The Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Anand Sharma, said on Wednesday that a Cabinet note on the proposed National Manufacturing Policy will be circulated shortly. He also said “there is a need for further liberalisation of the Foreign Direct Investment regime.”
A Committee of Secretaries is likely to discuss later this month the issue of allowing FDI in multi-brand retail.
Mr Sharma on Wednesday reviewed the causes of slowdown in industrial growth and a fall in FDI inflows with representatives from the Confederation of Indian Industry.
The CII members raised the issues of slowdown in capital formation in mining and in manufacturing, an official statement said.
There were concerns regarding credit flow, skill deficit and decline in manufacturing jobs, it said, adding that the issue of the hurdles in the way of big ticket investments were also taken up.
Pointing out that the manufacturing policy has been given an in-principle approval by the high-level committee chaired by the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr Sharma said it, however, required some fine-tuning.
The statement quoting Mr Sharma said, “A Committee of Secretaries led by the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister is looking into it. I am sure that the other meetings which will take place within the next 10 days will help us in bringing this to a successful conclusion. Soon we will be in a position to circulate Cabinet note on the National Manufacturing Policy.”
Meanwhile, it has been decided after the meeting with the CII delegation that Mr Sharma will chair a Joint Government-Industry Task Force on the issues such as the decline in manufacturing output and FDI inflows.
A CII statement quoting its President, Mr B. Muthuraman, said the Joint Task Force will work to ensure that industrial performance and economic environment remain conducive for inclusive growth. This would go a long way in boosting the sentiments and confidence levels in the system, it added.
Mr Sharma will soon meet a FICCI delegation to seek their views.