New Industrial Policy to boost manufacturing GDP: Suresh Prabhu

New Delhi/Mumbai: Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu on Saturday said the new Industrial Policy was in the stage of inter-Ministerial consultation and is hoped to be approved by the Cabinet very soon.

He said this will also result in new investment coming into the industrial sector and improving the contribution of manufacturing to GDP in a big way.

Speaking at an award giving function in Mumbai on Saturday, Mr Prabhu said the Government is working on export promotion, administrative changes, regulatory and financial infrastructure in a big way. He exhorted the industry to work as partners with the Government in boosting exports, thereby helping the nation grow faster.

He gave away the CHEMEXCIL Export Awards and Certificates of Merit for the year 2016-'17, to 75 firms in recognition of their outstanding export performance.

The Minister said that manufacturing of chemicals has become very difficult in most developed countries, due to the stringent conditions they have imposed on manufacturing.

He said that it is time to take advantage of this situation and claim a larger share of the global market. A macro-strategy is required for this, the Minister said.

He said that Export Councils should strategise and work as think-tanks in coming up with sectoral strategies for export promotion, market access and other aspects.

The Minister said that the Government has taken a huge number of initiatives in order to promote the growth of Indian industry, and chemical industry in particular.

He said however, that the key role in penetrating new markets would have to be played by the industry itself, while Government would be there to provide required support.

Stating that India would become a $5 trillion economy in the next 7-8 years, the Minister said that the nation cannot then afford to be governed by the trade rules for a poor country. He said that the industry must think seriously about creating new market opportunities in this changing context. He said that the Government will help the industry implement its plan for export promotion.

Assuring the industry that the Government will sort out all issues faced by the industry, Mr Prabhu said that it is important not to get bogged down in these issues and in the process lose sight out of opportunities on the horizon.

Speaking on the Mid-term Review of Foreign Trade Policy, the Minister said that very many strategic initiatives have been taken by the Government.

The Minister said that the "Trust Based Self Ratification Scheme" has been introduced to allow duty-free inputs for export production under duty exemption scheme with self-declaration.

Under this scheme, instead of getting a ratification of the Norms Committee for inputs to be used in the manufacture of export products, exporters will self-certify the requirement of duty free raw materials/ inputs and take an authorisation from DGFT.

Noting that GST is a very important matter, the Minister said that the Government has met with export organisations and many issues have already been addressed. He said that outstanding issues on GST will be taken to the GST Council and properly addressed.

At the same time, he exhorted industrialists to take up the issues concerning GST with states as well, since they are also represented in the GST Council. He said this will help the Government to take up the issues in a better way.

The Minister said that he wants to make a portal where all transactions related to foreign trade can happen on this single portal. He said that this one-of-a-kind portal will enable the Government to address all trade-related transactional issues in a very effective manner. He said that discussions have already been initiated with the Ministry of Finance in this regard.

Observing that India is one of the top producers of agrochemicals in the world, the Minister said that it has been decided in consultation with the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilisers to promote exports of agrochemicals. He said that the Government is taking up with issues and promoting Indian exports into foreign countries.

He hoped that the children of first-generation entrepreneurs will be first-generation thinkers in terms of taking the industry and the nation to a new level. He highlighted the importance of R&D, especially in a scenario where environmental concerns will become more and more important in the times to come.