India is moving to strengthen local manufacturing by identifying 100 products for higher domestic output, including auto parts. DPIIT Secretary said a Made in India Brand Scheme is set to roll out soon to assure quality. The government also highlighted how artificial intelligence is reshaping manufacturing and urged businesses to make long-term investments, aided by new opportunities and free trade agreements.
DPIIT has rolled out an updated Standard Operating Procedure for processing Foreign Direct Investment proposals, aiming to make outcomes faster and more predictable. Under the new framework, decisions are expected within 12 weeks, excluding time taken by applicants to respond. The entire workflow is paperless, and investments from border countries are routed to the Ministry of External Affairs.
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India’s Department of Economic Affairs is finalising the FEMA approval needed to notify eased FDI rules for overseas firms holding up to 10% Chinese shareholding. An official said the announcement is expected soon, following a March Press Note by DPIIT that already expanded automatic-route investments from land-border countries across sectors.
India is set to attract USD 6.1 billion worth of investment projects in FY 2025-26, with plans expected to create over 31,000 jobs across 14 states. European countries are among the leading contributors, alongside the US, Japan, South Korea, and Australia, signaling rising global confidence in India as an investment hub.
DPIIT has issued operational guidelines for the Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0, a Rs 10,000 crore initiative under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The move lays out how the fund will function, aiming to improve support for startups and streamline the investment route through fund-of-funds structures. Details in the guidelines are expected to influence future startup funding flows.
In a Lok Sabha written reply, the government said the DPIIT has recognized 84,102 entities as startups as of November 30. These startups span 56 sectors, including agriculture, biotechnology, and chemicals. The move supports Startup India incentives like income tax benefits, alongside Fund of Funds and Seed Fund allocations, with Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat leading recognition counts.
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DPIIT held a stakeholder meeting on the proposed e-commerce policy, bringing together domestic and foreign companies, according to an official. The discussion aimed to gather inputs from industry players as the government considers key rules for how online commerce should operate in India, including participation and compliance expectations for businesses involved in the sector.
India’s DPIIT has extended the deadline for stakeholder inputs on IPR issues tied to a proposed trade pact with Canada. The proforma requests details on concerns spanning filing, registration, enforcement and commercialization of stakeholders’ IP rights in Canada, including which institutions or agencies—such as IP offices or enforcement bodies—are facing the challenges.
DPIIT has announced multi-sector regulatory relaxations aimed at strengthening industrial supply chains, focusing on uninterrupted access to fuel, gas, and essential raw materials. The plan includes customs duty waivers, expedited licensing, and quicker processing for CNG and CBG station applications. It also allows temporary storage relaxations for kerosene and imposes a ban on ammonium nitrate exports.
DPIIT secretary outlined the push to simplify governance for businesses and improve ease of living. The department previously identified about 32,000 compliances, and claims that roughly 26,000 have already been reduced. Of the remaining 6,000, around 3,500 reportedly do not actually need to be reduced, narrowing the true reform workload.
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