs for 100 products (e.g. Air conditioner, Toys, Footwears, Pressure cooker, Microwave oven etc.) under BIS Act, 1986/2016 as well as 15 products under Indian Explosives Act, 1884 (Gas Cylinders, Valves and Regulators) have been issued.

        c. 71 HSN Codes as identified by Department of Commerce (DoC) based on import surge have been examined by DPIIT.

        d. Out of which QCOs notified for 22; additional 13 are under consideration; on the rest 36 HS lines QCO not feasible. DPIIT is continuously engaged with BIS and relevant stakeholders for notification of QCOs.

    8. Industrial Corridors

        a. National Industrial Corridor Development Programme is India's most ambitious infrastructure programme aiming to develop new industrial cities as "Smart Cities" and converging next generation technologies across infrastructure sectors. 

        b. Following Industrial corridors are included under the programme:

            i. Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC)

            ii. Amritsar Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC)

            iii. Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC) with extension to Kochi via Coimbatore

            iv. East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC) with Vizag Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) as Phase 1

            v. Bengaluru Mumbai Industrial Corridor (BMIC)

        c. Objective is to expand India's Manufacturing & Services base and develop National Industrial Corridors as a "Global Manufacturing and Trading Hub". 

        d. The programme will provide a major impetus to planned urbanization in India with manufacturing as the key driver.

        e. In addition to new Industrial Cities, the programme envisages development of infrastructure linkages like power plants, assured water supply, high capacity transportation and logistics facilities as well as softer interventions like skill development programme for employment of the local populace.

        f. As part of the National Master Plan, 11 (Eleven) Industrial Corridors have been identified with 32 nodes/projects proposed to be developed in 4 phases until 2024-25.

    9. Development of Backward Regions

        a. One of the principal objectives of the Government of India’s industrial strategy is to promote balanced industrial development throughout the country.

        b. Region specific incentives schemes for the States of J&K, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Northern-Eastern Regions are being implemented by DPIIT.

    10. Petroleum and Explosives safety organization (PESO): Initiatives undertaken are-

        a. Launch of paperless licensing system: The paperless application for grant / renewal of licenses will save precious time, stationery/postage and physical storage space. Forgery & misuse of licenses will be completely eradicated as the licenses will be issued through a secure system.

        b. Increasing the number of Competent Persons: As on date, there are 349 competent persons recognized under the Petroleum Rules, 2002 and 297 competent persons are recognized

        c. Third-Party Inspection: In order to speed up the process of inspections mandated under the statutes administered by PESO and Rules framed therein, PESO is evaluating to enlarge the scope of the third-party inspection wherever feasible.

    11. Interventions during COVID

        a. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) along with other Central Ministries and regulatory bodies undertook several measures to support and protect domestic industry.

        b. DPIIT set-up a ‘Control Room’ to monitor the real-time status of transportation & logistics working round the clock.

        c. The team monitored the issues of internal trade, manufacturing, delivery & logistics of essential commodities. They also responded to the difficulties faced by stakeholders in the resource mobilization.

        d. The control room played a key role in resolving on-ground difficulties by facilitating feedback to State Governments and other agencies and if required, provided submissions on clarifications and further steps that were needed to be taken to resolve the issues.

        e. In the event of any manufacturer, transporter, distributor, wholesaler, or e-commerce companies facing any ground-level difficulties, it was informed to the department through the helpline number and email.

        f. After registering complaints, DPIIT submitted the same to the respective concerned state government/ department(s) to take quick actions and ensure that the delivery of essential commodities isn’t impacted.

        g. To monitor actual resolution on-ground, daily feedback calls were made to understand pendency and response.

        h. DPIIT and its subordinate office, the Petroleum & Explosives Safety Organization (PESO), have taken various measures to mitigate the problems of license holders and to meet the challenge of supply of sufficient quantity of medical oxygen to hospitals all over the country without any interruption during the present COVID pandemic.

        i. Setting up of the ‘Business Immunity Platform’, the dynamic platform for business issue redressal during the lockdown such as Invest India launched Business Immunity Platform (BIP).

        j. PESO, under DPIIT, is the nodal organization charged with ensuring and implementing safety requirements in the manufacturing, storage, transport, and use of explosives and petroleum in the country. 

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants. The views expressed here are personal.)