In a move aimed at giving manufacturing a big boost, the Commerce and Industry Ministry will come out with a final policy framework for units to be set up in the proposed special manufacturing and investment zones by the end of this year.
The government is of the view that these special areas — National Manufacturing and Investment Zones (NMIZs) — will help in increasing the share of manufacturing from 15 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) at present to 25 per cent by 2022.
“We are seriously considering to put this new NMIZ policy for public debate by the end of this year,” Director in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Rajat Kumar said on Wednesday on the sidelines of the PHDCCI meet. The DIPP, part of the Industry Ministry, has received large number of suggestions on its concept paper for setting up NMIZs, which are being planned as mega industrial zones and subsume SEZs, industrial parks and warehousing units.
Mr. Kumar said an inter-Ministerial discussion on the issue was likely in October or November.
Radical steps
The paper had suggested radical steps, including freedom to downsize workforce and curtailing workers' right to join unions. It also states that State governments should acquire land for the NMIZs, which could be promoted mainly by the private sector. Besides, it has recommended low-interest loans for units opting for clean technology or products in the NMIZs. Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma had already announced that the first NMIZ would come up in Rajasthan.
