Govt notifies defence items that need industrial licence OUR BUREAU business line

Streamlining will help attract investments, say analysts

NEW DELHI, JUNE 26:  

In an effort to streamline the industrial licensing process for defence equipment, the Government, on Thursday, notified the list of defence items requiring industrial licences.

Industrial licences will now be required to make warships of all kinds, arms and ammunition and allied items of defence equipment, tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles and defence and spare aircraft and their parts.

According to sources, dual-use items that have military as well as civilian applications, other than those especially mentioned in the list, will not require industrial licences from the defence angle. Sources also maintain that these clarifications will help attract investment from private companies.

Terming the move by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) as a “great move,” Amber Dubey, Partner and India Head, Aerospace and Defence, KPMG, said that it will help create a conducive policy environment which is not just FDI-centric but encompasses the entire gamut of the defence procurement process.

“This will significantly increase the ease of doing business in India especially for dual use items,” he pointed out.

According to Amber the Government must ensure time-bound grant of licences and complete clarity on terms such as ‘accessories and parts thereof’ to avoid ambiguous interpretations.

Pruning of list

Welcoming the decision, Baba N Kalyani, Chairman, CII National Committee on Defence, said with this move the Government had pruned the list and kept it to the bare minimum. A section of the industry is also viewing the Government’s move as an attempt to prepare the ground for allowing foreign direct investment in the defence sector.

(This article was published on June 26, 2014)

Labour ministry okays new scheme for inspection

Labour ministry okays new scheme for inspection

ECONOMY > SOMESH JHA New Delhi, 26 June The Union labour ministry has approved a more liberal inspection scheme aimed at simplifying business regulations and bringing “ transparency and accountability” in the system. For this purpose, a Central Analysis and Intelligence Unit (CAIU) will be set up to analyse and collect field data “ for a transparent and accountable labour inspection system”. The scheme will be brought into effect from October 1 for the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and Employees State Insurance Corporation ( ESIC), inspections under the ambit of the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) and the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS). Under the new scheme, inspection of factories will be carried out under 11 Acts, including the Minimum Wages Act, Contract Labour Act and Child Labour Act. There are different inspection guidelines for EPFO, ESIC, CLC and DGMS. For instance, inspection under the ambit of CLC would be mandatory in areas where a fatal or serious accident has occurred, strikes or lockouts have taken place in the past two years, and in closed establishments where workers’ dues are awaiting settlement. Optional inspections on the direction of CLC would take place in the case of hazardous manufacture or in establishments where contract workers either constitute half of the workforce or more than 250 employees. The optional inspection would be automatically generated through a system, according to the priorities of the organisation, the ministry said. Every organisation will also prioritise the areas requiring mandatory inspection, and the cases forwarded by the CAIU will be on data and evidence basis. “Each organisation would indicate the criteria which it considers most important from its point of view where the inspections would be mandatory. The optional inspection also would be generated through computer, using predecided number tables, taking into account the priorities of the organisation for bringing in transparency and accountability in labour inspections,” a ministry note said. The employers will feed periodical returns in the system and the inspectors will file detailed inspection report. Certain guidelines for inspectors have also been issued, such as maintaining registers, carrying out inspections in normal working hours, uploading the report within three days of inspection, etc. Inspection of factories will be carried out under 11 Acts, including the Minimum Wages Act, Contract Labour Act and Child Labour Act

 ​