Smriti Irani lauds unique convergence of industry and academia at Knowledgexpo

Ms. Smriti Irani, Minister for Human Resource Development invited the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to provide its inputs for an ambitious programme of the Government of India i.e. the ‘Think-in-India’ movement, which aims at rewarding and funding, innovators and designers within India.  The programme is meant to complement the “Make In India” programme launched by the Prime Minister earlier this year.

This was stated by the Minister while inaugurating the first edition of Knowledgexpo in Greater Noida on Thursday. The Knowledgexpo is being organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry in partnership with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Ministry of Science and Technology on November 20-21 in Greater Noida.

“For the first time, several institutes of the Central Government – IITs and NITs have come together to showcase India’s research might as a single entity.” We need more convergence of this kind.

Smt Smriti Zubin Irani, Minister of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India releasing the AICTE-CII Survey Report 2014 at the Inaugural Session of the Knowledgexpo “Infinite Possibilities” on 20 November, 2014 at Greater Noida

Ms Irani said that the budget allocation for higher education in 2014-15 has been increased by 15 per cent over the previous year’s budget estimate and highlighted that the Government of India is working on several issues such as land for educational institutes, free online education at premier institutes for all citizens of India, credit transfer system after class 9^th and more.

She also requested CII to give its inputs to Skill India faster and support in the success of GIAN project which aims at tapping the talent pool of scientists and entrepreneurs to engage with the institutes of higher education in India to augment the country`s existing academic resources, accelerate the pace of quality reforms and further strengthen India`s scientific and technological capabilities.

The Minister also suggested that future editions of Knowledgexpo should include school education as well. She felt that unless a strong base was created, the desired outcome in terms of higher education could not be achieved.

The Minister also agreed with the suggestion made by Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII to set-up a task force which will comprise industry and academia to interact with the Government of India to address knowledge gaps.

Mr. Banerjee also spoke about CII’s vision for the knowledge economy “To accelerate India’s journey to knowledge-driven economy by effectively realizing economic benefits in terms of value-added manufacturing, high technology exports and ownership of critical technologies from the investments made in knowledge ecosystem through public-private partnerships and stronger industry-institute collaborations”

Sharing his perspective, Mr Shatrughna Singh, Additional Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion stated that over a period of time with economic development, liberalization and globalization, Intellectual Property was gaining prominence. This is evident from a five-fold increase in the filing of patents from 8,503 in 2000-01 to 42,950 in 2013-14.

Smt Smriti Zubin Irani, Minister of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India addressing at the inaugural session of the Knowledgexpo “Infinite Possibilities” on 20 November, 2014 at Greater Noida.

He stated that the ‘Make in India’ programme includes new initiatives designed to facilitate investment, foster innovation, protect intellectual property, and build manufacturing infrastructure, he added.

In his address, Dr. Naushad Forbes said that a knowledge economy brings together the concepts of knowledge and economic growth. Therefore, along with our focus on increasing investments, we need to accord high priority to knowledge-creation and knowledge-application. Knowledge must be translated into usable, affordable, and accessible formats to increase skills and employability. What will connect these dots is entrepreneurship.

Prof. Pradyumna Vyas, Director, National Institute of Design said that their focus is to bring design education in engineering colleges in India.

In his remarks, Mr. S. Gopalakrishnan, Immediate Past President, CII said that Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Design, Information Technology and Education are very important ingredients of a knowledge economy.  He pointed out that SMEs are an engine for job creation, but after 5 years they stop creating jobs. There is a need for an eco-system so that new businesses could be formed, he added.

In his concluding remarks, Mr. Udayant Malhoutra, Chairman, CII National Committee on Design thanked the Ministers and all the participants and complimented CII for bring together all stakeholder together to develop India’s knowledge economy.

About Knowledgexpo

Knowledgexpo is a mega convergence of three key government ministries — the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Ministry of Science and Technology, being organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on November 20-21, 2014. Along with the Union government, there are five state governments participating in the expo – Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Kerala, as well as several autonomous organisations of the Government of India such as the Indian Council of Medical Research, the All India Council of Technical Education, National Science and Technology Entrepreneurial Development Board, Intellectual Property India and India Design Council.

There are five parallel summits which are taking place at Knowledgexpo. These include the 4^th AICTE-CII Global University-Industry Congress, the 14^th CII-NID Design Summit, the 2^nd Global Innovation and Technology Alliance Platform, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit and the Intellectual Property Summit.

Alongside the parallel summits, an exhibition spread over 14000 sq m of space is taking place where along with industry and government premier academic institutions of India are present such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and the newly christened institute of national importance, the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology. The 14 IITs will include IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee and IIT Ropar.

There are high-level industry delegations from nine countries which showcasing their innovations in science and technology. Indian academic institutes and industry are displaying over 100 products designed in India. The Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises is showcasing its 18 tool rooms.

The expected outcomes of Knowledgexpo are more partnerships between industry and institutes, more research projects coming to India from overseas, boost to manufacturing, transfer of technology, more exchange programmes between academic institutions, improvement in pedagogic tools, better branding of Indian higher education and research prowess.

Labour Intensive Manufacturing, Planned Urbanisation and Quality Infrastructure would shape the future of Northern India – Amitabh Kant

“Northern India has youngest population in the world with great enterprising spirit that could lead to transformation of the region with emphasis on Labour Intensive Manufacturing, Planned Urbanisation and Quality Infrastructure”, said Mr Amitabh Kant, Secretary, DIPP, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India at CII Invest North 2014 here today.

Mr Kant enumerated the road map of how North can drive the growth of India:

• . Albeit the challenges of being a landlocked region, people from north has demonstrated exemplary entrepreneurship traits and have successfully overcome these inherent challenges.
• . Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor would be a game changer for the region.
• .. Interlinking of DMIC with the Amritsar Kolkata Corridor at Dadri would lead to a revolutionary shift in the world of logistics and Northern India has all the potential to leverage this opportunity.
• . Emerging opportunities in the defence sector after allowing 49% FDI through automatic route and de-licensing manufacturing of about 60% of defence items.
• . North India has the potential to emerge as a hub for value added manufacturing in defence sector.
• . Government is taking lot of initiatives towards ease of doing business
• . DIPP would work in close association with the state governments to spur investments and growth.

Mr Prem Narain, Chairman, OIFC & Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Government of India emphasised on the role of states in creating enabling policies and models to attract investments and growth.

Mr Narain suggested for structured engagement with the Indian Diaspora for engaging them with Indian growth story:
• . Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs aims at promoting both social and economic engagement with Indian Diaspora.
• . State governments in the Northern Region should associate with OIFC to showcase investment projects/opportunities to overseas Indians through state specific investor meets. These would provide a platform for overseas Indians to learn more about the specifc economic opportunities available in India
• Ministry to soon open Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra at Chanakya Puri New Delhi.

. Speaking at the 3rd edition of CII Invest North, Mr Malvinder Mohan Singh, Chairman – Invest North 2014 and Executive Chairman – Fortis Healthcare Ltd said that the conclave today has emerged as a great platform wherein there is participation from Northern State Governments and 20 countries. He also informed that around 120 one to one B2G meetings have been tied up for next two days which itself speaks volumes about the scale of this initiative. “Discussions held with State Governments during previous editions of the event has led to framing of new investor friendly industrial policies as well as to certain investment facilitative amendments in the existing policies” said Mr Malvinder Mohan Singh.

Northern Region vests with everything that is required to overcome the challenges of being land locked, lack of mineral resources, perception of governance issues, etc. said Mr Richard Rekhy, Co-Chairman, Invest North 2014 and CEO, KPMG India. He emphasized on strengths such as strong agrarian economy base, abundant water resources, young population, industrial & freight corridors, opportunities of bilateral trade with neighbouring countries, etc. which makes North an ideal investment destination.

CII-KPMG reports on Northern India: Heralding the next chapter of growth and development; Ease of doing business in Northern Region – a survey; and Social Infrastructure – A look at enabling elements for growth and development were released during the Inaugural Session of the event.

Welcoming the participants, Mr Shreekant Somany, Deputy Chairman, CII Northern Region & Chairman & Managing Director, Somany Ceramics Ltd shared that India has emerged as the 3rd biggest economy as well as 3rd most preferred investment destination in the world. However subdued growth & high inflation with prolonged economic slowdown has been a cause of concern for some time and taking cognizance of this CII has been actively working towards building a conducive ecosystem for accelerating economic growth which facilitates investments in the region critical for generation of employment opportunities.

Mr Jayant Davar, Co-Chairman, Invest North 2014 & Co-Chariman & Managing Director, Sandhar Technologies Ltd in his concluding remarks opined that the two day conclave would provide an ideal platform for both investors and State Governments to understand and showcase the investment potential available in the region. The programme featured participation by Governments of Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh and over 300 investors. Mr Davar thanked the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotions and Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre to associate and support as Partner Ministry and Institutional Partner respectively.

Undertaking reforms in key aspects of doing business in India critical to restoring growth trajectory: CII-KPMG Report on Ease of Doing Business in India.

CII released a report titled “Ease of Doing Business in India” in partnership with KPMG, India in Chennai today. Despite being one of the fastest growing economies in the world and potential investment hub, India lags behind in terms of ease of doing business. Taking cognizance of this anomalous situation, CII and KPMG have jointly prepared a report aimed at improving India’s position in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings, where India has repetitively been ranked India low compared to 184 other economies. 

The report identifies key areas for reform which will enable doing business in India, including setting up of business, land acquisition, taxation and contract enforcement.

According to the report, despite two decades of economic reforms, India continues to falter on various sub-indices such as starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, paying taxes, trading across border, enforcing contracts or resolving insolvency. In fact, the latest rankings place India 134^th among 185 countries; lower than all its BRIC counterparts. Therefore, there is an urgency to focus on improving the business environment and arrest the decline in relative performance against various determinants of investment attractiveness. 

On release of the report, Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII said, “CII hopes that the findings of this report would help bring the issues to the fore and also serve as a reference point for the imminent need to pursue reforms in business practices and processes. Indian industry hopes that the new Government would accord due importance to this extremely important and urgent agenda that would help churn the wheels of investment and growth.” 

The report is based on a survey conducted amongst Indian industry followed with extensive primary and secondary research to assess the prevailing business regulatory environment in the country. Key issues highlighted include lack of an effective land acquisition process, unfavorable taxation regime, high cost of starting a business, complicated and time consuming contract enforcement process. 

Commenting on the findings of the report Richard Rekhy, Chief Executive Officer, KPMG in India said, “Having an environment that facilitates entrepreneurship, promotes investments productivity and growth is critical for improving business climate in India. The ease with which this is achieved can be a source of strategic advantage. The vulnerability of our country’s current standing in the Doing Business index means that reforms in these areas have become critical.”  

Key issues and recommendations 

Survey identifies key issues against the four parameters studied, and suggests recommendations to arrest the rapid decline in ease of doing business. 

Parameter Studied	Issues	Recommendations
Land Acquisition Process	Average time taken to acquire the land is 14 months and often        could take longer 58% of the respondents feel the number of visits made to each department to obtain the permission pose major obstacles in the approval process 69% of the respondents feel that there is a lack of effective land acquisition process 83% of the respondents feel that unsecured land titles generate uncertainty Land mutation process is considered complex and time-consuming Setup large designated industrial zones with pre-clearances and ready to move in Single window registration and mutation process Move from a deed based registration to Title based registration(Torrens System) Streamlined process for land use conversion A market-based pricing system, where price is determined by an independent body
Starting a business	Approvals related to environment clearances, land procurement, construction permits, industrial safety permits and power connectionare top five obstacles in starting a business 85% of the respondents feel that the time required to obtain such clearances is not reasonable 78% of the respondents who feel the number of windows/ministries one has to visit is not reasonable Reduce approval turnaround – make eBiz portal more effective Wider and effective adoption of Deemed approval principle Automatic approval for power, water and sewerage Moving away from Department centric approach to Business centric approach Labor reforms Continuous skill development Access to funds for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)
Taxation	90% of the respondents are in favor of reduction in tax rates. 92% of the respondents feel that there are challenges in transfer pricing assessments relating to distribution / agency 90% of the respondents believe that the tax authorities are not proactive in promoting investments 60% of the respondents feel that the neutralization of tax decision by Supreme Court through retrospective amendment has had damaging effect on investment sentiments More than half the respondents have faced delays in obtaining service       tax refund	Implement Goods & Service Tax (GST) Reduce the number of taxes and the ambiguity / discretionary nature of taxes, especially in Transfer pricing cases Efficient, effective and time-bound taxation related dispute resolution Ensure taxation does not hinder free flow of goods Implement independent Grievance Redressal Cell Operational reforms required to get the tax base right Administration reforms required for consistency and increased efficiency in approach to taxation
Contract enforcement	Time taken from filing to final judgment seems unreasonable to most of the respondents and poses major obstacles Costs involved (costs for engaging and retaining lawyers, miscellaneous costs, during the interim stage, enforcement costs) also pose significant obstacles 84% of the respondents have indicated that a review of laws & regulations needs to be taken up urgently Create a centralized contract repository with Non-repudiation Effective implementation of e-courts Increase number of courts and tribunals More international treaties for increasing “reciprocative territories” Update antiquated laws Recognize and update laws keeping in mind the trends of higher technology updation, greater trade based on IPR and greater global trade

 

CII Proposes 100-Day Agenda for New Government

Unveiling the CII action theme for the year as ‘Accelerating Growth, Creating Employment’, Mr Shriram noted, “With slowing growth and high inflation adversely impacting employment, CII will urge the nextGovernment to focus on reviving growth and generating new jobs.”

In his press conference, Mr Shriram added that CII has proposed a strong 100-day action agenda for the new governmentto boost growth. “A strong economic revival package and right implementation of policies by a fresh Government can help create as many as 150 million jobs in the next ten years,” he stressed. “Industry is looking for top policy steps such as introduction of GST, easing of interest rates by 100 bps, keeping subsidies at 1.7 per cent of GDP, and restructuring of labour laws to promote mass manufacturing.”

CII further stated thatwithcontinuing robust reforms, GDP growth could be taken back to the 8 per cent level in the next three years. “Amarket-friendly environment is required that would proactively promote investments, business and entrepreneurship,” said Mr Shriram. Mass manufacturing sectors and labour-intensive services sectors need to be encouraged, he continued.

Key priorities for CII in the coming year will be in the following ten areas: education, skills, economic growth, manufacturing sector growth, investments, ease of doing business, export competitiveness, legal and regulatory architecture, labour law reforms and entrepreneurship.

CII has strongly called for implementation of the following policies, among others, in the first 100 days by the next Government:

–          Introduction of GST

–          Containment of subsidies and fiscal consolidation

–          Monetary easing – reduction in the repo rate by 100 bps

–          Maintenance of a competitive exchange rate

–          Fast-tracking stalled projects and increasing public capital investments

–          Timely implementation of DMIC and NIMZs

–          Setting up of state level mechanisms similar to Project Monitoring Group which will review and monitor projects at state level

–          A strong inter- Ministerial co-ordination group to resolve sticky issues like mining, raw material securitisation for sectors like Steel, etc

–          An institutional mechanism to renegotiate the terms of concession in Public Private Partnership Contracts to salvage stranded investments

–          Expansion of e-governance & technology based initiatives to simplify processes and online monitoring of application forms

–          Time-bound approvals by introducing ‘deemed approvals’ in case of delays beyond prescribed limit

–          Restructuring labour laws including introduction of Fixed Term Employment for industry to hire manpower on short term assignments

CII would continue to provide inputs in the areas of direct and indirect taxes to help India emerge as an attractive destination for business.

In agriculture, CII’s Food and Agricultural Center of Excellence (FACE)is studying the impact of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act (APMC) which needs to be revamped to delist perishables. CII will also undertake a study on gas pricing and its impact on end-users, macro-economic indicators and the investment environment.

In manufacturing, it will work with concerned Ministries and State Governments on delayed projects and also on specific policies, particularly for labour-intensive sectors. CII has called for quick implementation of the National Manufacturing Policy and would bring out a report on Mass Manufacturing policy.For MSMEs, CII plans to launch a Finance Facilitation Centre and initiatives to link Indian SMEs with global value chains.

In services, CII will constitute National Services Competitiveness Council and develop a sectoral strategy for doubling of services export by 2025. It has targeted several sectors such as Tourism and Hospitality, Financial Services, Telecommunications and Professional Services for export promotion.

For better quality higher education, one of the CII interventions will be to launch the 100-100 program where 100 CII member companies will create 100 Faculty Sabbaticals who will spend two/ three months in industry to explore multi-level partnerships like research, curriculum, and skills development. In skills, CII will help implement the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) and continue to work on Sector Skills Councils.

In labour laws, CII will create platforms for sharing best practices from industry which have helped in fostering better industrial relations within the current framework. In addition, it will work with its membership, Trade Unions, Central and State Governments for creating consensus on various issues.

To improve the ease of doing business in India, CII will present to the government best practices in the states which can be emulated in the areas of land acquisition, contract enforcement and taxation. CII has been strongly underscoring the need for a reduction in transactions cost of exports to overcome difficult business conditions abroad. In this context, CII has constituted a task force on transactions costs which proposes a framework for building an efficient trade facilitation mechanism in India.

In order to support entrepreneurship, CII will significantly expand its PPP initiative “India Innovation Initiative” to select the most innovative entrepreneurs through a pan-India competition.