Sumit Mazumder, CMD of Tractor India, has taken over as the new president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Addressing media persons after taking over charge today, he said that CII’s recommendations for 2015-16 are to fast-track sectoral policies including the national steel policy, the national policy on capital goods, national chemical policy and the national textile policy. In addition, taking the ease of doing business to the states is necessary as well as creating a single-window platform for all regulatory issues related to start-ups.

CII plans to take up new initiatives in terms of a start-up centre that would entail forming a new Centre of Excellence to scale up the start-up ecosystem in India. Simultaneously, it would encourage industry-academia linkages for innovations and set up a strategic Manufacturing Sector Skill Council.

Developing human resources would be a thrust area involving recommendations to the Centre for the announcement of a new national policy on skills and issuing guidelines for apprenticeship. New initiatives in this area would involve CII-state government joint initiatives in strengthening industry-academia collaborations, setting up CII skill centres and model career centres in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Chennai.

Promoting infrastructure investments would be another development enabler with the suggestion that the government award projects to the private sector only after first securing key sovereign clearances. Also, PPP contracts should be balanced to meet the requirements of the private and public sector stakeholders.