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India - Economy overview

Country profile

Policies and initiatives

  • The Government of India launched its Make in India initiative in 2014 to boost the country’s manufacturing sector and increase the purchasing power of the average Indian consumer, which would further drive demand and spur development and investment.
  • The Digital India initiative launched in 2015 focuses on three core components: creating digital infrastructure, delivering services digitally and increasing digital literacy. 
  • Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan or Self-Reliant India campaign was launched in May 2020 to support India’s domestic economic activities. Following the first COVID-19 wave, the government announced a special economic and comprehensive relief package of INR 20 trillion (approximately USD 260 billion), representing 10% of India's GDP under this campaign. Further measures for relief and credit support for businesses, especially MSMEs, during the COVID-19 pandemic, were implemented in 2020. Several monetary and micro-financial policies were also announced in 2020 in response to the COVID pandemic. 
  • The Goods and Services Tax (GST), introduced on 1 July 2017 by the Government of India is a comprehensive, multistage, destination-based tax that has replaced a range of indirect taxes with a federated tax and is reshaping the country's economy.
  • The Startup India initiative was launched on 16 January, 2016 to catalyse startup culture and build a strong and inclusive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in India. 
  • A Smart Cities Mission was launched on 25 June, 2015 with an objective to drive economic growth and improve quality of life through comprehensive work on social, economic, physical and institutional pillars of a city. One hundred cities have been selected to be developed as Smart Cities through a two-stage competition.
  • Skills India is an initiative launched in 2015 to train over 400 million Indians in different industry-related jobs with a vision to create an empowered workforce by 2022. Various schemes under this include PMKVY, PMKK, Apprenticeship Training, TITP
  • Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) was an initiative launched in 2015 to provide affordable housing to the urban poor. It has two components: Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) (PMAY-U) for the urban poor and Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin) (PMAY-G) for rural areas.
  • Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX), launched in 2018, engages with industries including MSMEs, start-ups, individual innovators, R&D institutes and academia to provide grants/funding and other support to carry out R&D, which has potential future implications for the Indian defence and aerospace sectors. 
  • The Government of India revised and implemented a Consolidated Foreign Direct Investment Policy in October 2020 in order to supplement domestic capital, technology and skills for accelerated economic growth and development. 
  • Various initiatives such as the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP), improvement in logistics infrastructure and digital initiatives have been undertaken to promote and strengthen exports. 
  • In March 2021, the parliament passed the National Commission for Allied, Healthcare Professions Bill, 2021 to meet the sector's long-standing demands and increase professional employment opportunities.
     

Governance structure

The Ministry of Finance serves as the Indian Treasury Department with responsibility for the economy of India, including taxation, financial legislation, financial institutions, capital markets, centre and state finances, and the Union Budget. The Ministry of Finance is the apex controlling authority of the Indian Revenue Service, Indian Economic Service, Indian Cost Accounts Service and Indian Civil Accounts Service.

The Union Finance Ministry of India comprises five departments: Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Expenditure, Department of Revenue, Department of Financial Services and Department of Investment & Public Asset Management. The Department of Economic Affairs is the nodal agency of the Union Government to formulate and monitor India’s economic policies and programs having a bearing on domestic and international aspects of economic management.

India and Australia both enjoy complex yet different economies with varying points of opportunity for research collaboration.

Australia - Economy overview

Country profile

Policies and initiatives

Governance structure

Treasury, the Australian Government’s pre-eminent economic adviser, is a central policy agency that provides advice to the Government to support the effective management of the Australian economy. The Treasury portfolio is comprised of several entities that undertake a range of activities aimed at achieving strong sustainable economic growth for the good of Australians. As a central agency of the Australian Government, the Department of Finance (Finance) plays an important role in supporting the government’s ongoing priorities through the Budget process and fosters leading practice through the public sector resource management, governance and accountability frameworks.

Related articles

Read the latest 'Economy' research articles covering Australia and India - or submit your own.

Bilateral frameworks for cooperation between India and Australia

Trade and investment opportunity

  • Australia’s India Economic Strategy 2035 aims to seek and expand the growth potential to transform Australia's economic partnership with India to 2035 by outlining opportunities for enhancing trade in traditional areas of education, natural resources, pharmaceuticals, gems & jewellery, software & IT and the new emerging sectors of agricultural produce, mining equipment technology & services, and industrial goods & services.
  • The India-Australia CEO Forum is a mechanism for business from both nations to engage directly on ways to build the bilateral trade and investment relationship in various sectors.
  • The Australia India Business Exchange launched in June 2021, aims to deepen Australia trade and investment across various sectors including sustainable economic development, energy and resources. 
  • The Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) is the Australian Government agency that promotes trade, investment and education, and develops tourism policy and research. Austrade has 6 offices in India, in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore.
  • The Australia India Business Council (AIBC) is a non-profit organisation aimed at fostering bi-lateral relations between the two countries with a mission to promote trade dialogue through nurturing and maintaining close relationships in both Australia and India, with federal and state government agencies, the diplomatic corporations and industry bodies.
  • The Australia India Chamber of Commerce (AICC) is a non-governmental and not-for-profit organisation aimed at facilitating dialogue between businesses in Australia and India to foster advocacy, innovative exchange and collaboration.
  • Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce is an institution that brings together over 500 companies across the Indo-Australian business community to emerge as the single most premier platform for trade promotion between India and Australia.
India's Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan celebrate the signing of the AI-ECTA.

Cooperation and collaborations

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