The India Design Council is a national strategic body for design in India. It is committed to establish India as a center for design excellence. It constantly endeavors to increase knowledge, develop design capability, encourage businesses to use design, and drive value creation through design.

In pursuance of the National Design Policy announced by the Government of India on 8th January 2007, the Central Government constituted the India Design Council on 2nd March 2009.

The council is presided over by Dr. Naushad Forbes, Co-Chairman, Forbes Marshall Group. Prof. PradyumnaVyas, Director of National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad is the member secretary.

The council is formed of 32 eminent people from the field of design, academia, media, industry organizations and Government departments.

The council has started working on a number of initiatives for developing Indian Design Sector. It is working with other government agencies, the design community, industry and education institutions to promote design in business, society and public services. The council is spearheading the national design direction and is coordinating the resources of various agencies, institutions and industry in promoting and developing design excellence.

Objectives of the Council

Design Awareness & Design Promotion

• Creating public awareness on quality design & its effectiveness: Use of design as strategic element for business excellence and as a key factor for innovation, to improve people\'s quality of life.
• Promoting design awareness and effectiveness programs in private & public sectors-Country based Brand building - Design Promotion/ Exhibitions/ Conferences/ Seminars.
• Promoting Design as a tool for innovation, productivity and economic competitiveness in business and industry.
• Encouraging Micro, Small & Medium industries to follow the best design practices.
• Promoting the concept of environment friendly designs and promote designers and industry to work towards environment friendly design.

Design Development

• Promoting design investment in Industry & research organizations - work towards tax benefits for design research.
• Assisting industries in appreciating the importance of quality and effective design management in product manufacturing to upgrade market competitiveness
• Initiating Educational Institution - Industry Partnerships -to impart both design knowledge and business knowledge such as marketing/entrepreneurship
• Promoting best design practices & innovation in Design- India Design Mark
• Promoting design investment in Industry & research organizations - work towards tax benefits for design research.
• Encouraging Design Research and Establish National Grants for design research.
• Building a common platform for integrating design resources of the government, the manufacturing and academic circles.
• Acting as a primary knowledge management body for design in India- integrate domestic cultural and creative design information, building a platform to share and exchange knowledge, exploring creativity - Operate a design database.
• Undertaking awareness programs in IPR in the Design Industry - Provide workshops on Intellectual Property management and design

Positioning India as a Top Design Destination

• Setting up a museum/design centre to showcase the role of design in everyday life to visitors from India and abroad.
• Building a smooth mechanism and channels of international cooperation, promoting exchange of Indian design and Indian designers

Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion

The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion was established in 1995 and has been reconstituted in the year 2000 with the merger of the Department of Industrial Development. Earlier separate Ministries for Small Scale Industries & Agro and Rural Industries (SSI&A&RI) and Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises (HI&PE) were created in October 1999.

Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion is responsible for formulation and implementation of promotional and developmental measures for growth of the industrial sector, keeping in view the national priorities and socio-economic objectives. While individual Administrative Ministries look after the production, distribution, development and planning aspects of specific industries allocated to them, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion is responsible for the overall Industrial Policy.

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion monitors the industrial growth and production, in general, and selected industrial sectors, such as cement, paper and pulp, leather, tyre and rubber, light electrical industries, consumer goods, consumer durables, light machine tools, light industrial machinery, light engineering industries etc., in particular. Appropriate interventions are made on the basis of policy inputs generated by monitoring and periodic review of the industrial sector. The Department studies, assesses and forecasts the need for technological development in specific industrial sectors. On this basis, it plans for modernization and technological upgradation of the Indian industry so that, it keeps pace with the international developments in industrial technology on a continuing basis. More details on www.dipp.nic.in