The 'Make of India' programme of the government has spurred strong competition among Indian states in improving the ease of doing business in order to attract investments and drive the economies of their regions. This was stated here today by Mr. Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India, while addressing the 41st Joint Meeting of India-Japan Business Cooperation Committee (IJBCC).

Mr Abhishek said that as many as 16 states of India had scored over 80% in the World Bank- DIPP ranking of States based on 340 parameters on 'Ease of Doing Business'. "We are trying to address specific policy issues that would hasten the pace of reforms and remain determined on taking up issues in areas such as infrastructure and taxation to improve the manufacturing competitiveness in States", he emphasized.

Government is trying to address specific lingering policy issues in various sectors despite easing of foreign direct investment (FDI) norms, a top official said here on Monday. "We are also trying to address very specific policy issues in various sectors. We have identified a number of them that remain despite liberalisation in FDI (policy). There could be issues in various sectors," Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said while addressing India-Japan Business Co-operation Committee.

"There are so many other issues on infrastructure, taxation... We are taking up all this. Some of them are being resolved." The government earlier this year approved changes in the FDI regime. The reforms included allowing 100 per cent inflow in civil aviation and food processing sectors while easing norms in defence and pharmaceuticals.

In 2014, India was ranked 142 in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Rankings. In 2015, it was 130. The otherwise self-assured joint secretary at the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), who is at the epicentre of the action around the ease of doing business reforms cannot help but betray a sense of nervous apprehension whenever he mentions October 25—the date when the rankings will be declared. Last year’s newspapers celebrated the jump in rank as a vindication of the government’s resolve. This year’s rank will certify if it still has the reform mojo intact.

A couple of years back, the new government had given DIPP an almost impossible task—improve ease of doing business in India and show results. Bureaucratic cobwebs accumulated from decades of over-regulation spread across myriad government departments, state governments, political affiliations and well-oiled middlemen and industries had to be done away with. Where does one start? How does one do it? How do you make the behemoth, chaotic machinery of the Indian government listen to one central government department?

Three daylong Global Conference to Make India the Centre for Arbitration gets underway in New Delhi tomorrow. The first ever Global Conference to Strengthen Arbitration and Enforcement in India gets underway in New Delhi tomorrow. The three daylong conference titled, National Initiative On Strengthening Arbitration And Enforcement In India" from October 21st to 23rd, 2016 is being launched by the Government and Judiciary as a major initiative to change the face of dispute resolution in India.

NITI Aayog, Ministry of Law & Justice, DIPP, National Legal Services Authority, International Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution, National Institute of Labour Economics Research and Development have collaborated to make India the centre of arbitration. Also for the first time six leading international arbitral institutions (HKIAC, ICC, KLRCA, LCIA, PCA and SIAC) and all major industry associations (FICCI, PHD Chamber, CII and ASSOCHAM) have come together to drive this initiative. The Conference seeks to provide impetus to commercial arbitration in India, which is fast gaining pace across the world, for faster, more efficient dispute resolution outside the court room.

The Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India announces the Expansion of Scope of ATA Carnet System in India vide its Notification No.58/2016-Customs dated 5th October 2016 by amending the earlier Notification No. 157/90-Customs dated 28th March 1990 extending the scope to cover private exhibitions, fairs, meetings, demonstrations, similar show or display.Presently, the ATA Carnet facility is restricted to only goods meant for government approved exhibitions, fairs, meetings or similar events.  This was one of the major hurdles faced by the foreign businessmen who wish to do business in India.

Welcoming the government’s announcement, Dr. A. Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI said, “The expansion of scope of ATA Carnet System is one of the various initiatives by FICCI and the Government to encourage greater usage of the ATA Carnet and smooth functioning of the system in India. It will contribute effectively to the government’s ambitious programme of ‘Ease of doing business – Make in India’ and lead to increase benefits of the Indian and foreign businessmen in a big way.”

The Union government plans a massive social security coverage scheme for 450 million workers, primarily for those in the unorganised sector. Formal sector workers who do not enjoy the benefits will also be a part of it.The benefits are to include all the branches under the International Labour Organization’s social security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No 102). These cover preventive and general practitioner care, benefits for sickness, unemployment, old age, employment injury, maternity, invalidity and some others.

The idea is that about a dozen laws would be merged into a single law or code. Officials in the labour and employment ministry told Business Standard the guidelines were being framed. The government will identify a threshold income beyond which citizens have to pay for the benefits. The workforce will be divided into three parts — a section that will pay, a second one that can partially pay and a third layer for which the government will pay.

Even as it implements reform proposals aimed at improving the ease of doing business, the labour ministry will also focus on improving the lives of the vast workforce in the unorganised sector through a host of initiatives, including giving them some sort of social security cover. The unorganised sector, which accounts for a little over 82% of the country’s total around 49-crore workforce, has largely been out of the social security schemes as well as the ambit of the labour regulations, and hence are a deprived lot also.

The source said this vast labour force would be issued with Aadhaar-linked Unorganised Workers’ Identification Number (U-WIN) cards to ensure that all the social security benefits reach to the persons aimed at. The government has plans to universalise social security benefits such as the Atal Pension Yojana and Employees’ State Insurance Scheme (ESIC) to all working population of the country by 2030.

The government is looking at further relaxing the foreign direct investment policy after recent reforms that allowed automatic approval for most sectors and increased the limit in many areas. India has become one of the most open economies in the world and 92% of its FDI now comes through the automatic route, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) secretary Ramesh Abhishek said at the ‘India Means Business’ session of the India Economic Summit. “We have allowed 100% FDI even in very sensitive sectors and under automatic route in most cases. 

There is a huge potential in India to attract FDI.” Reforms are ongoing and based on industry feedback, the government will take steps to ease processes, Abhishek said, indicating further relaxation in the foreign investment regime. “We have taken a series of transformative steps in the last two years...from bankruptcy code to GST, which the government is ready to launch as per schedule,” Abhishek said. The target date to implement GST is April 1.