New industrial policy finalised, to be announced soon: Suresh Prabhu

NEW DELHI: Union commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu said on Monday that the government had finalised the new industrial policy, which will be announced soon.

“We will soon announce the details of a new industrial policy. It is going through an inter-ministerial consultation,” Prabhu said at an international SME convention. The new policy aims to promote small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in order to enhance the global supply chain, Prabhu said, adding that the policy will focus not only on modernising the existing industry but also on creating new industries.

The new policy, which will replace the industrial policy of 1991, would look to reduce regulatory hurdles and encourage adoption of modern technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence, he said.  Last year, in August, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion floated a draft industrial policy aiming to create jobs for the next two decades, promote foreign technology transfer and attract $100 billion FDI annually.  

On the importance of SMEs, Prabhu said that many existing problems such as increasing inequality and jobless growth could be solved by promoting smaller industries. He stressed the need to increase synergy between SMEs and large corporations and between different economic zones.  Speaking at the convention, minister of state for external affairs, MJ Akbar, said that the government was taking steps to promote the SME sector. “We have put banks on the surface to promote the smallest of businesses. Through our flagship scheme for small entrepreneurs, the Mudra scheme, Rs 430 crore has been transferred to 12 crore people,” he said.

Prabhu to chair e-commerce meet  
New Delhi:Commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu will chair the first meeting of the think tank set up to form a framework for the National Policy on e-commerce on Tuesday. The meeting will deliberate on physical and digital infrastructure, regulatory regime, taxation policy, data flows, intellectual property rights protection, FDI, technology flows and skill development among many issues related to e-commerce. The meeting will be attended by representatives from about 50 organisations.