Monday, October 26, 2015

ET AWARD SPECIAL...POLICY CHANGE AGENT



Driving Force Behind the
`Make in India' 
  Programme


...and the award goes to POLICY CHANGE AGENT
AMITABH KANT Secretary, DIPP

Amitabh Kant, the man who pilots key initiatives to attract
investment, sees the ET Award for Policy Change Agent as
a recognition of the brand equity created for India.
“He's a problem solver,“ said a member of the jury .
 “He's very unlike a bureaucrat,“ said another.
The 1980-batch Kerala-cadre IAS officer was their
unanimous choice for the `Policy Change Agent' award.
Kant, who has Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his follower
 on Twitter, has been the force behind key initiatives of the
government ­ be it `Make in India', `Ease of Doing Business',
FDI reforms or simplification of defence licensing.
The initiatives have yielded tangible results.
In the first half of this fiscal year, India received more
greenfield foreign investment than any other country
and mobile handset majors are rushing to manufacture
 here ­ evidence of the success of FDI reforms and the
`Make in India' programme.
Due to the work done by the Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion (DIPP), where Kant is the secretary ,
 you can get your company registered in a day by filling
out a single form. Port clearances have been eased,
while the `Ease of Doing Business' initiative has cut the
paperwork for businesses. These steps are expected to
take India higher in the World Bank's Ease of Doing
Business index from its current position of 142.
His most telling achievement is in fostering a spirit of
competition among states to attract investment.
An EY survey recently ranked India as the top investment
destination, a far cry from the sombre mood when Kant
took charge of DIPP in March 2014, two months before
Modi came to power.
Kant is delighted with the award, but gives the credit to
the government and colleagues. “The award goes to all
the people who worked on `Make in India' to make it a
household name,“ Kant said. “It is recognition of the
brand equity we have built internationally through
this initiative. It is recognition of all the ministries that
have backed FDI reforms in their sectors.“ His stint as
chairman of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development
Corporation under DIPP ensured that he hit the ground
running when the government put manufacturing revival
on top of its agenda. Kant, the man behind the
`Incredible India' campaign, is also behind the Japan
Plus team and an inter-ministerial committee for the
US to fast track investments from these two major
FDI sources. He is readily accessible and interacts with
investors and corporate bigwigs at his Udyog Bhawan office.
A Chevening Scholar, he graduated in economics from
Delhi's St Stephen's College and did his post-graduation
 from Jawaharlal Nehru University .
ET19OCT15

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