30-Jan-2019: Government renames DIPP as Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has been renamed as the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade with a mandate to deal with matters related to start-ups, facilitating ease of doing business among others.
The newly-named department under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry will look into matters related to promotion of internal trade, including retail trade, welfare of traders and their employees, facilitating ease of doing business and start-ups.
The matters related to internal trade were earlier under the domain of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs. The President gave his nod to bring internal trade matters under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. The move comes amidst a demand by traders’ body CAIT for forming a separate ministry for internal trade.
13-Nov-2018: DIPP hosts Global Digital Content Market 2018
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is hosting a conference on Global Digital Content Market (GDCM) 2018, on14th- 15th November 2018, in New Delhi. The conference will feature sessions on music, film, broadcasting and publishing, as well as collective management, emerging models and the implications for the market and policy makers.
India has been chosen as a host nation for the conference by World Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO) due to the strong creative industry in the country in films, music and media. The focus for this year’s conference is the Asia Pacific region. The GDCM 2018 will see participation of professionals from various creative fields, the digital industry around the world and delegates of the diplomatic community from Missions to the United Nations.
The aim of GDCM 2018 is to give industry stakeholders a platform to come together and discuss new avenues in the films, music, gaming and creative industry along with points of challenge that is presented due to the changing creative landscape because of the disruption brought about by digital technologies. It is hoped that through the GDCM 2018 an exchange of knowledge, culture and good practices amongst the nations of the Asia Pacific region will take place. GDCM is a platform to discuss vital issues and enhance development of the digital and IP generating industries such as publishing, films, music, and gaming all of which are major contributors to the Indian GDP. The presence of key stakeholders from India in GDCM will place it on the global digital stage.
GDCM 2018 is the second edition of the conference. The first conference was held in Geneva 2016. Mr. Francis Gurry, the Director General of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Geneva, said that the aim of WIPO is to ensure that a creative artist continues to be protected and receives better remuneration on the digital platform. He appreciated India’s efforts of integration with international systems through the National IPR policy 2016 under which the Government of India has taken efforts for creating an environment in the country that is conducive for the generation of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) by increasing awareness among the citizens on the subject and strengthening IPR enforcement mechanisms.
India’s rank in the Global Innovation Index 2018 has improved by 24 places from that of 2015 and now ranks 57th. India is the top-ranked economy in Central and Southern Asia and has now outperformed on innovation relative to its GDP per capita for seven years in a row.
To better equip the enforcement agencies to deal with IP related crimes 33 enforcement training programmes have already been conducted in 9 states in order to train police, customs and the judiciary for tackling cases on IP. Government has also pulled down 80 rogue websites to combat online piracy. India has recently approved accession to the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) that has increased the coverage of protection of copyrights in the international IP regime as it is extended to even the internet and digital environment. This will bring the Indian creative industry under and international copyright system, secure distribution of their work and provide them with a level playing field.
Secretary DIPP also informed that large scale augmentation of man power of Indian IP offices has been done which has brought down pendency of IP applications. Trademark registration has increased by leaps and bounds and patent applications have quadrupled in 2017-18 as compared to 2015-16. These efforts are being made to ensure that the country moves towards realizing the goals of Creative India; Innovative India.
10-Jul-2018: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Haryana Top Rankers in Ease of Doing Business
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, released the final rankings of States in Ease of Doing Business in New Delhi. The top rankers are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Haryana. Jharkhand and Gujarat stood fourth and fifth respectively.
DIPP, Ministry of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the World Bank conducted an annual reform exercise for all States and UTs under the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP). The aim of this exercise is to improve delivery of various Central Government regulatory functions and services in an efficient, effective and transparent manner.
The reform plan has expanded from 285 to 372 action points till 2017. States and UTs have conducted reforms to ease their regulations and systems in areas such as labour, environmental clearances, single window system, construction permits, contract enforcement, registering property and inspections. States and UTs have also enacted Public Service Delivery Guarantee Act to enforce the timelines on registrations and approvals.
The current assessment under the BRAP 2017 is based on a combined score consisting of Reform evidence score that is based on evidences uploaded by the States and UTs and Feedback score that is based on the feedback garnered from the actual users of the services provided to the businesses.
It is for the first time that DIPP has introduced taking feedback to ensure that the reforms have actually reached ground level. The feedback was collected through face-to-face interviews of actual users selected from more than 50,000 users of the services provided by the State and UT governments.78 reforms out of 372 were identified for the survey. More than 5,000 private sector users in 23 States and UTs, including 4,300 businesses and 800 architects, lawyers and electrical contractors from across the country shared their experience.
DIPP organised numerous outreach programmes including 30 workshops and periodic video conferences with States and UTs. Another practice introduced in the current reform exercise was handholding support provided by the higher scoring States. DIPP identified partner States to mentor another State and UT to facilitate implementation of reforms in States and UTs needing support. Telangana and West Bengal held extensive workshops to support Tripura and Nagaland respectively. Additionally, States have also provided their systems developed to other states so that everyone can benefit from this reform exercise.
The State reform exercise under Ease of Doing Business in India is creating a lot of interest in other countries like Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia which proves that such reforms are imperative for improving the business and regulatory environment.
DIPP has already shared proposed reforms for the next year with the State and UT Governments. As systems developed in last three years have matured during the existing assessment cycles and the importance of the feedback from the users and success of obtaining user feedback in BRAP, 2017 has been proved, the next year’s assessment will be entirely based on user feedback.
15-May-2018: 30 States and Union Territories participate in State Startup Ranking Framework 2018
With the aim to foster competitiveness and to propel the States and Union Territories to work proactively towards promotion of their Startup eco-systems, the States Startup Ranking Framework was launched by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) on 6th February 2018. This was also targeted at facilitating States/UTs to identify, learn and replicate good practices from each other and for bringing to fore, their own progress in the regard.
As a run-up to this, DIPP actively engaged with State and UT Governments over the past several weeks to help them prepare and participate in the States Startup Ranking exercise. Two rounds of video conferences were organised by DIPP with all the States and UTs in the month of March and April 2018. A dedicated team from DIPP also visited all States and UTs to conduct ranking awareness and capacity building workshop. In order to provide exposure to State/UT officials about the process of developing Startup ecosystem in their respective regions, 3 knowledge exchange workshops were conducted at leading incubators in the country. The workshops were organised at T-Hub, Hyderabad on 9th April, 2018, iCreate, Ahmedabad on 11th April, 2018 and Sunrise Incubation Tower, Vishakhapatnam on 16th April, 2018. There was a lot of enthusiasm shown by the States and Union Territories in these workshops which were attended in large numbers.
States and UTs have participated enthusiastically in this first ever State Startup Ranking exercise. A total of 30 States and UTs have participated in this exercise whose last date for submission of documents was 30th April. It is encouraging to note enthusiastic participation from majority of north-eastern and hill States as well, where the Startup ecosystem is still nascent.
The participating States and UTs shall now be evaluated on a score of 100, against 38 action points categorized into 7 areas of intervention such as Startup Policy and implementation, Incubation support, Seed Funding, Angel and Venture Funding, Simplification of Regulations, Easing Public Procurement and Awareness & Outreach. In order to evaluate States/UTs in a balanced and transparent manner, the assessment will be based on the aggregate score of the documentary proofs substantiating the implementation of action points by the State/ UT Government and also feedback from Startup ecosystem beneficiaries/components (to be picked up randomly from the list of beneficiaries/components that the state itself provides). DIPP has appointed seven dedicated evaluation committees involving members from all relevant departments and reputed players in the ecosystem, for evaluating States’ responses in each area of intervention. The performance of the States will be dynamically presented on the State Startup Ranking dashboard hosted on www.startupindia.gov.in. The overall exercise is expected to be complete with announcement in ranking in June, 2018.
The launch of the ranking framework has galvanized the States into action, thereby giving impetus to the Startup movement across the country. The impact created by this exercise is highlighted below through some of the encouraging responses as submitted by State Governments, which are currently under evaluation:
- Announcement of Startup Policy
- Introduction of specific incentives in State Startup policy for women lead Startups
- Constitution of State Startup nodal team
- Provision of financial support to State Incubators
- Design of guidelines for Seed Funding for Startups
- Launch of State chapters of angel networks
- Hosting discussions/workshops to identify Startups in disruptive technologies
- Conducting State Startup Yatras - a series of boot camps in colleges/ universities to generate ideas.
25-Feb-2019: CIPAM Invites Entries for Intellectual Property Competition
The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, in collaboration with ASSOCHAM and ERICSSON India, has launched the second edition of ‘IPrism’, an Intellectual Property (IP) competition for students of schools, polytechnic institutes, colleges and universities. Aiming to foster a culture of innovation and creativity in the younger generation, the competition will provide young creators an opportunity to see their creations recognized on a national platform.
This year, entries are invited on “IP in Daily Life” in two categories – film making and comic book making. The film making competition will accept entries of 60 second long animated/film videos, while the comic book making encourages participants to narrate a story in comic strips under 5 pages. Cash prizes worth more than Rs. 2 lakh will be given to the winning teams besides a special trophy of recognition for the school/institute/college that the students represent. The winners will also be recognised on CIPAM’s official website (www.cipam.gov.in). The last date for receiving entries is May 30, 2019.
Creating IP awareness has become significant in today’s knowledge economy where innovations determine the development and success of a nation. Generating awareness will not only inspire students about innovation and its limitless possibilities, but will also aid in building respect for IP rights and deterring counterfeiting and piracy.
www.iprism.co.in may be accessed for complete details and regular updates on the competition. CIPAM on Twitter at @CIPAM_India or Facebook at CIPAM India may also be followed.
The National IPR Policy was adopted on May 12, 2016, to create a vibrant IP ecosystem in the country. Creating IPR Awareness through outreach and promotional activities is a key objective of the Policy. The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management, set up under the aegis of the DPIIT to fulfil the policy objectives, has been actively involved in many outreach activities including a nation-wide IPR awareness campaign.
16-May-2018: CIPAM-DIPP organizes a conference on National IPR Policy
The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), a professional body under the aegis of the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, is organizing a conference on successful completion of two years of the National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy adopted by the Government of India in May 2016 in New Delhi.
One of the key objectives of the policy aimed at “involving eminent personalities as ambassadors to spread awareness and importance of IP in India. In this context, an anti-piracy video featuring Mr. Amitabh Bachchan will also be launched at the event.
The National IPR Policy is a vision document that aims to create and exploit synergies between all forms of intellectual property (IP), concerned statutes and agencies. It sets in place an institutional mechanism for implementation, monitoring and review. It aims to incorporate and adapt global best practices to the Indian scenario.
In this regard, the Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) was created in the year 2016 as a professional body under the aegis of DIPP to take forward the implementation of the National IPR Policy. Since then, CIPAM is working towards creating public awareness about IPRs in the country, promoting the filing of IPRs through facilitation, providing inventors with a platform to commercialize their IP assets and coordinating the implementation of the National IPR Policy in collaboration with Government Ministries/Departments and other stakeholders.
This conference will mark two years of the National IPR Policy and will have focused sessions on women in innovation and creativity, awareness, commercialization and enforcement of IPRs. It will highlight the progress with regards to the objectives of the policy and the way forward.
12-Mar-2018: National Conference on Counterfeiting & Role of Enforcement Agencies
The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), a professional body under the aegis of the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, is organizing a National Conference on Counterfeiting and Role of Enforcement Agencies on 13th-14th March, 2018 in New Delhi, in collaboration with European Union (EU).
Counterfeiting has grown considerably to a point where it has become a widespread phenomenon with a global impact. Counterfeiting, other than causing an erosion on the brand value, reputation and goodwill of the manufacturers and owners of IP, leads to social and economic consequences resulting in huge economic losses in terms of lost taxes and revenues. It leads to diversion of funds earned therefrom to other illegal activities; counterfeit products put a threat to consumers' health and safety as well.
Enforcement agencies like police, customs, as also the prosecution wing, have a major role to play in effective enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in the country. Creating awareness about IPRs and the menace of counterfeiting amongst officials of these agencies will strengthen the enforcement regime, as also assist them in handling cases relating to counterfeit products in their day to day activities.
The conference intends to bring together national and international experts on the same platform to have a dialogue and exchange best practices for the benefit of enforcement agencies, attorneys and industry representatives and provide fresh ideas for further strengthening the IPR protection ecosystem.
It will also act as a platform for the officials to share their experiences and better inter-agency coordination with respect to tackling the menace of counterfeiting. Besides people from enforcement agencies, many IP professionals, lawyers, e-commerce stakeholders and people from industry associations are also participating in the conference.
The government has taken several initiatives to spread awareness among enforcement agencies about the importance of their role in IPR enforcement. Last year, the Ministry had also launched a toolkit for Police officials across the country to help them deal with IP crimes, specifically Trade Marks counterfeiting and Copyrights piracy. A three-day national workshop on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) was also held in August 2017. Additionally, multiple training sessions have also been conducted for police officials from across the country.
The Government of India through a resolution dated 1st June, 2005 set up the National Statistical Commission (NSC). The setting up of the NSC followed the decision of the Cabinet to accept the recommendations of the Rangarajan Commission, which reviewed the Indian Statistical System in 2001. The NSC was constituted with effect from 12th July 2006 with a mandate to evolve policies, priorities and standards in statistical matters. The NSC has four Members besides a Chairperson, each having specialization and experience in specified statistical fields.
Background of the National Statistical Commission (NSC)
A Commission set up by the Government in January 2000 under the Chairmanship of Dr. C. Rangarajan reviewed the statistical system and the entire gamut of Official Statistics in the country. The Rangarajan Commission submitted its report to the Government in August 2001. One of the key recommendations of this Commission was to establish a permanent National Commission on Statistics to serve as a nodal and empowered body for all core statistical activities of the country, evolve, monitor and enforce statistical priorities and standards and to ensure statistical co-ordination among the different agencies involved. The Rangarajan Commission also recommended that the Commission be set up initially through a Government order.
In line with the recommendations of the Rangarajan Commission, on 1st June 2005, the Government of India resolved to set up a National Statistical Commission (NSC). The Commission has a part-time Chairperson, four part-time Members and an ex-officio Member. The Chief Statistician of India, the post created specifically as the Head of the National Statistical Office is the Secretary of the Commission. He is also the Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.