1 . Competitiveness Roadmap for India
PIB Release – https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1855437
Context: The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) released the Competitiveness Roadmap for India@100.
Competitiveness Roadmap for India:
- The roadmap is a collaborative endeavour between the EAC-PM and The Institute for Competitiveness
- The Competitiveness roadmap for India@100 is based on the Competitiveness framework developed by Professor Michael E. Porter.
- The Competitiveness approach puts forth the idea of productivity as a driver of sustained prosperity. It emphasizes the context that a nation is able to provide firms to be more productive and for individuals to be able to partake in the value generated through their productivity.
- Based on this approach, the India@100 roadmap guides the way for India to become a high-income country by 2047 through sector-specific and region-specific policies based on the ‘4 S’ principles.
- The ‘4 S’ guiding principles redefine our approach to attaining prosperity by stressing the need for prosperity growth to be matched by social progress, to be shared across all regions within India, to be environmentally sustainable, and to be solid in the face of external shocks. By capturing these four important aspects, the ‘4 S’ guiding principles pave the way for resilient and holistic development.
- The roadmap sets out to give new guiding principles that are based on clearly defined overall goals and the articulation of a new development approach embedded in integrating social and economic agendas.
- It offers a thorough diagnostic assessment of India’s current competitiveness level, the primary challenges faced, and opportunities for growth. Furthermore, setting out the pathway to becoming a high-income country, the roadmap suggests essential areas of action, including improving labour productivity and enhancing labour mobilization, boosting the creation of competitive job opportunities, and improving policy implementation through greater coordination across different ministries.
2 . One herb one standard
PIB Release – https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1855452
Context: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy (Ministry of Ayush) and Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (Ministry of Health & Family Welfare) for Inter-Ministerial cooperation for promotion and facilitation of “One Herb, One Standard”.
One Herb, One Standard:
- Presently there are different standards as well as different analytical methods published in ASU&H Pharmacopoeias when compared with Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP). Ministry of Ayush desires to remove this ambiguity by through “One Herb – One Standard” initiative.
- Harmonisation of standards will improve ease of doing business in India and also improve the overall trade of Indian botanicals. It will prove a significant step towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat
- Each monograph will have Indian standards along with the international quality requirements, so that all Indian quality standards become contemporary with the global standards for the same botanicals.
3 . Open Network for Digital Commerce
PIB Release – https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1855563
Context: Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, chaired the meeting to review the progress of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) held in New Delhi.
About Open Network for Digital Commerce
- It is an initiative aimed at promoting open networks for all aspects of exchange of goods and services over digital or electronic networks.
- ONDC is to be based on open-sourced methodology, using open specifications and open network protocols independent of any specific platform.
- It is being developed as a counter to the current duopoly in the Indian e-commerce market which is largely dictated by Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart.
- In May this year, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) went live with a test run of ONDC in cities like Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Bhopal, and Shillong where it plans to onboard 150 sellers.
4 . DESH Bill
PIB Release – https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1855352
Context: A Workshop on Development of Enterprises and Services Hub (DESH) Bill, 2022 was organized by Department of Commerce in Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi.
DESH Bill:
- Through the bill, the government is seeking to go beyond export-oriented manufacturing and focus on broad-based parameters such as boosting additional economic activity, generating employment, and integrating various industrial hubs.
- Unlike in the SEZ ecosystem, the government has proposed to create developmental hubs, whose focus is not limited to exports, but also to cater to the domestic markets.
- The DESH Bill classifies two types of developmental hubs — Enterprise and services hubs.
- While the enterprise hubs will have land-based area requirements and be allowed for both manufacturing and services activities, services hubs will have built-up area requirements and be allowed for only services-related activities.
- These hubs, which will come up under the regional boards of states, could be created by Centre or states or jointly by both or by any goods and services provider.
- The salient features of the new law are the strengthened single window mechanism, a robust and dynamic regulatory structure, revamped fiscal framework as well as avenues for alternate dispute resolution measures.
- One of the key aspects of the new DESH Bill is also to promote the expansion of the gambit of service sector units. Currently, only specified services such as IT, ITeS are allowed in special economic zones.
- The Bill also proposes to offer tax benefits and other sops. According to reports, the draft bill proposes to freeze the corporation tax at concessional 15% for greenfield and brownfield units in the developmental hubs.
5 . Globalise to Localise Report
PIB Release – https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1855316
Context: Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, launched a report titled as ‘Globalise to Localise: Exporting at Scale and Deepening the Ecosystem are Vital to Higher Domestic Value Addition’.
Globalise to Localise Report:
- The report prepared by India Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), in collaboration with India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA)
- It explores how India can achieve electronics production target of US$300 billion and exports of US$120 by 2025-26.
- The report, Globalise to Localise, examines the empirical relationship between exports and the share of domestic value addition in successful exporting nations. It finds that the two variables are negatively correlated in the short-run, but exhibit positive correlation in the medium-term.
- This report postulates that India must export aggressively to reach the scale in electronics manufacturing. In addition to domestic production, and supplies and domestic consumption, the exports are important way to get the scales of the other economies that are competing with India. Exports will create a network effect of creating the supply chain interests, and supply chain investments that in turn will increase the value addition in the Indian electronics segment.
- The report, recommends a sequential approach that can put India’s exports in the same trajectory as China and Vietnam based on ‘first globalise, then localize’. The immediate goal should be to export at scale to global markets (globalise), and the subsequent objective should be to increase the share of local content (localise). The report suggests several steps and policies needed for deepening the broader electronics ecosystem within India
- Mantra of ‘first globalise, then localize’, which means in the initial years they were determined to achieve global scale in exports, and then shifted their emphasis to greater use of local contents.
- The report points to an urgent need for India to create a competitive domestic ecosystem of ancillary suppliers through technology upgradation programmes, holding sourcing fairs and introducing supporting industry development programmes.
- It will help the Government identify the challenges that are to be met and the strategies that are to be adopted to achieve this target.
6 . Facts for Prelims
International Driving Permit:
- The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a notification for greater facilitation of citizens in the issue of International Driving Permit (IDP) across the country.
- India, being a signatory to Convention on International Road Traffic of 1949 (Geneva Convention), is required to issue IDP as provided under this Convention, for the acceptance of the same on reciprocal basis with other countries.
- Currently, the format, size, pattern, colour etc. of the IDP being issued was differing across States in India. Due to this, many citizens were facing difficulties with their respective IDP in foreign countries.
- Now, through this amendment, the format, size, colour etc. for IDP has been standardized for issuance across India, and in adherence to the Geneva Convention.
- Provision for QR code to link the IDP with the Driving License has also been made. A comparison of vehicle categories across various Conventions and Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 has also been added for facilitation of regulatory authorities.
ICAT – https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1855418
- International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), is a division of NATRiP (NAB) Implementation Society (NATIS) under Ministry of Heavy Industries.
- It is located in Manesar since 1996.
- It is one of the independent Testing Agencies under Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) notified by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Government of India for Testing and Certification of Automobiles and their critical safety components.
- It has facilities for vehicle homologation and also testing laboratories for noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) and passive safety. It also includes a powertrain laboratory, engine dynamometers, emission laboratory with Euro-V capability, a fatigue laboratory, passive safety laboratory, and vehicle test tracks.
- ICAT is also being developed as a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for component development and NVH.