Cabinet approves 1st ever Capital Goods Policy

On 25 May 2016 The Union Cabinet approved the National Capital Goods Policy 2016. 
•    This is first ever policy for Capital Goods sector with a clear objective of increasing production of capital goods from 2.3 lakh crore rupees in 2014-15 to 7.5 lakh crore rupees in 2025.
•    Objective is to increase the share of capital goods contribution from present 12 to 20 percent of total manufacturing activity by 2025
•    To become one of the top capital goods producing nations of the world by raising the total production to over twice the current level
•    To improve skill availability by training 50 lakhs people by 2025
•    New initiatives and policy actions and they are:
•    Devising a long term, stable and rationalized tax and duty structure to ensure cost competitiveness of the sector
•    Drafting a comprehensive public procurement policy with amended qualifying criteria and introducing special provisions in contracts for domestic value addition
•    Promoting development of new technology through indigenous sources
•    Providing Technology Upgrade Fund Support across all capital goods sub-sectors
•    Developing manufacturing clusters with shared facilities especially for SMEs
•    The capital goods sector operates in a dynamic local and global environment and it is imperative for the policy to undergo a periodic review and revision to maintain its relevance.
•    The National Capital Goods Policy 2016 will be reviewed every five years and revised appropriately to take account of progress in implementation and emerging trends in the national and international environment.