GUJARAT

INFORMATION AND FACILITATION

The basic aim is to create an atmosphere which should inspire any investor unable to resist to think of Gujarat first for his investment plans.

Information: The Key to Success for any business enterprise

This is the era of information and awareness. The person who has maximum information on the subject he deals with will ultimately win amongst all his competitors. This dictum is true in the case of establishing and managing any business enterprise. The Government realizes this fact and has thus decided to equip the new entrepreneurs as well as the existing enterprises with the latest information available in the relevant fields. A new entrepreneur would require information right from the stage of selection of a project, market potential, availability of infrastructure at different alternative locations, Government assistance and facilitation, economic and social indicators, regulatory framework governing a particular industry/activity, compliance of laws, pollution norms, procedural aspects, etc. At the state level, iNDEXTb has been functioning to act a single point contact for all the information needs of an entrepreneur since last over 25 years. The services of iNDEXTb have been very widely acknowledged by the industrial community not only in India but also in many parts of the world. The Government now plans to make available all the relevant information at the district level by installing information kiosks at important places. In addition, capacity building of the counseling staff is also envisaged by imparting training. For the purpose, the Government of Gujarat would like to make extensive use of information technology at all the levels.

Facilitation: Giving a momentum to the pace Developmental Process

Globally, the role of Government is being redefined from that of a mere regulator/controller to a facilitator. Government of Gujarat recognizes and appreciates the fact that it is more than imperative to create an environment wherein an investor views a Government officer as someone who would be eager to empathize with his concerns. The Government considers this quality of being able to ‘empathize’ to be at the heart of its facilitation initiatives, which in itself encapsulates an array of important issues. Government believes that the process of facilitation should be a bottom-top approach. District Industries Centers are the face of the Government at the district level and in today’s era of marketing, the quality of front-end staff will be as important as the reception of any office, ultimately dictating the quality of services to lead the industrialization drive in the state. It is this hospitable outfit that will attract the investors to the state. The present day investors do not want sops in the form of subsidies, but want comfort in dealing with various authorities. Thus, it has been decided to undertake various capacity building measures. Prominent amongst them include converting District Industries Centres (DICs) into regional information hubs by huge capacity building, using latest technology, establishing fast-track clearance mechanism etc. In a nutshell, the Government would endeavor to create a system wherein an investor would prefer to visit DICs frequently for any help or assistance.

FACILITATION BY GOVERNMENT

The primary aim of this initiative is to facilitate an investor for ‘quick’ solution to his problems, to give him a feeling of ‘comfort’ and to create an atmosphere that reduces ‘uncertainty’. The Government recognizes these three issues as the main concerns of an investor.

Reincarnation of District Industries Centers

The District Industries Centers (DICs) will be the nerve centers for implementation of Government’s facilitation initiatives. Going with the spirit of the initiative, it has been decided to rename the District Industries Center as District Industries Development Center (DIDC).

As mentioned earlier, Information Technology has eased the process of communication by way of convenient accessibility to an array of information. Thus, in order to facilitate easy dissemination of information, Government of Gujarat would be setting up kiosks at all the DIDCs so that for an entrepreneur, the desired information access would be just a button click away. The kiosk would contain exhaustive information to cater to any kind of needs of a visitor. The kiosks, besides DIDC will be placed at important places like all the offices of Industries Department in the state including that of Boards and Corporations, regional offices of Government in other states, Office of the Resident Commissioner and iNDEXTb office at New Delhi, etc. The DIDCs would also be networked so that there can be useful exchange of information. The DIDC through information kiosks would be fully equipped with all the information relating to economy, commerce and industry for all the districts so as to enable it to serve as the single point contact for all the information needs of any investor. All the operations of DIDCs would be fully computerized. They will have to treat the entrepreneur/visitor not as an applicant, but a valuable client. Extensive human resource capacity building exercises would be undertaken with the help of professional agencies to bring about attitudinal changes in the lower staff.

The District Industries Development Centers will also work as escort organizations to assist investors as friends, philosophers and guides by addressing to all issues and concerns pertaining to industrial development of the district covering all the concerned departments. Necessary amendments to various legal provisions will be made to ensure a pivotal status to this organization.

Percolation of facilitation mechanisms from top to bottom is one of the yardsticks for measuring the efficacy of a system in terms of its ability to service the entrepreneurs. The Government would therefore strive to ensure that the present mechanism of Gujarat Industrial Promotion Board that is operational for large projects at the state level is made workable at the district level for small and medium projects. Needless to say that the assistance of GPCB, GEB, GIDC, GIIC, GSFC, Labour Department, Energy Department, Environment Department, Revenue Department and others would be more than important to enable a DIDC to work as a single window clearance agency more in spirit and less in letter. The concept of deemed approval may also be made operational at the lower level institutionalizing the fast-track mechanism at the district level under District Collector through an Inter-Departmental Committee.

The Government is thus committed to bring about this quality change in its administration as the success of this experiment will send positive signals to the entrepreneurial community all across the country in establishing their faith in a system at the regional level to become the harbingers of industrial development in the state

Facilitation at the state level

Many medium and large projects have to deal with the officers at the head office levels in different departments and Corporations. The State Industries Administration acknowledges the fact that mere ‘satisfactory experience’ for investors/entrepreneurs while interfacing/interacting with Government officials at the apex level will not suffice and that the element of ‘delight’ vis-à-vis ‘satisfaction’ is of more importance. The State would thus strive to provide a pleasant experience i.e. a memorable experience unthought of, to the investors/entrepreneurs by embarking on the following steps:

• At the state level, while iNDEXTb has been functioning as a nodal agency to facilitate investors in implementing their projects expeditiously. The organization would be strengthened by equipping it with necessary teeth to discharge these functions effectively. The role of iNDEXTb will be recognized by all the departments of the Government and due weightage will be given to the recommendations of the iNDEXTb in processing the proposals. Even the facilitation mechanism in iNDEXTb will also be further strengthened by inducting professionals in the organization. A programme of capacity building for existing staff by imparting training through professional institutions will also be undertaken. The Government will also provide adequate funds to iNDEXTb to carry out all the promotional activities to continue to project the image of Gujarat as the most ideal investment destination in India. In addition, Government will take all steps to ensure that iNDEXTb will work as the functional and visible face of Gujarat Industrial Promotion Board. The Government realizes the necessity of granting all necessary clearances promptly and therefore, has put in place a high powered body GIPB under the Chairmanship of Hon’ble Chief Minister with Hon’ble Minister for Industry as the Vice-Chairman and Industries Commissioner as the Member Secretary for large projects. All the departments concerned with the industrial development in the state are the Members on the Board. iNDEXTb has been assigned with the responsibility to work as the Secretariat of this Board. For the purpose, a Common Application Form has been designed and the promoter(s) of the project is required to submit his project details through this form to iNDEXTb which, in turn, will prepare and submit the proposal to the Board after ascertaining the views of all the concerned departments to take decisions. All inter-departmental views are discussed in the Board meeting and a final decision is taken. This step is expected to prove to be a unique initiative for Gujarat in the coming years. The Government plans to replicate the model of GIPB now at the district level for small and medium projects.



• The set up of the Industries Commissionerate will be thoroughly revamped through o capacity building to act as facilitators and develop expertise in industrial intelligence by studying the change in behavior and health of specific sectors of industry in terms of internal and external factors.



• Corporations like GIDC, GSFC and GIIC will also be restructured along with re-defining of their role. An exercise of proper assessment of the workload of the officers will be carried out and based on the same, they will be entrusted more of promotional work and escort assistance to large projects under implementation.



• The Government will direct all the Boards and Corporations to undertake massive capacity building programmes through professional training.



• The on going process of E-Governance would be completed in a definite time frame to ensure availability of information, effective monitoring of project implementation, file tracking and disposal to ensure speedy decision making etc.



• In order to respond sensitively to the needs of industrial investments in an expeditious manner and to effectively monitor the progress of implementation of the projects, it is felt necessary to reiterate the following mechanisms which are already in place:
  
  For industrial projects
  
  
  • Less than Rs. 5 crore - District Industries Development Centre (DIDC)
  • Rs.5-50 crore - Industries Commissionerate
  • Rs.50-100 crore - Inter Departmental Committee headed by Chief Secretary
  • More than Rs.100 crore - Gujarat Industrial Promotion Board (GIPB) headed by Hon’ble Chief Minister
  
  For infrastructure projects
  
  
  • For giving fast track clearances to the Infrastructure projects, a special organization - Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB) is already in operation.


• Government of Gujarat has taken initiatives to make E-governance a norm in its everyday activity. This initiative is considered to help the Government officials to respond promptly to the queries/problems of general public. In addition, it is also used to ease the process of faster inter-departmental communication. This concept of e-governance through electronic devices will be used extensively and made more effective in its true sense, in the times ahead.



• Also, the Government appreciates the necessity of keeping the channels of communication with the industries as well as their associations live. With this objective in mind, the Government has decided to strengthen the effective Grievance Redressal Mechanism on the lines of SWAGAT programme initiated by Hon’ble Chief Minister, on-line for entrepreneurs and Industries Associations. The Government of Gujarat is fully committed to redress legitimate grievances of investors/entrepreneurs by enabling them to file their complaints at the state level with Industries Commissioner and at the district level with DICs. Once in a month, video conferencing exercise would be taken up with all the functionaries of DIDC and Industries Commissionerate as well as other organizations to resolve the issues on-line.