How is Piyush Goyal Reviewing Invest India to Enhance Manufacturing?

New Delhi, May 13 (NationPress) The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, conducted an extensive review of Invest India during a meeting at Bharat Mandapam on Tuesday. The minister highlighted the importance of improving the performance, effectiveness, and efficiency of Invest India to attract increased investments into the country.

During the meeting, he explored strategies to further enhance investor engagement, empower MSMEs, and stimulate manufacturing in India.

Invest India is the national agency responsible for promoting and facilitating investments in India, aiming to expedite necessary approvals for establishing manufacturing businesses by accelerating the required clearances, including land allotment.

As the initial point of contact for both global and domestic investors, Invest India provides comprehensive support throughout the investment lifecycle, from pre-investment advisory to post-investment care and expansion, with a strong focus on promoting manufacturing through the Make in India initiative.

Manufacturing plays a crucial role in India's economy, contributing approximately 17% to the GDP and employing over 27.3 million individuals. The government aims to raise this contribution to 25% by 2025, driven by initiatives like the 'Make in India' policy and the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes.

Minister Goyal is determined to streamline Invest India's processes to attract more investments. His focus on MSMEs is part of the government's strategy to support labor-intensive enterprises, which have the highest potential for job creation.

Launched in September 2014, the Make in India initiative seeks to foster innovation and position India as a global manufacturing hub by attracting domestic and foreign investments, developing world-class manufacturing infrastructure, enhancing skill development, protecting intellectual property, and streamlining regulations to create a favorable business environment.

Thanks to sustained government efforts, from 2014 to 2023, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflow in the manufacturing sector surged by 55%, reaching $148.97 billion, compared to $96 billion in the previous nine years (2005-2014).

This success is attributed to various policy initiatives implemented by the government over the years. Under the current FDI policy, nearly all sectors allow for 100% FDI, except for specific prohibited sectors. The defense sector permits 74% FDI via the automatic route and 100% through the government route.

For the broadcasting sector, FDI limits vary between print and digital media. The automatic route does not require approval from the Government of India for either non-resident or Indian companies, while the government route requires prior approval before investments can proceed.