NEW DELHI: Shifting gears to make India an attractive destination in the wake of companies intending to relocate from China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday convened a high-level meeting and sought proactive action to draw investment.
He directed the framing of a scheme to handhold investors to address their problems and help to get all Central and State clearances in a time-bound manner.
The meeting was in line with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) working on the roadmap for ‘Make in India, Made for World’ to tap economic opportunities during global disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting was attended by Union ministers Amit Shah (Home Affairs), Nirmala Sitharaman (Finance), Piyush Goyal (Railways and Commerce) and senior officials.
“It was discussed that a scheme should be developed to promote more plug and play infrastructure in the existing industrial land, plot or estates. The scheme should also work out financial support for such industries,” the PMO later said in a statement.
The PMO for the past few days has been gathering inputs on essential government interventions to attract global manufacturers looking for alternatives to China. Besides, the PMO is keen that the MSME sector scale up its operations with the help of technology and capital infusion to fill the void in the global supply chain, since a number of countries are growing averse to imports from China, sources said.
Union ministers have already been asked by the PMO to hold sector-specific consultations with industry CEOs and note down their concerns for expeditious resolution, sources added.
The ministries have also prepared a list of reforms within their respective domains, which the Centre would soon pilot to pitch India as the viable alternative in the global supply chain, with immediate thrust on textile, electronics, value addition in agriculture, healthcare and medical equipment, and services.
“Senior functionaries are monitoring the progress on a daily basis,” sources said, adding economic concerns would henceforth be reflected in the policy guidelines for the post-May 3 COVID-19 containment measures.
The PM will also nudge states to embrace reforms in subjects under their jurisdictions to attract speedy investments, sources added.
Cut dependence on defence import
At a meeting to spur reforms in the defence and aerospace sectors, the PM emphasised on cutting imports.
He reviewed the proposed reforms for attracting FDI in the defence sector.
Mining reforms
In another meeting, Modi brainstormed with senior officials over reforms in mines and coal sector, with thrust on availability of minerals from domestic sources