 "Draft industrial policy focuses on MSME")
In the context of less availability of land for industry, which the government admits openly in the report, the government’s shift in focus from big industry to MSME is understandable.
The report prepared by senior Trinamool Congress (TC) leader Saugata Roy has argued in favor of MSME saying that “With 25 lakh enterprises employing over 58 lakh person, the MSME sector, including Khadi and Village industries, handicrafts and handloom is the second largest in the state after agriculture. The sector accounts for 50% of the state’s total industrial production and 40% of the export from the state.”
The government wants to adopt the cluster development approach as a key strategy to enhance the productivity and competitiveness as well as capacity building of MSME. For that, the government will take up “establishment of Common Facility Centers and Community Production Centres at different growth centers on the one hand and development of Rural Haats, Urban Haats on the other” to provide stimulus to the growth of a larger spectrum of industries. To ensure that the MSME does not lack in marketability of their products, as a policy 50% of the government procurement will be earmarked for procurement from state level MSME manufacturers.
After having lengthy discussion with a number of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Saugata Roy prepared the draft Industrial Policy, 2013 and submitted to the chief minister Mamata Banerjee recently, which is likely to be adopted soon.
In 1991 the P V Narshima Rao government did away with the license-permit system with a new industrial policy threw open a number of sectors to foreign and private investment which were hitherto meant for public sector. In 1994 the then Jyoti Basu government adopted its new Industrial Policy to take advantage of that and welcomed foreign technology and foreign investment and recognized the importance and key role of Private Sector in providing accelerated growth. While formulating the new Industrial Policy, 2013 the present government felt that there exists an urgent need for providing new stimulus measures “for its industries and service sectors towards combating the ill effects of global financial crisis and for speeding up a job inducing growth.” However, besides changing thrust area from big industry to MSME, the new industrial policy paper does not make any significant departure from the past one.
While welcoming foreign technology and FDI in manufacturing, Sunrise industries and high tech areas, it however does not support FDI in multi brand retail business. Though there was little response so far from the private sector for (Public Private Partnership) PPP model in building infrastructure, the Industry Policy aspires to attract investment in projects in the PPP mode and for mobilizing necessary resources and expertise in important areas of economic activity.
The land remains a major concern for industrialisation in the state. The new industrial policy paper mentions that the WBIIDC has got land in its nine growth centers and WBIDC has got land in14 Industrial Parks, which can be allotted to industries.
Obviously, with small chunks of land available in those growth centers and industrial parks, the government feels it prudent to go for Cluster Development approach and encourages MSME. It made it clear that the government is not in favor of land belonging to closed industries in urban areas to be converted to housing projects.
Such land should only be used for setting up new industries or social infrastructure projects like hotels, hospitals etc. Accordingly, all municipalities and corporations would be directed not to sanction building plan for housing on closed industries land.
The new industrial policy reiterates the oft repeated claim that the government is busy preparing a land bank and data of that will be made available to industry soon.
But the state government’s Department of Land and Land Reforms in its ‘Status on Land’ document made it amply clear that the work of Land Bank would take 5-6 years to be completed.