As part of India’s Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, several government departments, entities, citizen groups, social organisations and groups at state, city, municipal and village levels have undertaken or pledged initiatives and activities to be part of the celebrations. Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is being celebrated by every State, Ministry and Department in various ways. The initiative embodies all that is ‘progressive about India’s socio-cultural and economic identity’.
When the curtain raiser activities of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ were launched in Ahmedabad on 12 March 2021, the Prime Minister had urged citizens to celebrate this festival for 75 weeks with the sole purpose of leading the country on the path of development and benefit the people of the nation. The initiative is dedicated to the people of India who have been instrumental in bringing India to what it is today in its evolutionary journey, fuelled by the spirit of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
India is a world leader now when it comes to creating and nurturing a startup ecosystem and the role of states has been pivotal in making India a leading global startup hub. Trade and commerce are the backbone of any economy and the nation has taken giant leaps in strengthening the sector.
To celebrate and commemorate 75 years of ‘a progressive India’ and its glorious history, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry through its various departments and agencies initiated myriad programmes and activities to strengthen the sector and further the spirit of entrepreneurship.
A rising economic force
As part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, the Department of Commerce of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry observed the ‘Vanijya Saptah’ (Trade and Commerce Week) in September 2021 that entailed a slew of programmes and events showcasing India as a rising economic force. India has 739 districts in all and these programmes aimed to brand India as a green and clean economic zone for potential trade and commerce opportunities and avenues.
During the Vanijya Utsav, exporter conclaves and meets were held in more than 700 districts, including mega events in 100 districts, organised by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) along with the Export and Market Development Assistance (E&MDA) in collaboration with the respective state governments. During these events, handholding sessions for local exporters and / or entrepreneurs were conducted tackling foreign trade issues involving stakeholders such as the bank, local export chambers / associations and Export Promotion Councils (EPCs).
Additionally, as part of the initiatives taken by the ministry under the Amrit Mahotsav, national seminars and exhibitions were organised by the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) in five regions of the country that includes the North, South, East, West and the North-East region. The theme for these events was ‘Azadi and Export Promotion / Import Substitution – Aatmanirbharta Ki Aur’. Sessions focussing on ‘From Farm to Foreign Lands’, exporter conclaves, ‘Vanijya Utsav’, etc. were organised in all the districts of the country under the umbrella of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav initiative.
The Prime Minister had, during his speech at the Red Fort on 15 August 2019, called to convert each of India’s 739 districts into an export hub. In line of the Prime Minister’s vision for India’s industrial sector, the department initiated the ‘One District One Product’ (ODOP) scheme under the directions of the Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
ODOP is a unique initiative and is seen as a transformational step forward towards realising the true potential of a district. The scheme aims to fuel economic growth and generate employment and rural entrepreneurship, to further the underlying goal of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav – strengthening India’s cultural and economic identity and imbibing all that is progressive about the country.
Strengthening the startup ecosystem
India’s growing Startup sector has furthered the country’s image of an economic force to reckon with. Several steps have been taken by the ‘Startup India’ initiative following the launch of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav that aims to foster entrepreneurship on the ground. As part of the Mahotsav, the Startup India initiative coordinated with key states and union territories to organise several startup events. Startup policies too were announced on the occasion. The events were held in Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Assam, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka and Haryana.
The programmes under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Week will have a long-lasting and holistic impact on the entire startup ecosystem of India.
The events conducted through the ‘Startup India’ initiative were based on diverse themes and included Knowledge on Trademarking and Patents, Investments, Marketing, Mentorship, Regulations, Procurement, Community building, etc. The unique programmes helped in equipping existing and potential entrepreneurs with the right knowledge and skills to scale-up their existing venture to the next stage.
Mobilising human, digital resources
An important campaign initiated during the ‘Vanijya Saptah’ was an array of export promotion events and exhibitions. Each state and union territory showcased India as a rising economic force. As part of these programmes, local exporters, manufacturers and industrial units were mobilised to make Export Promotion a Jan Andolan –a people-centric initiative.
For any decision-making, it’s imperative to have a thorough understanding and knowledge of the situation at ground zero, pertinent variables, existing trends and future projections. The Industrial Park Rating System (IPRS) helps investors and policy makers recognise best performing parks, identify interventions and serves as a decision support system. In the near future, ‘Industrial Park Rating System 2.0’ will widen its coverage and bring in qualitative assessment including information on private industrial parks and SEZs with the introduction of qualitative indicators for assessing these parks and zones. The information provided by the digital platform will be generated and guided by the four parameters – Internal Infrastructure and Utilities, External Infrastructure and Connectivity, Business Support Systems and Environmental and Safety Management.
In keeping up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s primary push for development and cleanliness, more than 250 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) across India ran Swachhata campaigns and tree plantation drives focusing on ‘Green and Swachh SEZs’.
Futuristic approach
Other programmes conducted under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav aim to supplement the efforts for realising India’s manufacturing potential and raising its contribution to the GDP. Furthermore, reducing compliance burden in procedures, rules, circulars, notifications, etc., and keeping a check on offences leading to frauds or endangering public health is important to catalyse industrial growth.
Digital platforms are the future of commerce and India, is a pioneer and world leader when it comes to digital economy. As part of the Mahotsav initiative, events were organised to showcase India’s achievements in digital space in December 2021 under the banner of ‘Azadi Ka Digital Mahotsav’. While speaking at one such event, Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw focused on MSMEs and urged bankers to create powerful platforms such as UPI that provides a quick and easy credit to small industries, small businessmen and people at the bottom of the pyramid.
Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar recognised the efforts of Fintech players and Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) in making the dream of a ‘less-cash, digitally empowered and Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ a reality.