India’s partnership at Messe Hannover was indeed a great success

Strong Indian contingent led by the Prime Minister was able to clearly leave a powerful message for the Global Manufacturing Industry – to look at India as a major investment destination and the place to do business.

Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and Her Excellency Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Angela Merkel addressing the audience at the Hannnover Messe

Mr Sumit Mazumder, President, CII with Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Her Excellency Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Angela Merkel

The Make in India campaign was extremely well demonstrated through a truly world-class display at the Messe – particularly at the India pavilion. The city of Hannover also had the ‘Indian lion’ all around wrapped with messages from India.

The Prime Minister assured investors at the gala opening of the Hannover Messe that India will do its part – as an anchor of economic stability; an engine for growth; and, as a force of peace and stability in the world. He invited investors to do business and make in India – for India and the world.

The German Chancellor stated that “We have seen excellent examples of Indo-German cooperation at the Hannover Messe. We have also seen potential for growth, especially for German companies already present in India who wish to expand.”

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry led brilliant display and clear message hit home with German Investors by branding the Make in India slogan of the Government of India in a widespread manner in Germany.

Honble Minister of State for Commerce and Industry , Smt Nirmala Sitharaman at CII Pavilion at Hannover Messe

Hon´ble Minister of State (Independent charge) for Commerce and Industry at the Seminar on “Investment Opportunities in Andhra Prades”

Mr Rajeev Kher, Commerce Secretary, Government of India at CII Pavilion at Hannover Messe Also seen are Mr Sumit Mazumder, President, CII, Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, Dr Naushad Forbes, President-Designate, CII and Mr Deep Kapuria, Chairman, Trade Fairs Council

Hon’ble Chief Minister at the Seminar on “Investment Opportunities in Maharashtra” on 13 April 2015 at Hannover Messe, Germany. Also seen are Mr Sumit Mazumder, President, CII; Mr Apurva Chandra, Principal Secretary-Industries, Govt of Maharashtra; Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII; Mr Subhash Desai, Industries Minister, Govt of Maharashtra; Mr Anand Kulkarni, Additional Chief Secretary-PWD, Govt of Maharashtra (R-L)

Mr Madan Mohan Mittal, Hon’ble Minister for Industries & Commerce, Technical Education & Industrial Training and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Punjab addressing INVEST PUNJAB at Hannover Messe: Germany.

 

The Make in India Lion was hard to miss in Hannover. The Lion was spotted at the airport, on buses, on taxis as well as other key vantage points in the city as well as the Fair grounds.

 

 

 

 

 

Constructed by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the India Pavilion projected India’s brand image by incorporating many of the key sectors of the Make in India campaign.

 

During a visit to the fair, the Indian Prime Minister showed the German Chancellor the strengths of India which was so well captured in this special section of the India pavilion. The Indian Commerce and Industry Minister accompanied the two leaders during the visit.

Indian industry also did not lag behind. A strong 40 member CEO’s delegation led by Mr, Sumit Mazumder, President, CII participated at the event. 350 Indian companies including the Tata Group, Reliance, Bharat Forge, State Bank of India and the Kirloskar Group showcased their strengths at Hannover Messe. CII also set up 3 stalls at Hannover Messe, Germany to showcase Brand India at the global event highlighting the industrial growth and business opportunities in the country.

(L-R) Mr Virendra Gupta, Deputy Director General, CII; Mr Deep Kapuria, Chairman, Trade Fairs Council; Dr Rajan Katoch, Secretary Heavy Industries, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises; Mr Vishvajit Sahay, J S Heavy Industries, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises at CII Pavilion at Hannover Messe

Mr. Cyrus P Mistry, Chairman, Tatasons at CII Pavilion at Hannover Messe on 13th April 2015. Also seen are Mr Sumit Mazumder, President, CII, Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII and Dr Naushad Forbes, President Designate, CII

 

CII President, Mr Sumit Mazumder in an interaction with Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi

The Indo German Business Summit co-organised by BDI-CII was very well attended especially by the CEOs of prominent German companies.

Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing the gathering at the Indo-German Business Summit 2015

Her Excellency Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Angela Merkel addressing the Indo-German Business Summit 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was indeed most encouraging to have the Prime Minister and the Chancellor address this business session.

Hannover Messe saw participation from 13 States and the North-East of India – they put up their displays to show-case a very healthy competitive India and how they have been attracting business and growing.

Some States had special sessions. Maharashtra CM made a strong pitch for investors to look at Maharashtra. Very well received. Some iconic international brands spoke strongly about the state’s industry-friendly attitude to a global audience.

The Commerce and Industry Minister spoke on the strengths of Andhra Pradesh as a potential investment destination. This added weight to the AP story. AP demonstrated how they are going about in building a powerful state.

The special session on ‘Make in India’ – Secretary, DIPP made an excellent presentation and many of the queries from the potential investors were answered.

Her Excellency Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany shaking hands with Mr Sumit Mazumder, President, CII at the Indo-German Business Summit

Overall mood and approach towards India very positive by Germany, other participating countries and also Industry from several other nations.

A high-powered Indian CEOs delegation from CII well supported the dynamic Government team led by Hon’ble PM.The best and a proud display and performance by India.  Kudos to Team India.

Mr Chandrajit Banerjee
Director General, CII

CII Certain About India Improving its Ranking Significantly on Ease of Doing Business

To realise the Prime Minister’s vision of positioning India among the top 50 countries globally for ease of doing business in next two years, CII has submitted an Action Plan to the Government based on a milestone oriented approach and clear roadmap to help catapult India’s ranking on the parameters measured by the World Bank’s Doing Business Report.

According to the recently released World Bank’s ‘Doing Business 2015’ report, India is ranked low at 142 out of 189 countries in the overall ease of doing business. CII accepts the report as an indicative report of progress of World economies including India and is not overly perturbed about the decrease in ranking as the data used is current as of 30 May, 2014 whereas the wave of new policy reforms have cascaded post the date.

CII has shared with the Government 3 Reports dealing with the existing best practices at the States, An Action Plan for the Central Government on ease of doing business in India, and Recommendations to improve investment attractiveness which will result in catapulting India’s ranking on all the parameters measured by the World Bank’s Doing Business Report.

One of the reports – the CII – KPMG Report on “Vibrant India: Best Place for Doing Business – An Action Plan” outlines a focused roadmap for the Government and recommends rationalization of taxation regime, facilitative land acquisition process, streamlining investment approval and provisions of utilities, creating appropriate labour development and skill development ecosystem, efficient and effective enforcement of laws, facilitation of greater cross border transactions, creation of clear exit guidelines, and technology enablement across all government departments.

 

“With Government’s reformative drive and resolve, scalable improvement in ease of doing business through the proposed Action Plan will enhance investment attractiveness of the Indian economy and help attain higher GDP growth and spur job creation in a sustainable manner”, said Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII.

The key recommendations in the report for improving ease of doing business in India include:

Rationalization of taxation regime: India needs to adopt policies that mitigate tax disputes, improve tax administration and establish stability and international competitiveness of tax regime.

Facilitating land acquisition process: First priority is to simplify the land acquisition process. There is an urgent need to rationalize the new Act (Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013).

Streamlining investment approval and provision of utilities: Significant time is taken in obtaining basic utilities like water, sewerage and power connections. Projects suffer significant handicap due to poor infrastructure. CII recommends implementing effective single window mechanisms, implementing legislations that ensure time bound government service delivery, and ensuring industrial parks get prior environment and other clearances.

Creating appropriate Labour Development ecosystem: There are 44 labour laws enacted by the Central Government – many which are old and outdated with marginal changes carried out over the years. Due to these, there is heavy compliance burden. There is an urgent need to realign labour laws to new economic needs.

Creating appropriate Skill Development ecosystem:           Implementation of National Skills Qualification Framework and National Occupational Standards, Expedite establishing and defining Sector Skill Councils for all sectors, Expansion of apprentice system and modernize apprentice model, and Empower nodal body to define National Skill qualification framework.

Efficient and Effective Enforcement of Laws: E-enablement would facilitate making dispute resolutions quicker and more efficient. Make greater use of technology and e-enable all courts. Enforcing anti-corruption and anti-bribery including protection of Whistle Blowers

Facilitation of greater cross-border transactions: Work towards effective utilization of FTA benefits by helping domestic manufacturing sector to grow and become more competitive, Craft FTA’s such that Indian economy is not disadvantaged, Deepen trade relations with Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) which are the two fastest growing import markets, Deepen Look East policy, Ease export -import related regulations, Resolve port related issues in facilitating trade

Creation of clear Exit guidelines: Exit procedures in India involves multiple and time consuming formalities under various legislations such as Corporate Law, Tax Law, Labour Laws etc. Undertaking the above formalities entails significant compliance costs for the units, and at the same time entails locking of funds and capital assets in non-viable businesses that may be productively employed in other ventures. For easing exit regulations, we are looking at UK Liquidation Process and US Bankruptcy Law.

Technology Enablement across Government: Significant improvement in efficiency, transparency and governance can be brought in by large scale adoption of technology in government. Suggestions include appointing a Chief Technology Officer at the level of Joint Secretary who could be made responsible for technology adoption.

Mr Banerjee said “CII believes that the technology aspect is one of the greatest enabler for Ease of Doing Business as multiple processes can be merged with a click of the mouse. Once all the processes are identified and rationalized/ simplified by removing redundancy and duplicacy, these can be put on an IT based system which will connect various Government departments (Centre and State) and approvals and checks can be accomplished without jeopardizing quality, time and cost aspects. This single factor will help improve India’s position on all the parameters identified by World Bank for the Doing Business report. CII can assist the Government in this endeavour so that the replacement of the current process on to IT based platform can be conducted seamlessly”.

Today, for India to emerge as an investment-friendly destination for business and sustain rapid and inclusive growth, vast improvements are required in the ease of doing business. One of the foremost demands of the industry across the country is to effect simplification and rationalization of the existing rules and approvals, facilitate fast-track and transparent system of approvals to minimize processing delays and ensure timely disposal of issues.

Against this background, CII has recently prepared a paper on “Improving Investment Attractiveness: Simplifying Procedures” which analyses the various parameters of the World Bank’s Doing Business report and accordingly makes suggestions to ramp up India’s ranking to within the top 50 in the next 2-3 years. The suggested Action Plan includes what needs to be done, steps to be taken, drivers and timelines, the proposed action Plan has been segregated as immediate (3-6 months), short term (6-12 months), Medium term (12-18 months) and long term (18-36 months).

“CII is pleased to note that many of the recommendations have been acted upon by the Government recently and some have been announced to be implemented in due course of time. With effective implementation of the recommendations in the Reports, we are confident that India could see significant jump in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking,” added Mr Banerjee.

“CII firmly believes that the Government is extremely serious about improving the prevailing conditions to help business to thrive. In all the actions taken by the Government in the last 6 months there is a clear pro-development pattern emerging which will indeed make India an attractive business destination for the global players” iterated Mr Banerjee.  Some of the steps taken by the Government to help remove critical impediments to business (as also recommended by CII) include simplification of labour related processes, setting up of a separate skills Ministry, streamlining investment approval and clearance mechanisms, etc. CII is positive that all the rigourous actions being taken by the Government will result in favourable fallout and will definitely reflect in India’s ranking next year.

Business Visas, Infrastructure Can Boost SAARC Trade

 CII Welcomes PM’s Thrust on SAARC Regional Integration

Prime Minister Modi’s suggestions at the SAARC Summit today for a Business Traveler Card, Special Purpose Facility for financing regional infrastructure, and cross-border industrial corridors are innovative and very pertinent, said the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in a press release on the SAARC Summit being held in Kathmandu.

“CII strongly welcomes PM’s suggestion for a 3-5 year business traveler card for SAARC nationals and the Special Purpose Facility for regional connectivity infrastructure, which would impart impetus to the dream of shared prosperity” said Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII.

“CII has long stressed the need for transport connectivity and cross-border trade facilitation as imperative for enhancing SAARC economic integration. We hope that PM’s call for simpler procedures, common standards, and better facilities would contribute to faster action towards trade and investment linkages on the SAARC platform,” he added.

As PM Modi said, less than 5% of the region’s global trade is intraregional, and it costs more to travel within the region than to Bangkok or Singapore.  In his speech, the PM has stressed the need for neighboring countries to invite investments from India to produce for the Indian markets. “Cross-border investments into other SAARC countries to export to India would help balance the trade surplus with the SAARC member economies, which is presently a concern,” stated Mr Banerjee.

However, CII expressed disappointment that several trade facilitation agreements which were on the table could not be signed. The SAARC Motor Vehicle Agreement for the Regulation of Passenger and Cargo Vehicular Traffic would lead to seamless movement of cargo, personal vehicles and passengers across land borders. The SAARC Regional Railways Agreement too would harness the economic potential of the region, while the SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity) could ensure integrated operation of the regional power grid.

CII urges SAARC leaders to finalise the agreements that would promote trade facilitation and hopes that these would be signed at the earliest. CII feels that these proposed agreements will greatly help in facilitating the flow of trade and reduce the cost of doing business across the South Asian region. Intra-regional trade within SAARC can drive poverty reduction and improve development indicators.

India’s exports to South Asian countries stood at 17,503.84 million US$ in 2013-14 (5.56% of India’s total exports). India’s imports from South Asian countries stood at 2,472.98 million US$ in 2013-14 (0.54% of India’s total imports).

“India and United States need to find creative solutions to issues impeding India US Trade Relations” Ambassador Michael Froman, USTR

At a closed door round table with a senior industry group from the Confederation of Indian Industry, US Trade Representative, Ambassador Michael Froman highlighted issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights protection, local sourcing norms, regulatory challenges and mobility of high skilled labor. He stressed on the high standards for IPR being adopted by the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations and suggested that as an innovative economy, India needs to look at IPR norms more closely. At the same time, he suggested that collaborative and creative solutions need to be explored by both countries to address and resolve issues where this is no agreement. Ms Kathleen Stephens, US Ambassador to India, also participated in the meeting.

Ambassador Froman further spoke of US President Obama’s recent executive order on immigration which will benefit H1B workers and their spouses, many of whom are from India. He expressed hope that the President’s action will help ease concerns of Indian companies with regard to challenges in high skill labor mobility with the US.

On the Indian side, the interaction was led Mr Ajay S Shriram, President, CII; Mr Sumit Mazumder, President Designate, CII; and Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII.

Senior representatives from Indian companies spanning diverse sectors such as pharmaceuticals, technology, financial services, engineering and automotive sectors raised some of the major issues and challenges faced by Indian companies in doing business with and in the US. Specific issues raised included the lapsing of Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) by the US Congress which is having a detrimental impact on Indian SMEs; the challenges faced by Indian generic pharmaceutical companies with regard to the USFDA; the upcoming BASEL III norms on bank capital adequacy which will negatively impact financing for trade by SMEs and onerous restrictions on SMEs imposed by the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Referring to FDI caps on various sectors, Mr.Ajay Shriram, President CII said “the Government of India is committed to opening up the Indian economy—we have already seen this with the defense sector and expect the trend to continue in other areas also”.

Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII further expressed satisfaction on the resolution of the impasse at WTO and said “CII is extremely pleased that India and the United States have come to an understanding with regard to Trade Facilitation and Food Security.”