Licensing policy liberalised

New Delhi: Industrial undertakings, both in the engineering and nonengineering fields, will now be free to diversify production by the manufacture of “new articles” without any Licence under the Industries (Development and Regulations) Act, it was announced today.

The Government had also decided that industrial undertakings may increase production up to 25 per cent of the capacity of articles for which they have been licensed or registered without further licence.

The liberalisation for diversifying production is subject to four conditions: no additional plant and machinery is installed except minor balancing equipment procured indigenously; no additional expenditure of foreign exchange is involved; the diversified production does not exceed 25 per cent of the total production. If it is proposed to diversify production to a larger extent, the prior permission of the Government of India should be obtained: Sevetyone items have been excluded from diversification of production.

In regard to the permission to industries to raise production by 25 per cent without further licence, the condition is that no additional plant and machinery except indigenously procured minor balancing equipment is installed and there is no additional foreign exchange expenditure. Also the extra production does not mean any additional demand for scarce raw materials.

Undertakings which propose to go in for manufacture of “new articles” of increased production will have to inform the Directorate General of Technical Development or other appropriate technical authority concerned.