BENGALURU-MUMBAI ECONOMIC CORRIDOR (BMEC)
- India and United Kingdom in 2013 agreed to examine and evolve the modalities and content of a feasibility study of this project.
- The Bengaluru Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC) is intended to facilitate development of a well-planned and efficient industrial base served by world-class connectivity infrastructure.
AMRITSAR-DELHI-KOLKATA INDUSTRIAL CORRIDOR (AKIC)
- In order to give a boost to industrial development States of Northern and Eastern India, Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor will be structured around the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) as the backbone.
- The AKIC will also leverage the Inland Water System being developed along National Waterway-I which extends from Allahabad to Haldia.
- The AKIC will cover the seven states namely, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
EAST COAST ECONOMIC CORRIDOR (ECEC) PROJECT
- It has been decided to get a feasibility study done with the help of Asian Development Bank (ADB) in respect of the East Coast Economic Corridor linking Kolkata-Chennai-Tuticorin.
NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (NICDA)
- The Union Finance Minister announced that a National Industrial Corridor Authority will be set up to coordinate the development of the industrial Corridors.
- Preparatory action for taking the necessary approvals for the purpose are being taken.
FDI POLICY
- Significant initiatives have been made in FDI policy regime in recent times to ensure that India remains increasingly attractive & investor-friendly. Some of these are:
- Consolidation of FDI Policy: All existing regulations on FDI were integrated into one consolidated document. The first such document was released in 2010. The consolidated circular is being issued in April every year to keep it updated.
- Rationalization and liberalization of FDI Policy: Government allowed FDI up to 100% on the automatic route for most activities and a small negative list was notified where either the automatic route was not available or there were limits on FDI.
- Some of the recent decisions are: FDI in Telecom recently approved up to 100%; FDI in Defence recently approved up to 49%; and FDI in Railway infrastructure recently approved up to 100%.
- The FDI policy changes in 2012 are:
- Permitting foreign airlines to make foreign investment, up to 49%, in scheduled and non-scheduled air transport services;
- Permitting FDI, up to 51% under the Government approval route, in multi-brand retail trading, subject to specified conditions;
- Amendment of the existing policy on FDI in single brand product retail trading, with a view to aligning it with the global practices being followed by single- brand retailers
- FDI from Pakistan was permitted.
e-BIZ MISSION MODE PROJECT
- The Government has initiated the e-Biz Project, a Mission Mode Project under the National e-Government Project, to provide online registration, filing payment services to investors and business houses.
- The project has been designed on a PPP model, and the concessionaire has been awarded the project for a period of 10 years.
- The first 3 years of the term would be the pilot phase, while the remaining 7 years will be the expansion phase, wherein the project will be expanded to cover the whole country.
- During the pilot phase, a total of 50 (26 central + 24 state) services are envisaged to be implemented across five pilot states, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
- Recently, another five pilot states have been added, namely, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
‘INVEST INDIA’
- In order to give a fillip to investment promotion and handholding services to foreign investors particularly the SMEs and family owned overseas enterprises in a structured manner, Government of India has launched a special purpose vehicle named ‘Invest India’, a joint venture between the DIPP of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and state governments.
- ‘Invest India’ acts as a first point of reference to provide inputs on all aspects of doing business in India, guide investors on all policy and regulatory issues, undertake specific studies on relevant sectors and technologies for India, and provide handholding services to investors.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
- All aspects of IPR concerning patents, marks, designs and geographical indications are administered by Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP).
- These are administered through the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM), a subordinate office, with headquarters at Mumbai as under:
- The Patents Act, 1970 (amended in 1999, 2002 and 2005) through the Patent Offices at Kolkata (HQ), Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi.
- The Designs Act, 2000 through the Patent Offices at Kolkata (HQ), Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi.
- The Trade Marks Act, 1999 (amended in 2010) through the Trade Marks Registry at Mumbai (HQ) Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.
- The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 through the Geographical Indications Registry at Chennai.
- An Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) has been set up at Chennai to hear appeals against the decisions of Registrar of Trademarks, Geographical Indications and the Controller of Patents.
