Govt constitutes `Japan Plus’ to fast-track Japanese investments

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has set up a special management team to facilitate and fast-track investment proposals from Japan as mandated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent agreement with his Japanese counterpart.

The team, known as `Japan Plus', will comprise representatives from government and Japan's ministry of economy, trade and industry.

The mandate of the `Japan Plus' team runs through the entire spectrum of investment promotion - research, outreach, promotion, facilitation and aftercare.

The team will support the government in initiating, attracting, facilitating, fast tracking and handholding Japanese investments across sectors. It will also be responsible for providing updated information on investment opportunities across sectors, in specific projects and in industrial corridors in particular.

In addition, the `Japan Plus' team will identify prospective Japanese companies, including, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and facilitate their investments in India.

The `Japan Plus' team will also provide assistance to DIPP in undertaking regular benchmarking studies, identifying bottlenecks and areas of concern in sectors of interest to Japanese companies, and analysing their impact on industrial development production in India.

`Japan Plus', which has been operationalised with effect from 8 October 2014, will be coordinated by Kenichiro Toyofuku from METI and will comprise four Indians and two Japanese officials. `Japan Plus' can be reached at japanplus@nic.in and at k.toyofuku@nic.in

Government has also constituted a core group chaired by cabinet secretary on India-Japan Investment Promotion Partnership. This group will comprise of chairman, Railway Board, foreign secretary and secretaries of DIPP, economic affairs, expenditure, financial services, revenue, commerce, urban development, electronics and information technology and others.

The Core Group, which will be serviced by DIPP, will co-ordinate and closely monitor the process to ensure that investments from Japan as envisaged in India-Japan Investment Promotion Partnership are facilitated in various sectors and opportunities of investment and technology transfer are fully exploited.

Japan has offered to invest in India approximately 3.5 trillion yen ($33.5 billion) by way of public and private investment and financing, including Overseas Development Assistance, over the next five years, under this Investment Promotion Partnership.

India has been rated as the top investment destination by JBIC for the long term. Japan is the fourth largest FDI contributor to India, with major interests in pharmaceuticals, automobiles and services sectors and accounts for 7.46 per cent of total FDI equity inflows into India.

As per the JBIC survey report on overseas business operations by Japanese manufacturing companies, 90 per cent of the respondents voted ''future growth potential of local market'' as the top reason for India's attractiveness.

India is an attractive investment destination for Japanese companies, with 1,072 Japanese companies having 2,542 business bases in India. Over the last decade, the number of Japanese establishments in India has increased by 11 times, reflecting the positive sentiments of Japanese investors for Indian market.