DIPP Secretary unveils plans of 'Make in India' week in Mumbai

Event to be inaugurated by PM on Feb 13; more than 1000 companies and delegates from 60 countries to attend

The Department of Industrial policy and Promotion (DIPP) will hold a ‘Make In India’ week in Mumbai to galvanise industrial growth and investment in the country, DIPP secretary Amitabh Kant said in a press briefing on Thursday.

The event will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 13th February, 2016 and will go on till February 18th, 2016. More than a thousand domestic and foreign companies and delegates from 60 countries are to set to participate, Kant said.

Kant said the total amount of incoming investments the country has received through the FDI route in the 17 months was 35% higher as compared to the same period before it.

However, he refused to disclose the exact amount saying there was no need to create headlines.

Pointing to the journalists present, he said a major issue hindering the Make In India campaign was the presence of widespread negative perception towards it, including in coverage.

DIPP however disclosed a comprehensive listing of all major investment commitments made by Indian as well as foreign entities since Make In India was launched.

DIPP has taken a slew of measures in recent months to attract FDI which include opening up of 15 key sectors like construction, defence, broadcasting and civil aviation to greater amounts of foreign investment and launching the eBiz web portal, which functions as a single window for obtaining clearances from various government agencies and allowing greater.

However, on the question of FDI in multi brand retail and whether political compulsions should keep India away from it, Kant said, "India is today the most open economy in the world. We have opened up everything except multi-brand”.

The secretary said the next major step in this regard would be in implementing greater ease of doing business. Also on the radar, is galvanizing domestic investment which has remained muted.

"In the next one month DIPP officials will be going across India holding a series of roadshows to provide impetus and push the investments of domestic players,” Kant said.

He added that substantial investments in the areas of automotive, food processing, textiles and garments, renewable energy and construction has been received, mentioning companies like Foxconn, Zenith, IKEA and the Wanda group of China that have pledged to invest in the country.

"Many of the investments have fructified, many are in the process of fructification. We are handholding for many investments. All the investments are in the process of happening," Kant said.

Kant also detailed the progress of the Smart cities initiative and said engineering, procurement and construction contracts worth Rs 3,000 crore have been awarded for the upcoming cities of Dholera in Gujarat, Shendra in Maharashtra and Vikram Udyogpuri in Maghya Pradesh, with work having been started in the last one.

Also, the master planning of the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor has also been initiated, he said, with important nodes being identified at Tumkur in Karnataka, Ponneri in Tamil Nadu and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

On the Supreme Court verdict on Wednesday banning registration of private diesel vehicles in Delhi, Kant said it was important for India to balance growth and sustainability in urban areas.