Govt To Map Land Bank Available For Industry, Says Goyal

New Delhi, July 14: The government is working on creating a "genuine" single window clearance mechanism and mapping the entire land bank available for the industry and industrial development, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.

The minister also said that the government is looking at ways to promote manufacturing of electronic products like LED televisions, CCTVs and is "very keen" to have a semiconductor FAB plant in India. Besides, to capture  IT services exports data, the ministry is thinking of creating a framework by which it can capture that data.

Goyal said that he has tasked the officers to look at some framework by which the ministry can capture data of IT services exports.

"We are working in DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) to create the framework of a genuine single window where you do not open doors behind that single window. We are also working on mapping the entire land bank available for industry and industrial development," he said while addressing industry representatives of electronics and software exports.

The minister said that sufficient land is available and "we can make sure that it is available at competitive prices, we can even talk to states". He added that states can be consulted on issues like affordable power and water supply if the electronics industry wants to set up an entire ecosystem in a state.

"Talk to DPIIT, pick up an area of your choice, where the entire ecosystem can be created and supported and we are willing to go that extra mile whatever it takes to create such a cluster of industry and it should be world-class," he said.

Regarding the demand of export incentives under MEIS (Merchandise Exports from India Scheme), he said the ministry is working on Remission of Duties or Taxes on Export Product (RoDTEP), "so I do not know whether MEIS can really sustain or continue beyond December 2020 or when RoDTEP come to your industry".

He said that no industry can sustain in the long run on "these clutches" and industries which are not dependent on the government are flourishing.

The success of IT, BPO and software is largely because they remain free of government intervention and "to my mind that is what we should gradually move and push towards in the electronics sector also".

He added that the government does not have that kind of endless resources to be able to give that to any and every sector, "so we will have to gradually move towards more and more self-sustainable projects".

He asked the industry to work on creating some clusters where the whole ecosystem can be created with all necessary testing labs, common services, getting plug and play infrastructure to units and ensuring online clearances".

"We really want to see (semiconductor) FAB (plant) coming up quickly. I would urge you to apply your mind and tell us what the government needs to do for that," he said adding "We can even think of setting up a plant near a power plant," he added.