India promises de-licensing, de-regulation and radical changes to attract domestic and foreign investors into the country.
In an event to mark the launch of the 'Make in India' initiative, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitaraman said the Government would focus on 25 sectors to push manufacturing, including automobiles, textiles, leather, electronics, engineering and IT.
She said the Government aims to raise the share of manufacturing to 25 per cent of GDP from 15 per cent. Under the new initiative a dedicated team would facilitate investors 24x7. It may be noted that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the new mission in his Independence Day speech this year.
The Minister said many new initiatives had been announced, including liberalisation of the FDI regime in sectors such as defence and the Railways. But this was just the beginning and many more measures would be initiated, she said, while adding that the effort would be to remove the tag of a country riddled with red-tapism.
In his remarks, the Chairman of Reliance industries, Mukesh Ambani, announced investment of Rs 1.80 lakh crore in the next 12-15 months which, in turn, would create 1.25 lakh jobs. He also hoped that implementation of GST would help to create a single market.
Addressing the gathering, Cyrus Mistry, Chairman, Tata Sons, said the new initiative would help in bridging the current account deficit while bringing stability in the foreign exchange market. He felt the new programme would also help in creating new jobs, as the country needs 22 million new jobs for the youth force every year. Mistry assured Tata Sons’ commitment to investment.