Indian Govt planning to set up Japanese Industrial Township in Assam

Guwahati: A top Government official on Thursday said that the Indian Government is planning to set up the 13th Japanese industrial township in the Northeast Indian state of Assam.

This will be aimed at promoting domestic manufacturing and promoting the ties between India and Japan.

Guruprasad Mohapatra, Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said that they are working on a geographic information system-enabled database of industrial areas and clusters across India.

India already has 12 Japanese industrial townships in 9 states and a 13th is being planned in Assam, he said. However, the official did not disclose when the Japanese industrial township shall be set up in Assam.

Mohapatra made the revelation while speaking at the Invest India Exclusive Investment Forum - Japan Edition, through video conference.

Mohapatra also revealed that a fast track system is being worked with the objective to identify and solve problems faced by Japanese investors in India.

India, Mohapatra said, is removing regulatory compliances like zero liquid discharge to encourage investments in sectors like semiconductors.

"In this regard, we are holding a high-level meeting on August 13 to review and discuss the way forward on India's zero level discharge policy," he added. The secretary hoped that by April 2021, an investment clearance cell to provide facilitation and support to the business on one-stop digital platform would be launched.

The Japanese industrial townships are industrial parks with ready-to-move infrastructure facilities, plug and play factories, pre-approved licenses, and investment incentives for Japanese companies.

Speaking at the event, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said both the nations are looking to have trusted partners from "authentic investors."

Japanese Vice-Minister for the economy, trade, and industry Shigehiro Tanaka said that most of the Japanese companies are of the view that India has the potential to be a "global export hub."

"In the partnership, we are also discussing company-specific issues such as the appropriation of land, and also late payments in some cases", he further added.

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