Steps to indigenise defence production by banning the import of some weapons and platforms while hiking foreign direct investment into the sector were among the highlights of the fourth tranche of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package, which seemed to focus more on industry reforms than any sort of economic stimulus.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also announced measures to introduce commercial mining in the coal sector, liberalise the mineral sector, ease airspace restrictions and encourage private involvement in space and atomic energy projects.
Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan | First tranche | Second tranche | Third tranche
Boost for growth
“Many sectors need policy simplification. Once we decongest sectors, we can also provide the necessary boost for growth and employment,” Ms. Sitharaman said, noting that structural reforms were the focus of Saturday’s announcements.
“These sectors with these reforms are going to be the new horizon for growth and, therefore, we see great potential in more investments which can be drawn with the reforms that we are announcing today. More production can be clearly marked, and certainly it will lead to a lot more employment possibilities,” she said.
Most industry groups welcomed the package, although some in the space sector said the measures to boost private participation had to go beyond mere intent. However, labour unions across the ideological spectrum, including the RSS-based Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, slammed the reform measures.
“This was less of a stimulus and more of industrial reforms, which could have been announced at any time. They have used this crisis time to utilise the ordinance route or other ways to fast-track industrial reforms, which would have faced resistance otherwise,” said Ernst and Young’s chief policy adviser D.K. Srivastava, who is also a member of the Advisory Council to the 15th Finance Commission.
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“The sectors covered are of strategic importance but these policies will be rolled out over a 3-6 month