How to Acquire Permission to Use “Make in India Logo”

The launch of ‘Make in India’(hereinafter referred to as “MII”) Campaign on 25^th of September 2014 was a national program launch by the Government of India, which intended to facilitate investment, foster innovation, enhance skill development and protect Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) of the manufacturing industry. One primary objective of this industry was to be able to attract investments from other parts of the world in order to strengthen the manufacturing sector. MII’s logo is the shadow of a lion on a prowl, made completely of cogs, to symbolize manufacturing strength and national pride[1]:

(Image is taken from makeinindia.com)

Make In India’s scheme led by the Department of Promotion of Industry and International Trade (DPIIT) primarily focuses on 25 sectors- automobiles, automobile components, aviation, biotechnology, chemicals, construction, defense manufacturing electrical machinery, electronic systems, food processing, IT & BPM, leather, media and entertainment, mining, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, ports and shipping, railways, renewable energy, roads and highways, space, textile and garments, thermal power, tourism and hospitality, and wellness. When a business uses MII’s logo in whole or in part, it is an acknowledgment of the approval of DPIIT with that business/body, since the logo cannot be used without their approval[2].

In 2016, DPIIT in affiliation with Make in India had launched a Start-up India flagship initiative, where around 25 start-ups are recognized each day. By May 2019, 18,000+ start-ups were recognized by DPIIT, among which 8993 start-ups were recognized in 2018 alone[3]. Even Hike Messenger marketed with the ‘Make in India’ scheme/logo in their adverts to boast of their origin:

(Image is taken from the ‘MakeInIndia’ Twitter page)

Some other prominent examples of the investments made in the Make In India campaign are- In the Telecom sector in the year, 2016 Spice Group had invested Rs. 500 Crores in setting up manufacturing units in UP. Huawei launched a 5000 seater R&D unit in Bangalore and invested around 1050 crores. In May 2015, Samsung had signed an agreement with the micro, small and medium enterprises ministry to open MSME-Samsung Digital Academy. In August 2015, India’s first home-made smartphone of Xiaomi was rolled out from the Andhra Pradesh Tamil Naidu border. Further, Foxconn, Lenovo, and Optiemus-Wistron have also made investments[4].

In the Automobile Sector in the year 2015, General Motors signed a letter with the Maharashtra Government to invest Rs. 6400 crores at its existing Talegaon facility in Pune.[5]

In the Railway Sector, General Electric and Alstom Transport in December 2015 signed two joint ventures with Indian Railways for setting up two locomotive factories in Bihar with a 40,000 crore investment. [6]

In the Aviation and defense Sector, Wayne Burt Group entered into several MOUs in 2015 with GE Aviation, and the investment in this venture was estimated to be approximately $25 Million estimated to generate a revenue of 50 million in 3 years. LH Aviation-OIS set up a manufacturing plant in India to manufacture drones. HAL in 2016 produced 174 Su-30 MKI aircraft under India’s for Russia’s Irkut Corp Make in India Scheme. Boeing in October 2015 purchased 22 AH-54E Apache attack helicopters and 15 CH-47 Chinook multi-mission heavy-lift helicopters. Reliance Defence signed a manufacturing and maintenance deal worth 6 billion (approx) with Russia’s Almaz-Antey. Rostech State Corp tied up with HAL for the manufacturing of 200 Kamov 226T light helicopters in a deal estimated to be 1 billion under the MII scheme.[7] Even Lockheed Martin has agreed to build F16 Fighter Jets’ wings in Hyderabad:

(Image is taken from the ‘MakeInIndia’ Twitter page)

Now that the success of the MII scheme has been illustrated, this brings us to the part of the article discussing how to go about applying for the use of the ‘Make in India’ logo.

The Procedure for acquiring permission for the use of the MII logo:

All requests are to be approved by the (Secretary) JS (BE-III) of DPIIT and will be considered on the basis of these guidelines and merit. The DPIIT may ask for additional information for Events, Publications, Websites/Portals, and all requests for the use of the logo for programs on electronic media needs to be received by the DPIIT 30 days in advance, along with the complete details as per the guidelines. Certain applications would be considered on the basis of merit of each case, keeping in mind the visibility, impact, and extent of manufacturing or its related aspects by the committee that has been constituted. All applications should be in the given format.[8]

That being said, DPIIT reserves the right to withdraw permission for the use of the MII logo by giving sufficient notice. Further, they also reserve the right to view the proposed design and layout of MII prior to the finalization of the same.

Who can use the MII logo?

The logo can be used by various Government/Semi-Government/Private authorities.

Who does not need permission to use the MII logo?

• Any office, officer, or establishment of DPIIT
• Central Government Ministries/Departments, State Government department/ministries, UT Administrations for the use in programs organized by them.
• Indian Embassies/Missions for events, brochures, publicity material, and advertisements promoting MII sponsored by the Embassies/Mission.

Who can use the MII logo, but only with permission?

• Central Government Ministries/Departments/PSUs, State Government department/ministries, UR Administrations for the use in programs conducted in association with CII/FICCI/ASSOCHAM/PHDCCI, etc.
• Events that are financially supported by DPIIT
• For a specified period, for events organized by private bodies that promote the “Make in India” initiative.

Use of the MII Logo for Events, Publications, Websites/Portals

In cases of events that are financially supported by DPIIT or events organized for a specific period by private bodies emphasis to be given to:

• Nature and importance of the event
• Profile/track record of the organizers
• Profile of the Participants and the delegates
• Exhibition space, distribution of DPIIT’s publicity material in the delegates kits, etc

For the use of MII in publications, websites/portals will be considered only if the publications, websites/portals are related to approved industries. All cases to be considered on a merit basis.

In case of requests for the use of MII by individuals would be considered in they help in promoting the MII cause. All cases to be considered on a merit basis.

The requirement for use of the logo programs on Electronic Media.

For programs on electronic media like debates, discussions, or any other would-be considered on the merit of the case, keeping in mind:

• Nature of the program
• Profile/track record of the producers of the program
• Target audience
• Contents of the program and inclusion of manufacturing-related content in the program
• The extent to which the program would help in increasing awareness about approved sectors as well as the culture and heritage of the country.

Author: Suvangana Agarwal, Litigation Associate, at Khurana & Khurana, Advocates and IP Attorneys. In case of any queries please contact/write back to us at [email protected].