“We want to present to the world the enormous opportunities that India offers as a base for manufacturing, design, research & development”.

“I want to make India a global manufacturing hub”

These are the words of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making India an attractive investment destination. The Government, certainly at the top level, is striving to make ‘ease of doing business’ a reality. The reason is very clear – a country with a billion people, with more than 60 per cent below the age of 35 will require gainful and meaningful means of livelihood to actualise their dreams. Make in India is truly Making India, making the lives of a billion people.

‘Make in India’ is drawing eyes and investments from across the globe into the manufacturing and service sector. While issues remain unresolved, changing the conservative bureaucratic mindset towards making India pro-business seems to have started. The dark night of policy paralysis seems to have ended, key ministries have strong leadership and are making strides in the right direction and several schemes of the Government such as Direct Benefit Transfer or giving up LPG subsidy have made tangible impact. This is a time for all citizens to put their might towards Bharat Nirmaan or Making India. The following pages give a glimpse of sectors of economy that have made strides in that direction.

Today, as the world favours India with ever increasing commerce, trade and services, Chartered Accountants are in the right place to provide services which will further the goal of Make in India. To that end, the BCA Referencer 2016-17, in its 54th year of continuous publication has been thoroughly updated and the latest amendments and changes have been included. Technologically, we continue to maintain our edge with the Referencer evolving into a smartphone app as well as directly accessible via the net.

This Referencer has been a labour of love. We wish to acknowledge the 57 compilers for updating, editing and presenting the content in a crisp and complete form. We wish to specifically thank two past presidents, Pranay Marfatia and Deepak Shah for their creative inputs, leadership and encouragement. A big thank you to the editors, Rajeev Shah, Yatin Desai, Sangeeta Pandit and Kinjal Bhuta for their heartfelt contribution and being the singular force to keep the quality of this publication impeccable. Rajesh Bhagat and his team at Finesse and Jyoti Malkani and her team at BCAS co-ordinated seamlessly to ensure that this publication reaches your hands well in time. Finally we thank you for your suggestions, critiques and appreciation and for patronising this publication over the decades and making it the most widely used reference material by professionals.