SME Times News Bureau | 13 Feb, 2021
After a steep decline in April
2020, the overall growth rate of industrial production of eight core industries
started showing signs of recovery, thereafter, said an official release on
Friday.
The sector-wise and month-wise
details of growth rate in the eight core industries since March 2020 are at
Annex.
The sudden
outbreak of COVID-19 has severely impacted some of the major economies of the
world, viz. USA, European Union, UK and Japan.
In India too,
various sectors were affected due to the nation-wide lockdown. However, after
the lockdown was relaxed, improvement has been witnessed in several sectors of
the economy.
The Government has implemented
several major reforms in recent years to boost industrial production and GDP
growth.
It has enacted the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and recapitalized banks.
The other prominent measures
include Goods and Services Tax (GST) to simplify the indirect taxation regime,
Make-in-India programme to boost domestic manufacturing capacity,
liberalization of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile
(JAM) Trinity towards greater transparency, efficiency and financial inclusion.
In September, 2019 the corporate
tax rate was reduced to 15 per cent for new domestic manufacturing companies,
which is amongst the lowest in the world.
In December 2019, the government
announced the Rs.103 lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline which would
significantly boost infrastructure and spur growth impulses in the
economy.
The Union Budget 2021-22 has
announced a number of growth supporting measures which, inter-alia, include
hike in custom duty to benefit make in India, critical measures to boost
infrastructure, innovation and R&D, and “Minimum Government and Maximum
Governance”.
Government has announced a special
economic and comprehensive package of Rs. 27.1 lakh crores - equivalent to 13
per cent of India’s GDP– to combat the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in
India.
The package includes, among
others, in-kind and cash transfer relief measures for households, employment
provision measures under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan and
increased allocation under MGNREGS, credit guarantee and equity infusion-based
relief measures for MSMEs and NBFCs and regulatory and compliance measures
related to tax-filing, IBC and procurement.
Structural reforms have also been
announced as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Package which, inter alia, include
deregulation of the agricultural sector, change in definition of MSMEs, new PSU
policy, commercialization of coal mining, higher FDI limits in defence and
space sector, development of Industrial Land/ Land Bank and Industrial
Information System, revamp of Viability Gap Funding scheme for social infrastructure,
new power tariff policy and incentivizing States to undertake sector reforms.
The implementation of the package
is reviewed and monitored regularly.
Recently, the GoI has taken various initiatives
under the Atmanirbhar Abhiyan to enhance the domestic production of Steel such
as inclusion of ‘Speciality Steel’ incorporating four different product
categories for incentives under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme;
offering steel to MSMEs that are members of Engineering Export Promotion
Council at export parity price under the Duty Draw Back scheme of DGFT;
measures to provide preference to domestically produced iron and steel in
government procurement, where aggregates estimate of iron and steel products
exceeds Rs 25 crores; protecting the industry from unfair trade through
appropriate remedial measures including imposition of anti-dumping duty and
countervailing duty on the products in which unfair trade practices were
adopted by other countries.
Cement Industry was de-controlled in 1989 and
de-licensed in 1991 under the policy of economic liberalization. Cement
(Quality Control) Order, 2003 mandates the quality of cement manufactured and
sold in India to be compliant with the BIS standards laid down for particular
type of cement.
National Infrastructure Pipeline, Make in India,
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin, PM
Awaas Yojana (Urban), Swachh Bharat Mission, Jal Jeevan Mission to provide ‘Har
Ghar Jal’, other infrastructure and housing schemes will stimulate the
production and sale of cement, steel, and other construction materials
resulting in multiplier effect on the economy.