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The Department Of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is working three reform proposals that seek to change the way investments are incentivised and promoted in the country. The proposed policy moves come in the backdrop of the announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on making policies that seek to promote a “Self Reliant” India.

CNBC-TV18 has learnt that the thrust of the policy changes will be to establish institutional mechanisms that will steer investment incentives, propose and implement reforms and set up a state of the art Industrial Infrastructure.

Empowered Group of Secretaries

The first strategy that DPIIT has proposed is to set up an Empowered Group of secretaries to be headed by either the cabinet secretary or the CEO of NITI Ayog, which will create specific investment incentives. Secretaries of departments like DPIIT, Commerce, Revenue, Economic Affairs will be permanent members while secretaries of other relevant government wings will be co-opted.

One of the key responsibilities of this group will be to prepare sops for 8 sectors which include network products from the electronics sector, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, auto, textiles, manmade fibre, food processing and capital goods.

But the focus of the panel will not be limited to these sectors only. The Group will also recommend sector and geography-specific policies to boost FDI and domestic investments. Other responsibilities include handholding investments, identifying companies which can invest in India, zeroing in on appropriate industrial parks or land banks where factories can be set up by identified investors and promote JVs with Indian companies.

Project Development Cell

While this panel will seek to facilitate and promote investments, DPIIT has proposed to also set up Project Development Cells (PDCs) in central ministries like Heavy Industries, Textiles, Chemicals, Commerce, Food Processing, Petroleum, Roads, Civil Aviation, Shipping, Renewable Energy, Health and Agriculture.

These cells will be headed by a Joint Secretary Level officer identified ministries and will be tasked with conceptualising, strategising and implementing Investible projects from their respective sectors where FDI can be attracted. For this, the cell will be used to coordinate between the central ministry and the state governments. While creating the proposals, the cell will also ensure that all government permissions are available along with land parcels for such projects, which shall be pitched to foreign investors.

Industrial Cluster Upgradation Scheme

Last but not the least, DPIIT has also proposed to create a new scheme called Industrial Cluster Upgradation Scheme 2020-25. Through this programme, DPIIT wants to upgrade the existing industrial parks present across the country. In effect, this will be a refurbished Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (IIUS), which was used before by the same department to create industrial parks across India.

Under the new scheme, DPIIT wants to create Plug & Play & common infra in existing industrial clusters. This would not only include up-gradation of core infrastructure in clusters, but also the creation of housing for the workforce and skill development centres.