Indian Business Reforms with FDI and Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
To get India up and running on the road of self-reliance is the motto of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, launched by the Government of India. In recent years, the government has been making various business reforms in FDI and other sectors to boost the economy and also help the business environment to prosper.
Being self-reliant is not only the need of the hour for the nation due to its major dependence on Chinese goods and services in the different sectors such as smartphones, startup environment, and IT.
In wake of the border clash with China, the Indian government has taken stern measures to scrutinize the foreign investments coming for the countries that it shares a border with and the investments will be going through the government route in which the approval of the government is required.
COVID-19 has made the economy suffer domestically and globally and the main aim of the launch of Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan is to overcome the crisis.
Insights in Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan
To understand the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan better we can take the example of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) which are very essential in the pandemic and India prior to this was not manufacturing it but due to governments goal and firm stand of manufacturing the Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) in India itself results in that now the country is manufacturing over 2 lakh PPE kits on a daily basis.
Through this example, we can truly understand how if the nation decides on become self-reliant in various sectors it can fully achieve it.
Given below are the 5 phases of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan:
- Phase-I: Businesses including MSMEs
- Phase-II: Poor, including migrants and farmers
- Phase-III: Agriculture
- Phase-IV: New Horizons of Growth
- Phase-V: Government Reforms and Enablers
There are 5 pillars of Atma Nirbhar Bharat that is Economy, Infrastructure, Technology, Demand, and a Vibrant Demography will be helpful for the small and medium business establishments to regain business and also to begin new ventures.
India has been importing more goods in recent years than it has been exporting hence Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan is very essential for India. The government’s scheme has been developed keeping in mind boosting the Indian economy and business.
Understanding Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan in Relation to SMEs
- During the pandemic and the post COVID times, the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan is developed to aid manufacturing in India and sustenance of the logistics supply chain.
- The small and medium organizations are the ones who have been majorly impacted by the pandemic as their business has come to a standstill. Social distancing has made business to suffer and the small business has not been able to regain business after the nation is unlocking.
- With the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the government has kept INR 20,000 crore for small and medium businesses. The government will be providing INR 3 lakh crore to MSMEs as a security free program with outstanding loans of INR 25 crore or a turnover of INR 100 crore.
- This measure by the government will help the business to not wanting much from the foreign countries as the aim is to be self-reliant in the business activities and goods.
- During the pandemic contactless delivery, online payments and local grocery stores are being promoted and the citizens are also being very adaptable to the changing times. Through this, the small business can become more efficient and cut down their earlier dependence on big companies through innovations.
Understanding Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan in Relation to SMEs
- Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan encourages the innovative startups of India to go a step further and manufacture the products in India itself in its aim to become self-reliant.The Indian startup environment has been on a rise and it has also attracted huge foreign investments.
- Instead of the startups being totally dependent on various innovations on the global companies, they must start working on their own set of innovations that will not only benefit them but also the country.
- Taking the local innovations to the global level is what the Prime Minister wants to achieve from this Abhiyan that has been launched midst of a pandemic where the country started manufacturing essential health care items such as face masks, face shield, PPE kits, sanitizers in India itself which were never manufactured in the country and India became self-reliant in such health care products.
- Becoming self-reliant will not only boost economical innovations but also generate employment in the country.Indian startups are highly innovative and they are set to be the major contributors to the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and FDI
- To make India self-reliant is not a measure to curb the FDI but it is to develop the domestic manufacturing capacity and to cut down on the imports of the country that is exceeding the exports.
- Making India self-reliant will be beneficial for the Indian economy and for the local business as well because of their dependence on the foreign countries for products and services that can be manufactured in the country itself.
- India will not be cutting its economic ties with other countries and with open arms foreign investors in various sectors will be welcomed. Becoming self-reliant will be India’s effort to make a strong place in the global economy map.
- FDI is very essential for the growth of the Indian economy but also being self-reliant is equally important and will prove to be a major booster for the economy. Being least dependant on the other countries for goods and making the optimum use of the local resources and innovations for the local development is the aim of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
- Due to the pandemic, all economic activities came to a standstill and this has majorly impacted the Indian economy.Through FDI, the self-reliance of the country cannot be achieved and there is a growing need for establishments of manufacturing units by the local companies.