“The World Bank in association with a professional agency roped in by Govt of India to analyse the regulatory procedures, key policies, reforms, efficacy of the single window systems and approval processes of all Indian states is all set to declare its first ever report ranking the Indian states on Ease of Doing business, this week” shared Mrs Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State, Commerce & Industry, Government of India while addressing a huge gathering of potential investors, diplomats and delegates from India and abroad at the 4th Invest North organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to showcase the untapped investment potential of Northern States, here today.
“We hope that these rankings would encourage the states to act more as ‘facilitators and less as regulators’. It has already fostered a healthy competitive spirit amongst the states and they have realized, over a period of time that they cannot afford to remain red tape ridden any more in the current competitive scenario if they wish to seriously attract investments. The northern states are indeed very proactive and can attract huge investments in the present global scenario by further easing their regulatory procedures”, she added.
On India’s performance in current scenario of global turmoil, she highlighted that “India has come out as a shining star in the present global dismal outlook. The increased inflows of FDI in India, especially in a climate of contracting worldwide investments is a testimony to the unstinted faith that overseas investors have imposed in the country’s economy and the positive impact of the reforms and projects like ‘Make in India’ initiated by the government towards ease of doing business.
“India grew at 6.3 % in 2014-15 and is expected to grow at 7.8 – 8 % as per Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2015-16. With the government having adopted a slew of measures in the last one year, I now urge the industry to push forward, take risks and invest in various sectors as per your demographic and geographic preferences. India is a safe bet for investments, considering our huge consumer base, further emphasized Mrs Sitharaman.
Hard selling Punjab at CII Invest North, Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister, Government of Punjab shared that “We are fully committed to do away with cumbersome regulations and procedures and promote self certification by the industry. These regulations were put in place by British raj out of mistrust, hence they have no place today. We fully trust our industry and hence would soon apply self certification methodology for any new industry in Punjab by December 2015 for various necessary approvals, with no inspector visiting for inspection”.
“Delivering on our commitment to boost social and industrial infrastructure, we have also planned to spend Rupees 4,000 crore to link all 340 odd towns of Punjab through 4 – 6 lane express ways and make all social amenities and services online for citizens. We hope that this investment in infrastructure would in turn attract more and more private investment as well”, he added.
“We have created Invest Punjab, to save the industry from applying at 23 separate departments for various approvals at one point. We guarantee all approvals and clearances in just 30 days. Last year we attracted 3 Billion US $ investments from 209 proposals”, he further shared.
“We have also allocated separate land banks for different sectors with pre approved and cleared sites. Punjab is aggressively cruising ahead on the path of progress which is evident from the strengthening social and industrial infrastructure, ease of doing business instruments, e-governance measures, a slew of landmark incentives by the State Government attracting investments from across the globe, added Mr Badal, while extending an invitation to the audience for joining at the Progressive Punjab Investors Summit scheduled for October this year.
“The objective of the Enterprises Promotion Policy 2015 is to position Haryana as a pre-eminent Investment destination and facilitate balanced regional and sustainable development supported by a dynamic governance system, wide scale adoption of innovation & technology, and skill development for nurturing entrepreneurship and generating employment opportunities”, said Mr Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister, Government of Haryana while urging the industry to invest in Haryana at CII Invest North.
Dwelling on the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skill India’ campaigns, Haryana Chief Minister Mr Manohar Lal further shared that the new policy will make industries competitive by reducing the cost of doing business, enhancing productivity, balanced regional growth, and supporting the MSME sector. A slew of path-breaking reforms and incentives which include an employment generation subsidy of Rs. 36,000/- per person per year to the industry who employs local youth, VAT subsidy upto 75% to MSMEs, etc. will go a long way in attracting and sustaining industry to the State.
“The economy is expected to grow in excess of 7.5%.Also IMF has termed India as “bright spot” on the global economic landscape. Important initiatives undertaken by the Government including tackling price rise, widening the platform through empowerment, creation of job opportunities , skill upgradation etc has, like the Northern Star, helped the Northern Region to be the guiding light for the Country’s growth”, said Mr. Sunil Kant Munjal Past President, CII & Joint Managing Director Hero MotoCorp Ltd.
The thrust of this year’s edition has been on Make in India, Digital India, Skill India, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) & Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFCs) etc the enablers for investments in the states. Two day conclave will witness thought provoking discussions on Smart Cities, MSME competitiveness, ease of doing business, Central- State Coordination, which would ensure not only the Northern States but also the Indian economy going double digit in the coming years, said Mr Malvinder Mohan Singh Chairman, CII Invest North 2015 & Executive Chairman Fortis Healthcare Ltd.
Mr. Shreekant Somany Chairman, CII Northern Region & Chairman& Managing Director during his welcome address highlighted that to attract investments in the country, the government has relaxed overseas investment norms for sectors including railways, defence, construction and medical devices. Similarly, FDI cap in defence and insurance have been increased, while the railways infra sector have been opened for foreign investment and it is apt time to cash on these opportunities.
Partnered by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Union Commerce Ministry, in addition to state Governments of Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and J&K, the 4th ‘CII Invest North’ successfully created a platform for the states to strengthen the business and industry linkages with potential investors. The state Govts aggressively showcased their key strengths, investment potential, key incentives, best practices and pro – industry policy initiatives with industry leaders and CEOs with an aim to finalize investment proposals for their respective mega projects in the two days. The conclave attracted more than 500 potential investors and around 80 delegates and diplomats from 33 countries. The high point of the event were the one-to-one meetings, i.e. B2G and B2B meetings where in industry closely engaged with state governments, explored business opportunities and forged many new partnerships.
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