New Delhi: India recently relaxed foreign direct investment norms in the space sector and is likely to liberalize FDI in some other sectors if the new government comes to power, a top official said on Saturday.

Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said that over the last few years, India has liberalized the FD policy in many sectors.

He said India has one of the most liberal foreign direct investment (FDI) policies in the world and in fact is more liberal than many Southeast Asian countries with which the country is often compared.Recently FDI norms in the space sector were eased in 2017 and "it is quite possible that under a new government, we may try to liberalize some of the parts that are left and where some liberalization is possible," Singh said here. Said at CII's Annual Business Summit.

Lok Sabha elections are going on in the country and counting of votes is to take place on June 4.The government has eased FDI norms in the space sector by allowing 100 per cent foreign investment in making components for satellites, as part of efforts to attract foreign players and private companies into the sector. According to government data, April-Dec. FDI in India declined by 13 per cent to US$ 32.03 billion in 2023, dragged down by lower investments in computer hardware and software, telecom, auto and pharma sectors.

Talking about the success of Production Linked Incentive Schemes (PLI), the Secretary said that investments worth Rs 1.13 lakh crore have come so far and beneficiary companies have achieved sales of over Rs 9 lakh crore, exports worth Rs 3.45 lakh crore. And have created. Jobs to more than 8 lakh people.

The scheme was announced in 2021 for 14 sectors, including telecom white goods, textiles, medical devices manufacturing, automobiles, special steel, food products, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemistry CL batteries, drones and pharma. Including an outlay of Rs. 1.97 lakh crore. Singh said some people criticize the scheme saying it has not increased domestic value addition, but they should know that it takes time.People have raised issues regarding India attracting players in the semi-conductor segment and said that it is too capital intensive and not suitable for India.

"The goal is not labor intensity, it is primarily strategic and to ensure that we do not become over-dependent on insecure supply chains," he said. On ease of doing business, he said they are looking at the World Bank's Business Ready ( B-Ready) index for which the survey will begin in August and this Rankin includes a new set of indices that will cover ease of entry, ease of operations. And ease of exiting the business.

The World Bank has shared a set of 1,370 questions that will be assessed across different economies.Singh said, "Our survey will start in September. DPIIT along with various ministries is trying to assess the situation first and then see if we can make some quick improvements in some areas to ensure that That our overall performance improves."Despite some shortcomings, these rankings have a symbolic impact on foreign investors.

“We need to make sure we don't go back and continue to improve when I get to those rankings,” he said.

He said that the department is working on the second edition of Jan Vishwas Law after receiving inputs from industry associations.“We will have to do several rounds of these exercises to eliminate some of the vexatious and punitive provisions that are adverse to business,” the secretary said.

In the first version of the Public Trust Act, more than 180 provisions in 42 Central Acts administered by 19 ministries and departments were decriminalized. Earlier under the Public Trust Act, some provisions including imprisonment and/or fines were removed.

Some of the laws that have been amended include the Boiler Act, Bharat Forest Act, Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, Warehousing Corporation Act, Food Corporation Act, Patent Act and Food Safety and Standards Act. Intellectual Property of the country Further on the IPR regime, the Secretary said that India has created a situation where its patent regime is meeting or approaching global standards in terms of approval at the time of patent examination.The number of patents granted increased from 5,978 in 2014-15 to 1.3 lakh in 2023-24. On how to increase participation of states in the reform process, he said, "There are some weapons through which we have to move forward in those reform areas Which we think are really important for the country."