Integrate 'Make in India' with Foreign Trade Policy: Assocham

Industry chamber Assocham has suggested that government must use the opportunity to integrate proposed Foreign Trade Policy with the 'Make in India' programme.
"Integration or dovetailing of FTP with Make in India Campaign will help in efficient realisation of greater objective making India a low cost global manufacturing hub," Assocham President Rana Kapoor said.
India should prioritise its manufacturing focus on key sectors where India already has existing strengths like Auto, Textiles, Pharma, Bio-tech etc. We should deepen and widen our capabilities and create strong global market share and mind share, he said.
It must provide incentives for Domestic Value Addition (DVA) that is the proportion of exports truly produced in India, he said.

In addition to textiles as a sector, which has nearly doubled its DVA component from 8 per cent in 1994-95 to 18 per cent as of 2013-14, electrical components and machinery exports should receive adequate support, so as to dovetail these sectors strongly into the 'Make in India' theme, he said.
'Create in India' is about creating products and brands through design and innovation backed by a strong manufacturing push, he added.

Electronics is also another key segment where India has a good talent base, domestic demand or consumption and necessary environment to create a strong manufacturing base, he said.

On Goods and Services Tax, Kapoor said, government should embrace a dual model of GST one for the Centre CGST and one for the state SGST to grant autonomy to both states and the Centre, thereby creating a harmonious model acceptable to states and centre, both.
In order to rationalise plan expenditure, he said, it is critical to assimilate similar programs under one common head so as to improve execution, effective monitoring and prevent duplication.
"For instance food security programs such as Annapurna Scheme under the Ministry of Rural Development, Scheme for Supply of Food grains to Welfare Institutions under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution must be merged under the larger ambit of 'food security' and should be implemented through revamped PDS model," he said.

Top priority is to reinvigorate Public Sector Banks (PSBs) which need equity infusion.
Akin to most private sector banks, PSBs should also adopt a variable cost-asset model instead of a fixed-asset model, he said, adding, this could release Rs 1.5-2 lakh crore and also in turn generate more employment across the board," he said.
By injecting greater capital and credit into the system, the economy is poised for a 5.7-5.8 per cent GDP growth this year, and potentially even 6.5 per cent by 2015-16, he added.