Mumbai:
The government will set up five manufacturing investment
regions (MIRs), on the lines of special economic zones
(SEZs). The MIRs would cover a larger area of 100sq km
and may include the SEZs as well, commerce and industry
minister Kamal Nath said in New Delhi on Tuesday.
These
regions might include SEZs, industrial clusters, IT parks,
export oriented units and other such established schemes.
"The units located within these regions would get
the benefit of world-class infrastructure but no specific
fiscal incentives," he said.
The
government will further liberalise norms for foreign direct
investment (FDI) for manufacturing units in the MIRs to
give a boost to the manufacturing sector, the minister
said, adding, more weightage would be given to leather,
pharmaceuticals and engineering goods industries.
He
said the government is weighing various options while
the focus is on removing procedural bottlenecks.
FDI
inflows into the country''s manufacturing sector has risen
by 75 per cent to over $2 billion in 2005-06, Nath said,
adding, the government aims to double these inflows over
the next two years.
While
the manufacturing sector grew by 10.4 per cent in May
this year, the government is aiming at a 12 per cent growth,
covering all industrial activities except power, water
supply and mining, he said.
Alongside,
the government is also formulating a policy framework
for petroleum and petrochemical investment regions (PCPIRs),
covering an even larger area of over 250sq km.
Kamal
Nath said the MIRs would support industries where the
country has a distinct advantage and may not require any
separate legislation.
He
said five coastal states of Orissa, West Bengal, Karnataka,
Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh had already made presentations
and were in the process of finalising their action plan
to establish these regions.
Nath
said the prime minister''s council on trade and industry
would consider the recommendations of the Investment Commission
headed
by Ratan Tata next week. The government is also considering
options for retail sector FDI as it wants to ensure that
it would generate additional economic activity and do
not displace existing ones, he added.
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