"A total of 70 per cent has been allocated for domestic defence industry this budget," said Prime Minister while addressing a post-budget webinar titled 'Aatmnirbharta in Defence - Call to Action' on the announcements made in the budget.
The webinar was organised by the Ministry of Defence.
Prime Minister Modi recalled that India's defence manufacturing was quite strong even during the period of slavery and in the immediate aftermath of independence.
Indian made weapons played a major role during the Second World War. "Though in the later years, this prowess of ours declined, still it shows that there has been no dearth of capabilities, neither then nor now", he said.
Underscoring the importance of customisation and uniqueness of the defence system for a surprise element over the adversaries, PM Modi said: "Uniqueness and surprise elements can only happen when the equipment is developed in your own country."
This year's budget, the Prime Minister mentioned, has a blueprint for developing a vibrant ecosystem from research, design and development to manufacturing within the country. About 70 per cent of the defence budget has been kept for domestic industry only, he added.
The defence Ministry has, so far, released Positive Indigenisation Lists of more than 200 defence Platforms and Equipment.
After this announcement, the Prime Minister informed that contracts worth Rs 54,000 crore have been signed for domestic procurement.
Apart from this, the procurement process of more than Rs 4.5 lakh crore worth of equipment is at various stages. The third list is expected soon, he said.
The Prime Minister lamented the long-drawn process of weapon procurement which often results in a scenario where weapons are outdated by the time they are commissioned.
"Solution for this lies is in Aatmnirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives", he emphasised. The Prime Minister lauded the armed forces for taking decisions while keeping the importance of Aatmnirbharta in mind.
The Prime Minister stressed the need to keep the pride and feelings of the jawans in matters of weapons and equipment. "This is possible only when we are Aatmnirbhar in these areas," he said.
He noted that cyber security is no longer confined to the digital world but has become a subject of national security. "The more we deploy our formidable IT power in the defence sector, the more confident we will be regarding our security", he said.
Noting the competition among the defence manufacturers for contracts, the Prime Minister said it often led to money-focus and corruption. A lot of confusion was created with regard to the quality and desirability of weapons. Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan tackles this problem also, he said.
He lauded the ordnance factories for being a shining example of progress with determination. The Prime Minister expressed happiness that seven new defence undertaking that was incorporated last year are rapidly expanding their business and reaching new markets. "We have increased defence exports six times in the last 5-6 years. Today, we are providing Made in India Defence equipment and services to more than 75 countries", the Prime Minister added.
As a result of the government's encouragement to 'Make in India', the Prime Minister said that more than 350 new industrial licenses have been issued for defence manufacturing in the last seven years. Whereas in the fourteen years from 2001 to 2014, only 200 licenses were issued. The Prime Minister also said that the private sector should also come on a par with DRDO and defence PSUs, hence 25 per cent of the defence R&D budget has been kept for Industry, start-ups and academia. The Special Purpose Vehicle model has also been arranged in the budget. "This will establish the role of the private industry as a partner beyond just a vendor or supplier", he said.
Transparent, time-bound, pragmatic and fair systems of trial, testing and certification are essential to the growth of vibrant defence industry, Modi noted. For this, an independent system can prove useful in solving problems, he added.
Delivering the inaugural speech at the India Global Week 2020, he said that the concept of Aatmanirbhar Bharat merges domestic production and consumption with global supply chains.
Inviting global investments in agriculture, logistics, defence and space, the Prime Minister said: "We are laying a red carpet to come and establish presence in India."
"Aatmanirbhar Bharat is not about being self-contained or being closed to the world, it is about being self-sustaining and self-generating. We will pursue policies that promote efficiency, equity and resilience," he said.
The Prime Minister first used the term Aatmanirbhar Bharat, or self-reliant India, during an address to the nation in May, wherein he had asked citizens to purchase Indian and India-made goods and called upon India Inc to produce all the products imported by the country and become self-sufficient. Since then, it has become a catchphrase among industry participants and traders along with government representatives.
Talking of market liberalising reforms, he said that India is one of the most open economies in the world.
He also outlined several "reform" measures taken by the government in the past six years including "total financial inclusion", "record" housing and infrastructure projects, tax reforms including the Goods and Services Tax among others.
Further as the world goes through a recession amid the pandemic, Modi said that India will play a leading role in the global economic revival.
He also said that India has already started seeing "green shoots of recovery".
Noting that Indian technology industry and tech professionals along with contributions in other sectors by Indians, including healthcare, banking and scientific research, have always played a major role globally, he said: "There is faith that the story of global revival will have India playing a leading role."
Modi also said the ability of Indians to reform and rejuvenate would be significant in this regard.
As on one hand, India is fighting the pandemic with stress on healthcare, it has also given equal importance on economic revival and reform, he added.
(IANS)
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Speaking at an e-meet or a video conference with India students across the world, regarding self-reliance in the oil and gas sector, the minister noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target for reduction of 10 per cent in energy import dependency by 2022.
Interacting with young friends from overseas on last mile energy access in India. https://t.co/IQ1DixvgvA
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) July 11, 2020
In this regard, the government has taken several policies as well as administrative measures to augment domestic oil and gas production and reduce dependency on imports for meeting the energy requirements of the country, he added.
He said that the Prime Minister has envisioned a clear road map for India's energy future which rests on five key enablers of energy availability and accessibility for all, energy affordability to the poorest of the poor, efficiency in energy use, energy sustainability for combating climate change and energy security for mitigating global uncertainties.
"India has made its presence felt in the global energy map. We are engaging with OPEC, IEA, IEF and all other major voices in the world energy discussions. India has engaged with the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and all major energy producers, under a policy of diversification of supply sources," he said.
On the ongoing pandemic, Pradhan said that the country is in the midst of an outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic that challenges the fundamental assumptions of people's lives.
"While the immediate economic impact may slow us down, we are presented with an opportunity to pause, rethink, and redesign," the minister told the students.
(IANS)
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Goyal emphasised the need for goods and services procurements of approximately Rs 70,000 crore on GeM platform to open up the market to the industry even at remote places and especially MSMEs.
Goyal, during the meeting, urged officials to take measures to generate confidence in industry for corruption-free and transparent procurement environment of the Indian Railways.
"It was emphasised to increase the participation of local vendors in the procurement process. It was also decided that local content clause in the procurement should be such that we may get more bids from local vendors/suppliers," said a statement from the Ministry.
To boost the mission 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', active support of DPIIT was sought to make suitable policy revisions, if required, to facilitate the efforts of Indian Railways in this direction.
In the review meeting it was decided to encourage vendors who can supply locally manufactured products. It was suggested that there is a need to create a FAQ section and a helpline number so that vendors may get clarity on various issues relating to the procurement process.
In the review meeting which was also attended by Minister of State for Railways Suresh C. Angadi, Railway Board members, CEO, GeM and representatives of DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce, a detailed presentation was made by the member (Materials Management), Railway Board on enhancing 'Make in India' and steps being taken to procure through GeM along with the progress made.
The Indian Railways, which is one of the largest procurement agencies of the Government of India, is integrating its procurement systems with the GeM to use its full potential.
The department shared the timeline for the integration of Indian Railway e-Procurement system with GeM. Railway emphasised the need to have a seamless integration of the two systems eliminating the need for any manual interface.
Strength of both the systems of Railways -- IREPS and GeM should be productively leveraged to generate synergy to take the Railways procurement to GeM's full potential.
Post integration GeM is intended to move further in the direction of becoming a single point public procurement portal for all agencies of Government of India.
"It was decided that Railways would work more towards having a user-friendly single step vendor web-based interface for all its activities. The website should, transparently, provide every interested vendor with a clear idea of how to do business with Indian Railways." said a statement.
(IANS)
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"We are strongly committed in making Railways 'Atmanirbhar' in all the fields with 'Make in India' initiatives as envisaged by the Prime Minister. The IRCTC-SBI co-branded credit card is one of the many Make in India activities undertaken by the Railways," he said while launching the card.
Highlighting its safety features, the Minister said the card working on RuPay platform is equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology whereby the users can expedite their transactions at the POS machines by just tapping instead of swiping it.
He further said that the State Bank of India (SBI) card is designed to reward frequent railway travellers.
"The new credit card offers the rail passengers maximum savings proposition on their travel together with exclusive benefits on retail, dining and entertainment as well as transaction fee waivers," Goyal said.
He also said that the cardholders will receive up to 10 per cent value back on 1st AC, 2nd AC, 3rd AC, Executive Chair Car and AC Chair Car bookings made on the Indian Rail Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website.
He said that the card also offers online transaction fee waiver (1 per cent of transaction amount), 1 per cent fuel surcharge waiver and four free access to premium lounges at railway stations in a year (one per quarter).
According to railways, the users of the credit card will receive 350 bonus reward points upon activation of the card with a minimum spent.
"The users can redeem the accumulated reward points against purchase of train tickets on IRCTC's ticketing website. In addition to savings on rail travel, the IRCTC-SBI card offers several benefits for online shopping portals. Customers can avail discounts while shopping at e-commerce sites," the ministry said in a statement.
(IANS)
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According to the study, through focused intervention in capacity building, India can enhance its agro-export to surpass Thailand and Indonesia and become the fifth largest exporter in the world.
"As a first strategy, the government should re-orient the role of its extension centres, viz the 715 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) across the country, to handhold farmers in growing those varieties of crops that are demanded in the global market," a statement on the study said.
"Many times, India's export consignments are rejected because of the presence of pesticides above the prescribed 'Maximum Residual Limits' in foreign countries. KVKs should guide farmers on prudential use of pesticides and other agrochemicals so that they conform to the global quality standards."
However, the study pointed out that in the last decade, India has made "remarkable progress" in the export of niche products such as capsicum chilly, castor oil, tobacco extracts and sweet biscuits.
"India has also made considerable progress in export of basmati rice, meat and marine products. These success stories should be replicated in other potential food products," the statement said.
"India has less than 1 per cent share in world exports of beverages, floriculture, cereal preparations, flour and starch, processed fruits and vegetables."
It recommends that India should explore 'South Asia and ASEAN' markets for beverages. Accordingly, the study says that India can tap $1.46 billion worth import demand for non-alcoholic beverages in South Asia and ASEAN countries.
Besides, the study mentions that India's export of mango pulp has declined from 154,820 tonnes in 2014-15 to 105,873 tonnes in 2018-19. "There is a need to set up more mango clusters in the country to enhance production capacity and arrest this declining trend," the statement said.
At present, India ranks eighth with annual agro exports of $39 billion, after EU ($181 bn), USA ($172 bn), Brazil ($93 bn), China ($83 bn), Canada ($69 bn), Indonesia ($46 bn) and Thailand ($44 bn), showed the latest data from the WTO.
As per FAO data, India is the second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world and yet its share in world exports is 1.7-1.8 per cent.
Similarly, India is the largest producer of papaya, lemons and limes; but meets hardly 3.2 per cent of the world import demand for papaya, 0.5 per cent of world import demand for lemons and limes, showed FAO data.
(IANS)
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Accordingly, a notification issued by Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has put television sets of different types with screen sizes ranging from 36cm to 105cm and above in the restricted list of items for imports from existing free import category.
The restrictions mean that import of all listed items would have to follow a process of verification and scrutiny by the Commerce Ministry before any permission is given to bring restricted list items into the country.
The latest checks on imports follows the government's earlier decision to make its approval mandatory for foreign investments from countries that share a land border with India, a move which largely restricts FDI from China.
Restrictions on imports of TV sets are expected to boost governments Atmanirbhar Bharat mission that focuses on making the country self-sufficient by developing domestic manufacturing capabilities.
The TV industry in India is about Rs 15,000 crore of which more than 36 per cent is coming as imports primarily from China and South-East Asia.
Government has gone for changing the export-import policy for TV sets as under the existing ASEAN India FTA many of these imports are coming at reduced/zero duty which cannot be controlled through increased duty. Hence, actions like import restrictions are one of the main actions available to Government by which it could bring about the necessary checks.
Apart from normal TV sets of different sizes, the DGFT has also put, a 'Liquid Crystal Display' television set of screen size below 63 cm and 'Other' category of sets in the restricted list.
"Actual user condition would not be applicable for importers applying for an authorisation to import the goods 'Restricted' in this 'Notification', "the DGFT notification said.
"The procedure for grant of the license will be separately issued by DGFT."
Government has gone in for import restriction of TV sets as Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) for TVs is already underway and specified parts like open-cell, chips on films, Printed Circuit Boards Assembly (PCBA) are exempted from duty. Hence, India is ready for the shift of manufacturing to India with cost-effective imports of essential parts.
Government sources said that current action has been taken after extensive consultations with industry and after exploring ways to reduce the imports.
"It is not a unilateral exercise executed by Government without taking the industry in confidence. Hence Industry will be able to rapidly move to domestic manufacturing and consumer will not see any price escalation," said the source.
(IANS)
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"The Ministry of Defence is now ready for a big push to #AtmanirbharBharat initiative," Singh said on Twitter while making the announcement.
The Ministry of Defence is now ready for a big push to #AtmanirbharBharat initiative. MoD will introduce import embargo on 101 items beyond given timeline to boost indigenisation of defence production.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020
He said the ministry has prepared a list of 101 items for which the embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024.
The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024. Our aim is to apprise the Indian defence industry about the anticipated requirements of the Armed Forces so that they are better prepared to realise the goal of indigenisation.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020
The list of 101 embargoed items comprises some high technology weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircraft, light combat helicopters (LCHs), radars and many other items.
Singh said all necessary steps would be taken to ensure that timelines for domestic production of equipment identified under a negative list for import are met, adding the measures will include a co-ordinated mechanism for hand-holding of the industry by the defence services.
"The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024. The aim behind promulgation of the list is to apprise the Indian defence industry about the anticipated requirements of the armed forces so that they are better prepared to realise the goal of indigenisation," he said.
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As per the design of the options given to the states by the Centre to meet GST compensation gap, if the states decide to meet the entire shortfall of Rs 235,000 crores (including the Covid-impact portion) through issue of market debt, then additional unconditional borrowing limit of 0.5% and the final (bonus) tranche of 0.5% provided under the Atmanirbhar Bharat package as a COVID relief measure will not be available separately.
The finance ministry, which gave two options to states at the GST council meeting on August 27 to cover the GST compensation shortfall this year, on Saturday sent a written communication on the two borrowing options to States who have been given seven days time to revert with their preference on the proposals. A meeting of State Finance Secretaries with the Union Finance Secretary and Secretary (Expenditure) has also been scheduled on September 1 for clarifying issues.
Under option one, the Centre has offered a special borrowing window to states, in consultation with the RBI, for an amount of Rs 97,000 crore (the shortfall arising out of GST implementation) at a "reasonable" interest rate.
The Centre will endeavour to keep the borrowing cost at or close to the G-sec yield, and in the event of the cost being higher, will bear the margin between G-secs and the average of State Development Loan yields up to 0.5% (50 basis points) through a subsidy.
Also Read: GST Council Meet: Centre Proposes 2 Options To States For Resolving Compensation Cess Issue
The borrowing under the first option will also not be treated as debt of the state and can be availed over and above any other borrowing ceilings eligible under any other normal or special permission notified by the Department of Expenditure.
Also, under option one, the interest on the borrowing will be paid from the Cess as and when it arises until the end of the transition period. After the transition period, principal and interest will also be paid from the proceeds of the Cess, by extending the Cess beyond the transition period for such period as may be required. The state will not be required to service the debt or to repay it from any other source.
Moreover, in this option the state would also be permitted to avail full additional borrowing limits given under the Atmanirbhar Bharat package with the last 0.5 per cent bonus also being given unconditionally. Unused borrowing could also be carried forward to the next year by the states.
Under the Atmanirbhar Bharat package states allowed unconditional additional borrowing of 0.5 per cent of SGDP (over and above 3 per cent allowed) performance or reforms linked borrowing of 1 per cent in four reaches of 0.25 per cent each and additional 0.5 per cent borrowing on completing three out of four reforms.
The second option given by the centre allows states to borrow entire projected GST compensation shortfall of Rs 2,35,000 crore (total shortfall of Rs 3 lakh crore minus Rs 65,000 crore collected as GST compensation cess) for FY21. But this borrowing will be allowed by subsuming the additional unconditional borrowing limit of 0.5% and the final (bonus) tranche of 0.5% given to states as a special limit to fight the COVID pandemic.
Though reform linked borrowing will be permitted under this option, it would not be carried forward to next year. The interest on borrowing taken by states under this option will have to be paid by them from their resources. The principal on the amount borrowed under the option, after the transition period, will be paid from the proceeds of the Cess. The States will not be required to repay the principal from any other source.
Also, To the extent of the shortfall arising due to implementation of GST (i.e. Rs. 97,000 crores approximately in aggregate) the borrowing will not be treated as debt of the State for any norms which may be prescribed by the Finance Commission.
The Compensation Cess will be continued after the transition period until such time as all arrears of compensation for the transition period are paid to the states. The first charge on the future Cess would be the principal repayment. The remaining arrears of compensation accrued during the transition period would be paid after the principal is paid.
(IANS)
To promote the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mitron TV has unveiled its discovery platform on the occasion of 'National Unity Day'.
The app visions to strengthen home-grown technology on a grand scale by making it easier for users to identify Indian apps for their various needs.
"After PM Modi's clarion call in May this year to be Aatmanirbhar, we felt that it's highly important to let users discover noteworthy Indian apps that are doing exceptional work to keep India running," Shivank Agarwal, Co-Founder and CEO Mitron said in a statement.
"This is a small effort by Mitron TV to celebrate self-reliance and promote domestic businesses," Agarwal added.
With the launch of the app, Mitron TV also unveiled #AtmanirbharPledge campaign to support the visible momentum for #VocalForLocal.
The campaign appeals Indian users to choose domestic substitutes in the app world, and channelise their support for an 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'.
Currently, the platform hosts more than 100 apps and plans to bring 500 apps by the end of this year.
The platform hosts a wide array of apps from categories like e-governance, utility, agriculture, gaming, entertainment, lifestyle, e-learning amongst others.
"We invite Indians to head to our discovery platform where they will find the best of desi apps to suit their every need," said Anish Khandelwal, Co-Founder and CTO, Mitron.
(IANS)
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Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India), this mechanical engineering graduate gave up his lucrative job to start a low-cost LED bulbs manufacturing unit which not only enabled him to earn a livelihood and dignified life, it has also provided employment to scores of youths in his village.
But the path to self-reliance wasn’t smooth. Subhankar had to fight many odds before he could set up his dream project in this remote village in the far away southern district of Odisha.
“I completed my mechanical engineering courses in 2016 and joined a firm. But when I heard of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for Atmanirbhar Bharat, the desire to become self-reliant became overpowering. I didn’t think twice before putting in my papers before my employers,” said the young entrepreneur.
With the blue-print of the venture etched in his mind by then, Subhankar headed for Delhi for the required raw materials. Side by side, he handpicked some local youths and trained them in the manufacturing of LED bulbs. It took some time to set up the unit. However, once it was set up, there was no looking back.
At present, his unit churns out around 300 bulbs of various sizes and luminosity every day in 16 hours of labour split into shifts. Needless to say, the hard work and determination of his team has paid off as the products have become a hit in the local market.
“The prices of Subhankar’s products are reasonable and they are at par with the leading brands in terms of quality. There is a huge demand for the product/s in the market and so far we have not received any complaint,” said Madhusudhan Pujari, an electrical shop owner at Nabarangpur town.
Though in the beginning Subhankar’s family wasn’t happy with his decision of quitting a high-paying job to establish a bulb manufacturing unit, his determination and success has brought about change over.
“We are happy that our son is pursuing his passion and dream of becoming self-reliant. He has also provided job opportunities to many unemployed youth of our area,” said his father Tarini Charan Sahu.
However, Subhankar doesn’t want to bask on the glory of the initial success.
“There is a long way to go. I have plans to expand the unit. I want to produce more bulbs and provide employment to more young people in our area. If the government helps me with some funds, that dream would be realised,” he said.
Skill is not only a way to earn, it's a driving force too!
Inspired by PM's noble call for Atmanirbhar Bharat, Subhankar Sahu - an engineer from Nabarangpur #Odisha is now manufacturing low-cost LED bulbs at home; he's also engaged several jobless youths to boost the innovation. pic.twitter.com/CqyiJ61g9l
— OTV (@otvnews) November 11, 2020
CAIT has said that the fundamental of levying the fine is to make offenders realise their fault for not committing the same offence any more.
However, the paltry monetary penalty has no significance at all and it is demanded that a seven-day ban on Amazon and other big ecommerce companies who are continuously offending the law and policies, should be imposed on them. "Let there be an exemplary punishment," said CAIT.
CAIT National President B.C. Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal in a joint statement issued here on Friday said that levying such a small amount on a foreign e-commerce giant for violating Indian Law is nothing but a mockery of our judicial and administrative system.
"The punishment should be equal to the damage caused by them on our economy and it should have reflected a clear message to the foreign ecommerce players that anyone disobeying the law of the land," they said.
Bhartia and Khandelwal said that in the wake of the magnitude of e-commerce business in India and taking the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi "vocal for local" and "Atmanirbhar Bharat", the description of the Country of Origin is now mandatory and for disobeying this law for the first time, the relevant ecommerce portal should be banned for seven days, for second offence, it should be banned for 15 days and for third offence, the portal should be banned till the time, it complies fully with the law.
"The government is custodian of the laws framed by it and therefore, it is the duty of the government to maintain sanctity and strict implementation of the law both in letter and spirit," they added.
Bhartia and Khandelwal said that a fine or penalty should always be exemplary and be in proportion to the offence committed. Having this yardstick as the barometer, the fine of a token amount of Rs 25,000 is more like compromising with the law.
"Amazon can go on disobeying the law as for them the fine amount is very small. They further added that there is some vested interest behind the continuous violation of the Indian law by these ecommerce companies and, hence the fine imposed needs to be steep.
"Law should be equal for everybody and other ecommerce players (Flipkart, Myntra) should also face the heat for flouting rules. We are unable to understand why they were not fined. Such an indecisive attitude of the authorities towards the foreign e-commerce players is quite unreasonable," they added.
(With IANS Inputs)
The positive and vibrant outlook of the country’s India Inc. was to the fore in a pre-budget survey done by reputed institute Deloitte.
The survey finds that about 70 per cent of the industry leaders are positive about India’s growth in 2021−22. However, a considerable number of leaders from the infrastructure and power ( around 40%), telecommunications (45%), and industrial products and manufacturing (37%) industries have a neutral outlook.
TAKE A GLANCE AT THE DETAILS…
Also, On India Inc.’s take on PM Modi’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ Package.
Speaking exclusively in the OTV's 11th annual conclave Foresight, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said,
"The vaccination in India has reached a crucial stage. As of date, Covaxin and Covishield have been delivered to over 1.66 crore people. The AEFI (Adverse Effects Following Immunisation) in the country as of date stood at a mere 0.00043 per cent. The country will see the roll-out of nearly half-a-dozen vaccines soon. Another 12 vaccines are in the pre-clinical trial stage."
As per highly placed sources, ZyCoV-D (a plasmid DNA vaccine) will soon be launched in India.
However, the main theme of Dr Harsh Vardhan Foresight 2021 talk harped on the Atmanirbhar Bharat which showed its resilience to the world in combating the contagious 'once in a life time' pandemic.
BOOSTER DOSE TO ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT
"When many mathematical models on n-CoV2 have predicted doomsday for India citing the sheer density and size of her population and had even gone to predict that the country would witness a massive 300-400 mn cases and 6-7 mn deaths due to the contagious pandemic, the actual cases after 1.2 years stood at mere 11.7 million and fatalities stood at 1.57 lakh," he outlined.
Putting the glare on Atmanirbhar Bharat again, Harsh Vardhan said, "in April 2020, the country had only 1 lab for Covid-19 testing, today we have around 2,399. Now, we are manufacturing 5-6 lakh PPE per day. A massive 5-10 lakh test kits per day are being manufactured in the country."
Moreover, when a lot of controversies and political fishing had been done around one vaccine (Covaxin), the phase-III data released recently (that showed an interim efficacy of a high of 81 per cent) has silenced the critics in the country, said a smiling Harsh Vardhan. This is the Union Health Minister's first public comment after the release of Covaxin phase-3 data.
He added that the vaccine policy of the Government of India has been uniform since the beginning, "There should be no compromise on safety, efficacy and immunogenicity of the vaccines."
ON INDIA AS PHARMACY OF WORLD
"During the peak pandemic time, India had supplied Hydroxychloroquine drugs to around 250 countries. Similarly, the country has launched the 'Vaccine Maitri' programme to deliver made in India vaccines to its neighbouring and friendly countries. As of date, vaccines are provided to 21 countries as grants, and to over 36 countries under contact programme," said Dr Harsh Vardhan.
ON INDIA'S POTENTIAL TO FIGHT PANDEMICS
The country's potential to battle out such a highly contagious pandemic is evidenced by the instance of a student who had returned from Wuhan and had tested positive. The potential of the country is it could trace 162 contacts.
When questions on India's capability to conduct tests were being raised, the numbers of over 1mn tests/day in the peak month of September 2020 tells the tale of the country's potential to deal with the size of the pandemic like Covid-19, he emphasised.
"The WHO had announced about n-CoV-2 to the world on Jan 6, 2020. Within a week (by Jan17), the union health ministry had issued detailed guidelines to all states. In the shortest span of time, the country had set its extensive surveillance network - from the point of entry (at airports) to community surveillance at the ground level)," claimed Dr Vardhan.
ON RISE-IN TREND IN 5 STATES AND SECOND WAVE
The Union Health Ministry has categorically stated the consistent rise in cases of COVID in 5 states cannot be termed as the second COVID wave in India.
"It cannot be construed as the second wave because states like Maharashtra has been recording higher cases since the beginning of the pandemic. The rise is due to non-adherence to Covid-19 appropriate behaviour. Also, our scientists have clearly established that there is no link between rising cases and new strains," the minister reasoned.
ON THE WUHAN LINK
The WHO has conducted a series of meticulous scientific studies in the ground zero at Wuhan. As of the date, there has been no such data to show that the virus is engineered at any lab in Wuhan, explained Dr Vardhan.
However, the Union Health Minister has laid a greater emphasis on diligent adherence to the 'Social Vaccine' - use of masks, maintaining 6-ft distance and hand washing - to keep the pandemic at bay, even as the country will have an intense vaccination drive to defeat the Covid-19.
In 2019, Chinese investors poured $3.9 billion into India, up from $2 billion in 2018. This investment scenario took a turnaround from May last year amid face-offs and skirmishes between Indian and Chinese troops at locations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
India rolled out a new policy last year to block "opportunistic takeovers", requiring all foreign direct investment (FDI) from neighbouring countries to be directly approved by the government.
As a result, the investment from China in Indian companies fell down to $263 million across 15 deals in the first half of 2020.
The Indian tech startup base has witnessed a steady growth at a scale of 8-10 per cent (year-on-year) with over 1,600 tech startups and a record number of 12 additional unicorns added in 2020 -- the highest ever in a single calendar year, according to the latest Nasscom-Zinnov report.
Sensing the atmosphere, homegrown tech startups have started to look around for investments within the country, and their calls have been answered.
In mid-March, the existing investors, along with a few prominent Indians, bought out Chinese venture capital firm Shunwei Capital's minority stake in Twitter's homegrown rival Koo's parent company Bombinate Technologies.
Former India cricketer Javagal Srinath, BookMyShow founder Ashish Hemrajani, Udaan co-founder Sujeet Kumar, Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy and Zerodha founder Nikhil Kamat participated in the round to buy out shares of Shunwei Capital.
Shunwei Capital had held a bit more than 9 per cent in Bombinate Technologies.
Srinath said that he is happy to be backing Koo. "The fact that they are building a platform to bring the voices of Indian language audiences onto the Internet is commendable, and as an Indian, I extend my support to them wholeheartedly," the former cricketer had said.
Koo, which positions itself as an 'Aatmanirbhar' app for India and the world and has over 40 lakh users, had earlier faced criticism for the company's links to Chinese funding.
The microblogging platform, however, said that it is one of the first companies in India to be proactive in its actions of cleaning up its cap table and has doubled down on its commitment to build an Aatmanirbhar app.
Founded by Mandeep Manocha, Nakul Kumar and Amit Sethi, Cashify is a re-commerce marketplace, which offers an online platform to sell old, or used electronic gadgets, primarily smartphones.
Cashify, which has Chinese investors on board, raised $15 million from New York-based Olympus Capital Asia, a middle-market private equity firm, earlier in March.
According to Manocha, the CEO of Cashify, "We are looking forward to accelerating our investment in the electronics reuse and recycling sector, thereby enabling OEMs and consumers to materially reduce their carbon footprint."
Arun Pratap, Vice President (finance and accounts), Cashify, told IANS that they have been lucky to have great investors all over the globe who are not in for the short haul and believe in the power of Indian consumers.
"We are more than happy to welcome Indian investors, but it won't be correct for us to say that we are shying away from the global ones, as they have played a big part in shaping our journey since the inception of Cashify," Pratap said.
"What is more important to us is making the best use of the funding, be it from our local players or investors from overseas. In the coming days, we plan to forge ahead with these resources by creating new job opportunities for our fellow nationals and truly contribute to the idea of 'Make in India' with homegrown innovation and expansion of our technological know-how," he elaborated.
According to Vishesh Rajaram, Managing Partner, Speciale Invest, which is a seed-stage venture capital firm, they are seeing a steady increase in founders with technical insights coming with vision to create technologies that make India self-sufficient.
A large part of the portfolio founders (in Fund I) are building products and intellectual property stacks to contribute to India becoming self-sufficient across varied technologies.
"To name a few, Agnikul Cosmos is building India's private launch vehicle, Astrogate Labs is building India's first optical communication terminals for making communication more accessible in India, while ePlane Co is building electric planes to make transportation more accessible and cheaper for India," Rajaram told IANS.
Despite a lower number of total startups deals in 2020, seed-stage investments are recovering at a good pace as investor activities at lower ticket sizes have increased in the country.
Seed-stage funding in 2020 recovered to more than 90 per cent of 2019 levels. Early and late-stage investments are also recovering steadily.
On the other hand, media reports claim that nearly 150 investment proposals from China worth more than $2 billion are still stuck in the pipeline.
In such a scenario, raising money from countries other than China, along with Indian investors, is logical and tech startups have started to chart the new funding route.