Page 21 - CII-ARTHA

MARCH 2026

Making India A Preferred Investment Destination: Policy Suggestions

Radically improving Ease of Optimizing India's free trade
Doing Business (EoDB) for agreements (FTAs)
Industry

• Legislate all central, state & local regulatory • Include robust, non-negotiable investment
approvals exclusively through the National chapters that guarantee legal clarity and set fixed
Single Window System (NSWS) with strict, benchmarks for reciprocal investment inflows.
time-bound processing and real-time tracking.
• Update existing agreements, such as the
• Enact a law imposing statutory obligations on Comprehensive Economic Partnership
public authorities for time-bound service Agreement (CEPA) with Japan and South Korea,
delivery/grievance redressal, including to align with next-generation FTA standards.
automatic "deemed approval" for applications • Pursue sector-specific annexes (like the Pharma
exceeding timelines. Annex in recent FTAs with UAE and Australia) to
ease regulatory burdens and improve market
• Incentivize states to integrate land records into
a robust National Land Bank by evolving the access for key export sectors.
India Industrial Land Bank (IILB) with central • Shift to a single-criterion approach for Rules of
support. Origin (RoO) and reduce restrictive value-addition
clauses to better attract global firms (mainly from
Europe).

• Form a High-Level Inter-Ministerial Committee to
Cultivating Targeted FDI and manage WTO-plus issues like digital trade and
strategic learning sustainability, ensuring commitments align with
FDI growth.
• Actively attract export-oriented FDI into "Key,
high-potential sectors" including
semiconductors, battery technology,
aerospace, defence, refining & petrochemicals,
mining, energy, robotics, e-commerce, and Increased participation in GVCs
urban construction. for productive investments

• Leverage India's lead position in auto
components, space technology, cybersecurity, • Encourage FDI that emphasizes local sourcing
and technology transfer to elevate India's role from
and pharmaceuticals (specifically generics, simple assembly to high-value manufacturing.
biosimilars, and low-cost API production) to
expand FDI in these sectors. • Identify key foreign players in India’s supply chains
and strengthen interlinkages with domestic Indian
• Utilize NITI Aayog's recent GVC reports on players and MSMEs.
Electronics, Automotive, Chemicals, and Hand &
Power Tools to identify sub-sector capacities • Focus FDI efforts on pre-manufacturing stages,
for value chain integration. such as design and R&D, specifically within the
electronics and automotive sectors.
• Identify and track the top 10 to 15 non-Chinese
firms currently exporting from China to India to • Frame a comprehensive GVC Policy Framework
facilitate their entry and investment into the that outlines a systematic strategy for sustained
domestic market. global integration.

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