'Make in India' to get budget push, tax breaks and new schemes

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India" mantra is expected to be one of the themes of the forthcoming Union Budget in February. Various measures, including tax breaks and new schemes, could be announced in the Budget to push manufacturing growth in the country. "Push for manufacturing in the country is one of the important campaigns identified by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Budget is likely to lay emphasis on it," said government sources.

Last month, Mr Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley attended a workshop on "Make-in-India" where different departments gave presentations on making the campaign a success. Various ministries sought tax breaks or concessions to give fillip to manufacturing. To boost defence production, it was demanded that the sector be given a tax holiday. Industries ready to invest in R&D activities in the defence sector could also be provided tax breaks.

The government recently hiked FDI in the defence sector to boost domestic production. It was argued that besides raising the FDI limit, financial incentives should be given to make India attractive for big defence companies. India is one of the biggest importers of defence equipment in the world and it was argued that the country should make serious efforts to attract FDI in the sector.

At the meeting, it was also proposed that an oil industries development cess should be levied. There was a demand that import duty on steel be increased to help local steel industries. It was proposed that steel should be excluded from free trade agreements.

To boost the export of precious metals, like gold, it was proposed that import duty on them could be reduced. The Budget is also likely to look at steps to boost the manufacturing of electronics, whose imports have recently seen a huge surge.