India’s IPR regime improved, smart city work progresses in UP: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: The first phase of smart city development in Uttar Pradesh is almost sold out and talks are on for the next phase, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said Saturday.

Last month, the Union Cabinet approved setting up 12 industrial smart cities including in Agra and Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, with an overall investment of Rs 28,602 crore, employment potential of 1 million direct jobs and up to 3 million indirect jobs and investment potential of Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

At the UP International Trade Show, Goyal also said that India’s intellectual property rights (IPR) regime has improved so much so that in 2014, only 6,000 patents were issued in 2014 but in 2024, one lakh patents were issued.

“We are the 39th rank innovation economy in 133 countries. People who are interested in R&D and innovation, have seen how India’s IPR regime has improved,” he said.

India’s position rose one notch to 39th among 133 global economies in the Global Innovation Index 2024 released by the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Noting that India’s identity in the world is now as a quality provider of goods and services, he said: “We should buy products from each other to try to reduce goods made in other countries and instead use products made in India as that would support MSMEs and promote One District One Product scheme.”This, he said, will promote modern technologies like semiconductor, electronics manufacturing, done manufacturing, high quality electric mobility, construction equipment and machinery.

Jan Vishwas 2.0

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is working on about 100 rules and laws of various departments of government to bring Jan Vishwas 2.0 bill to achieve a greater ease of doing business environment in the country as part of the first 100-day thrust of the present government.

The Jan Vishwas Act introduces civil penalties and administrative actions for minor technical and procedural lapses, reducing the fear of criminal penalties and enhancing the ease of doing business and living in the country.

“The decriminalisation effort ensures that penalties are proportionate to the severity of offences while maintaining stringent punishments for serious violations,” DPIIT said, adding that it promotes investor confidence and facilitates smoother business operations.

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 decriminalised minor offences across 42 Central Acts and eliminated 183 criminal provisions across 19 Ministries/Departments.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee, which reviewed the Jan Vishwas Bill, has recommended extending the exercise to further Acts, ensuring the continuous modernization of India’s regulatory framework.

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