DoT has issued instructions liberalising import norms for prototype, sample products and test and measurement equipment in licence-exempt bands without the need of ‘equipment type approval (ETA)’ in a bid to help promote `Make in India’.  The department also enabled ETA through self-certification for import of commercial and finished products.

Volkswagen, German multinational automotive manufacturing company, opened a new R&D facility in Pune as part of the group’s ‘India 2.0’ plan that calls for a Rs 2,000-crore (250 miilion euros) investment into R&D, helping enhance the local content in the cars to be sold in the world’s fastest-expanding major economy. 

A new National industrial policy, aimed to develop global value chains, and to boost India’s manufacturing competitiveness, is awaiting cabinet approval.  Manufacturing cannot happen end to end only in one geography, and it has to be part of a global value chain and global supply chain. That is why a new industrial policy focusing on developing mutually beneficial value chain and supply chains is required.

The government has reduced the allocation for Startup India programme but added more monies to the Make in India kitty in the Budget 2019-20. The allocation for Startup India programme has been slashed to Rs 25 crore (about €3 million) for 2019-20 from Rs 28 crore (€3.5 million) in 2018-19.  On the other hand, the total allocation for Make in India initiative was increased to Rs 473.3 crore (€ 59 mn) for 2019-20 as against Rs 149 crore (€18.6 mn) in 2018-19.

Hon'ble Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi inaugurated National Supercomputing Mission (NSM)’s first indigenously build supercomputer ‘Param Shivay’ at IIT, BHU, Varanasi.   NSM is being implemented by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and MeitY Jointly and led by C-DAC and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. The mission supports the government's vision of 'Digital India' and 'Make in India' initiatives.