Industrial Policies in India

INDUSTRIAL POLICY SINCE 1956

When India achieved Independence in 1947, the national consensus was in favour of rapid industrialization of the economy which was seen not only as the key to economic development but also to economic sovereignty. In the subsequent years, India's Industrial Policy evolved through successive  Industrial Policy Resolutions and Industrial Policy Statements. Specific

priorities for industrial development were also laid down in the successive Five Year Plans.

Building on the so-called "Bombay Plan"1 in the pre-Independence era, the first Industrial Policy Resolution announced in 1948 laid down broad contours of the strategy of industrial development. At that time the Constitution of India had not taken final shape nor was the Planning Commission constituted. Moreover, the necessary legal framework was also not put in place. Not surprisingly therefore, the Resolution was somewhat broad in its scope and direction. Yet, an important distinction was made among industries to be kept under the exclusive ownership of Government, i.e., the public sector, those reserved for private sector and the joint sector. Subsequently, the Indian Constitution was adopted in January 1950, the Planning Commission was constituted in March 1950 and the Industrial (Department and Regulation) Act (IDR Act) was enacted in 1951 with the objective of empowering the Government to take necessary steps to regulate the pattern of industrial development through licensing. This paved the way for the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956, which was the first comprehensive statement on the strategy for industrial development in India.

Industrial Policy Resolution - 1956

The Industrial Policy Resolution - 1956 was shaped by the Mahalanobis Model of growth, which suggested that emphasis on heavy industries would lead the economy towards a long term higher growth path. The Resolution widened the scope of the public sector. The objective was to accelerate economic growth and boost the process of industrialization as a means to achieving a socialistic pattern of society. Given the scarce capital and inadequate entrepreneurial base, the Resolution accorded a predominant role to the State to assume direct responsibility for industrial development. All industries of basic and strategic importance and those in the nature of public

utility services besides those requiring large scale investment were reserved for the public sector.

The Industrial Policy Resolution - 1956 classified industries into three categories. The first category comprised 17 industries (included in Schedule A of the Resolution) exclusively under the domain of the Government. These included inter alia, railways, air transport, arms and ammunition, iron and steel and atomic energy. The second category comprised 12 industries (included in Schedule B of the Resolution), which were envisaged to be progressively State

owned but private sector was expected to supplement the efforts of the State. The third category contained all the remaining industries and it was expected that private sector would initiate development of these industries but they would remain open for the State as well. It was envisaged that the State would facilitate and encourage development of these industries in the private sector, in accordance with the programmes formulated under the Five Year Plans, by

appropriate fiscal measures and ensuring adequate infrastructure. Despite the demarcation of industries into separate categories, the Resolution was flexible enough to allow the required adjustments and modifications in the national interest.

Another objective spelt out in the Industrial Policy Resolution – 1956 was the removal of regional disparities through development of regions with low industrial base. Accordingly, adequate infrastructure for industrial development of such regions was duly emphasized. Given the potential to provide large-scale employment, the Resolution reiterated the Government’s

determination to provide all sorts of assistance to small and cottage industries for wider dispersal of the industrial base and more equitable distribution of income. The Resolution, in fact, reflected the prevalent value system of India in the early 1950s, which was centered around self sufficiency in industrial production. The Industrial Policy Resolution – 1956 was a landmark policy statement and it formed the basis of subsequent policy announcements.

Industrial Policy Measures in the 1960s and 1970s

Monopolies Inquiry Commission (MIC) was set up in 1964 to review various aspects pertaining to concentration of economic power and operations of industrial licensing under the IDR Act, 1951. While emphasizing that the planned economy contributed to the growth of industry, the Report by MIC concluded that the industrial licensing system enabled big business houses to

obtain disproportionately large share of licenses which had led to pre-emption and foreclosure of capacity. Subsequently, the Industrial Licensing Policy Inquiry Committee (Dutt Committee), constituted in 1967, recommended that larger industrial houses should be given licenses only for setting up industry in core and heavy investment sectors, thereby necessitating reorientation of

industrial licensing policy.

In 1969, the monopolies and restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Act was introduced to enable the Government to effectively control concentration of economic power. The Dutt Committee had defined large business houses as those with assets of more than Rs.350 million. The MRTP Act, 1969 defined large business houses as those with assets of Rs. 200 million and above. Large

industries were designated as MRTP companies and were eligible to participate in industries that were not reserved for the Government or the Small scale sector.

The new Industrial Licensing Policy of 1970 classified industries into four categories. First category, termed as ‘Core Sector’, consisted of basic, critical and strategic industries. Second category termed as ‘Heavy Investment Sector’, comprised projects involving investment of more than Rs.50 million. The third category, the ‘Middle Sector’ consisted of projects with investment in the range of Rs.10 million to Rs.50 million. The fourth category was ‘Delicensed Sector’, in which investment was less than Rs.10 million and was exempted from licensing requirements. The industrial licensing policy of 1970 confined the role of large business houses and foreign companies to the core, heavy and export oriented sectors.

The Industrial Policy Statement - 1973

With a view to prevent excessive concentration of industrial activity in the large industrial houses, this Statement gave preference to small and medium entrepreneurs over the large houses and foreign companies in setting up of new capacity particularly in the production of mass consumption goods. New undertakings of up to Rs.10 million by way of fixed assets were exempted from licensing requirements for substantial expansion of assets. This exemption was

not allowed to MRTP companies, foreign companies and existing licensed or registered undertakings having fixed assets of Rs.50 million and above.

The Industrial Policy Statement -1977

This Statement emphasized decentralization of industrial sector with increased role for small scale, tiny and cottage industries. It also provided for close interaction between industrial and agricultural sectors. Highest priority was accorded to power generation and transmission. It expanded the list of items reserved for exclusive production in the small scale sector from 180 to

more than 500. For the first time, within the small scale sector, a tiny unit was defined as a unit with investment in machinery and equipment up to Rs.0.1 million and situated in towns or villages with a population of less than 50,000 (as per 1971 census). Basic goods, capital goods, high technology industries important for development of small scale and agriculture sectors were clearly delineated for large scale sector. It was also stated that foreign companies that diluted their foreign equity up to 40 per cent under Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) 1973 were to be treated at par with the Indian companies. The Policy Statement of 1977 also issued a list of industries where no foreign collaboration of financial or technical nature was allowed as

indigenous technology was already available. Fully owned foreign companies were allowed only in highly export oriented sectors or sophisticated technology areas. For all approved foreign investments, companies were completely free to repatriate capital and remit profits, dividends, royalties, etc. Further, in order to ensure balanced regional development, it was decided not to issue fresh licenses for setting up new industrial units within certain limits of large

metropolitan cities (more than 1 million population) and urban areas (more than 0.5 million population).

Industrial Policy Statement -1980

The industrial Policy Statement of 1980 placed accent on promotion of competition in the domestic market, technological up gradation and modernization of industries. Some of the socio-economic objectives spelt out in the Statement were i) optimum utilization of installed capacity, ii) higher productivity, iii) higher employment levels, iv) removal of regional disparities, v) strengthening of agricultural base, vi) promotion of export oriented industries and vi) consumer protection against high prices and poor quality.

Policy measures were announced to revive the efficiency of public sector undertakings (PSUs) by developing the management cadres in functional fields’ viz., operations, finance, marketing and information system. An automatic expansion of capacity up to five per cent per annum was allowed, particularly in the core sector and in industries with long-term export potential. Special incentives were granted to industrial units which were engaged in industrial processes and technologies aiming at optimum utilization of energy and the exploitation of alternative sources of energy. In order to boost the development of small scale industries, the investment limit was raised to Rs.2 million in small scale units and Rs.2.5 million in ancillary units. In the case of

tiny units, investment limit was raised to Rs.0.2 million.

Industrial Policy Measures during the 1980s

Policy measures initiated in the first three decades since Independence facilitated the establishment of basic industries and building up of a broad based infrastructure in the country. The Seventh Five Year Plan (1985-1900), recognized the need for consolidation of these strengths and initiating policy measures to prepare the Indian industry to respond effectively to emerging challenges. A number of measures were initiated towards technological and managerial modernization to improve productivity, quality and to reduce cost of production. The public sector was freed from a number of constraints and was provided with greater autonomy. There was some progress in the process of deregulation during the 1980s. In 1988, all industries, excepting 26 industries specified in the negative list, were exempted from licensing. The

exemption was, however, subject to investment and locational limitations. The automotive industry, cement, cotton spinning, food processing and polyester filament yarn industries witnessed modernization and expanded scales of production during the 1980s.

With a view to promote industrialization of backward areas in the country, the Government of India announced in June, 1988 the Growth Centre Scheme under which 71 Growth Centers were proposed to be set up throughout the country. Growth centers were to be endowed with basic infrastructure facilities such as power, water, telecommunications and banking to enable them

to attract industries.