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Unit 2: Industrial Policy and Regulatory Structure




               All areas of industrial activity excluding of areas listed in Annexure I were opened for the  Notes
               private sector. Six items were included in this list: Arms and ammunition and allied items,
               defence aircraft and warships, Atomic Energy, Coal and Lignite, Mineral Oils, Minerals
               specified in Schedule to the Atomic Energy (Control of Production and Use) Order, 1953
               and Railway Transport. But today only Railway Transport  and Atomic Energy and its
               minerals are reserved for the public sector. In others, private equity and  even FDI are
               allowed though proper procedures.
               Entrepreneurs are required to submit an Industrial Entrepreneurs Memorandum (IEM) to
               the Secretariat for Industrial Approvals (SIA) which acknowledges receipt.

               Phased Manufacturing Programmes (PMP), have been abolished for all new  industries
               and subsequently for all  existing projects. Under PMP  a concerned  enterprise has to
               progressively replace imported material, parts and components with materials parts and
               components produced in-house or by other Indian firms.
               An Investment Promotion and Project Monitoring Cell is set  up in the Department  of
               Industrial Policy  and  Promotion,  Ministry  of  Industrial  to  provide  information  to
               entrepreneurs and to monitor progress of implementation of various projects.

               Delicensing has  been the key feature of Industrial Policy of  1991. This provided a big
               impetus to investment and employment creation in the coming years.
          2.   Foreign Investment:  This was a revolutionary step taken by the Rao government. In the
               first 50 years of India's economic planning nobody ever imagined that one day a socialist
               economy like India would provide free access to foreign equity. Though the 1956 Industrial
               Policy accepted the role of foreign equity, since independence we have always looked at
               foreign equity as some  sort of  economic  slavery. But  in  last 50  years,  the enormous
               underutilisation of resources, unemployment, poor infrastructure and pervasive poverty
               compelled the government to open the doors for foreign equity. Today, India welcomes
               foreign equity in almost every sector. In 1991 it allowed:
               (a)  Automatic approval for foreign  equity participation  upto 51% granted in  high
                    priority industries listed in Annexure IV of Industrial Policy, 1991.
               (b)  Foreign trading companies are allowed to invest upto 51% in Indian trading houses
                    engaged in export activity.

               (c)  In hotel and tourism related industry upto 51% foreign equity is allowed.
               (d)  Even in the mining sector foreign investment upto 50% was allowed.

               !

             Caution  In fields where foreign investment was not allowed through the automatic route,
             either because  it doesn't cover the  foreign exchange requirement for  import of capital
             goods, or if it requires more than 51% equity, or if it is not a high priority area, proposals
             have to be submitted to the Secretariat of Industrial Approvals (SIA) or Foreign Investment
             Promotion Board or to Indian Embassies or Consulates abroad.

               Use of foreign brands names/trade marks for sale of goods in India is permitted. Initially
               all projects involving foreign equity upto 51% in high priority industries were required to
               adhere to dividend balancing conditions. Earlier, outflow of foreign exchange on account
               of dividend payments had to be balanced by export earning for a period of seven years
               from the date of commencement of production. Now the dividend balancing condition
               has been withdrawn.






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