Government constitutes working group to prepare contours of new industrial policy

NEW DELHI: The government has constituted a working group to prepare the contours of a new industrial policy to make India a manufacturing hub.

The working group, comprising members from seven state governments, the Centre and domestic industry, will consult stakeholders, identify pain points of industry and develop actionable solutions for short and medium term, the commerce and industry ministry said in a notification dated October 3.

It will also delineate the role for private sector in achieving the national targets.


The group has been setup after the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) prepared the draft industrial policy and sent it for Cabinet approval, but certain new suggestions have been made with regard to the policy

To be chaired by DPIIT secretary, the group has government representatives from seven states including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, besides other two as members.

The group will also have members from industry chambers, including FICCI, CII and Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) and additional secretary/joint secretary from six ministries including commerce, revenue, economic affairs and MSME.

This will be the third industrial policy after the first in 1956 and the second in 1991. It will replace the industrial policy of 1991 which was prepared in the backdrop of the balance of payment crisis. The DPIIT had initiated the process of formulation of a new industrial policy in May 2017. The new policy will subsume the National Manufacturing Policy (NMP).

The department had floated discussion paper on the policy with an aim to create jobs for next two decades, promote foreign technology transfer and attract $100 billion foreign investment annually.