Reform to Transform:
100 Days of Modi Government - Initiatives & Achievements of Commerce & Industry

Download the Initiatives & Achievements eBooklet of Commerce & Industry to know about the steps taken by Govt. in the first 100 days to boost FDI, Exports, Trade, Innovation & Employment.

Booster to Exports:
Government unveils 3rd round of economic package

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced six steps to boost exports including Dubai-like mega annual shopping festival from next year, new automatic refund system for exporters from next month and new Reimbursement of Taxes and Duties for Export Promotion (RoDTEP) scheme on export duties. These measures will help make Indian exports competitive & especially benefit MSME exporters with a new scheme for reimbursing taxes, reduced insurance cost & ease of doing business.

Enhanced loan availability & Easy lending process :
Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) introduces a new Export Credit Insurance Scheme (ECIS) called ‘NIRVIK’ for Exporters

At a press conference, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal said that the ECGC cover provides additional comfort to banks as the credit rating of the borrower is enhanced to AA rated account. Enhanced cover will ensure that Foreign & Rupee export credit interest rates will be below 4% & 8% respectively for exporters. Under ECIS, insurance cover percentage has also been enhanced to 90% from the present average of 60% for both Principal and Interest.

Promoting innovation :
Government proposes to significantly reduce IPR fees for MSMEs, startups

As per the proposal, fees for MSMEs and startups for filing of patent applications will be reduced to ₹1,600 or ₹1,750 from ₹4,000 or ₹4,400 respectively. For expedited examination, it will be reduced to ₹8, 000 from ₹25,000 currently. For design applications filing, fees for MSMEs and startups will be reduced to ₹1,000 from ₹2,000.

Single Point Access to Exporters :
Commerce & Industry Minister Launches Common Digital Platform for Issuance of Electronic Certificates of Origin (CoO)

This platform will be a single access point for all exporters, for all FTAs/PTAs and for all agencies concerned. Certificate of Origin will be issued electronically which can be in paperless format if agreed to by the partner countries. Authorities of the partner countries will be able to verify the authenticity of certificates from the website. Further, it provides administrative access to Department of Commerce for reporting and monitoring purposes.

Commerce & Industry Minister Launches Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) :
Providing advance information about steel imports to Government & stakeholders for effective policy interventions

The system shall require importers to submit advance information in an online system for import of 284 steel tariff lines at 8-digit HS code in order to obtain an automatic Registration Number by paying prescribed registration fee. The SIMS will be effective from 01.11.2019, i.e., Bill of Entry on or after 01.11.2019. The facility of online Registration will be available with effect from 16/09/2019.

Make in India :
Licensing rules eased for production

The government clarified vide Press Note No. 3 (2019 Series) that no licence would be required for the manufacture of goods except tobacco items, defence equipment, hazardous chemicals and industrial explosives. In another Press Note No. 2 (2019 Series) , it clarified that no industrial or arms licence was required for the manufacturer of any parts or accessories in defence sector, unless they were specifically listed for procuring licences.

“Time to Expand India’s Export Footprint Globally“ :
Commerce & Industry Minister addresses the Board Of Trade Meeting

Addressing the participants, Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal said that several measures have been taken to achieve US $1 Trillion exports target including Merger of Banks to help raise resources, Digital ease in Exporters’ interaction, Speeding of GST Refunds to MSMEs and Credit scheme for exporters with enhanced insurance. LEADS Index - 2019 was also launched at the occasion, which is an effort by the Commerce Ministry to assess the status of logistics efficiency of each State. The top ranking state in the logistics sector is Gujarat followed by Punjab and Andhra Pradesh.

GeM & Punjab Govt. sign MoU for Setting up a GeM Organizational Transformation Team (GOTT) Project Management Unit (PMU) in the state

Govt. of Punjab is the first State which will establish GOTT PMU, which will assist the buyer agency to redesign the procurement processes & enhance competencies to derive maximum benefit from the online marketplace. It is projected that through the initiatives of GOTT PMU, Government of Punjab will be able to transact around Rs 1700 crore on GeM platform in the first year and over Rs 3000 crore per annum, over a period of time.

to read my reply on Quora about
“Why is the Indian government reforming FDI norms?
What major changes have been made?”
and know about the recent initiatives taken by the Government to bring in FDI reforms thereby promoting ‘Make in India’, enhancing ease of doing business & creating large scale employment opportunities in the country.