ET AWARD SPECIAL...POLICY CHANGE AGENT

Driving Force Behind the `Make in India'    Programme   ...and the award goes to POLICY CHANGE AGENT AMITABH KANT Secretary, DIPP Amitabh Kant, the man who pilots key initiatives to attract investment, sees the ET Award for Policy Change Agent as a recognition of the brand equity created for India. “He's a problem solver,“ said a member of the jury .  “He's very unlike a bureaucrat,“ said another. The 1980-batch Kerala-cadre IAS officer was their unanimous choice for the `Policy Change Agent' award. Kant, who has Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his follower  on Twitter, has been the force behind key initiatives of the government ­ be it `Make in India', `Ease of Doing Business', FDI reforms or simplification of defence licensing. The initiatives have yielded tangible results. In the first half of this fiscal year, India received more greenfield foreign investment than any other country and mobile handset majors are rushing to manufacture  here ­ evidence of the success of FDI reforms and the `Make in India' programme. Due to the work done by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), where Kant is the secretary ,  you can get your company registered in a day by filling out a single form. Port clearances have been eased, while the `Ease of Doing Business' initiative has cut the paperwork for businesses. These steps are expected to take India higher in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index from its current position of 142. His most telling achievement is in fostering a spirit of competition among states to attract investment. An EY survey recently ranked India as the top investment destination, a far cry from the sombre mood when Kant took charge of DIPP in March 2014, two months before Modi came to power. Kant is delighted with the award, but gives the credit to the government and colleagues. “The award goes to all the people who worked on `Make in India' to make it a household name,“ Kant said. “It is recognition of the brand equity we have built internationally through this initiative. It is recognition of all the ministries that have backed FDI reforms in their sectors.“ His stint as chairman of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation under DIPP ensured that he hit the ground running when the government put manufacturing revival on top of its agenda. Kant, the man behind the `Incredible India' campaign, is also behind the Japan Plus team and an inter-ministerial committee for the US to fast track investments from these two major FDI sources. He is readily accessible and interacts with investors and corporate bigwigs at his Udyog Bhawan office. A Chevening Scholar, he graduated in economics from Delhi's St Stephen's College and did his post-graduation  from Jawaharlal Nehru University . ET19OCT15