Venue: Vibrant Gujarat Summit
On Sunday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attempted to woo international business and political leaders by claiming that his government would transform India into one of the easiest places in the world to do business. Speaking to several prominent world leaders, including the UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon, the US Secretary of State John Kerry and the World Bank Head Jim Yong Kim to name a few, Modi reiterated how his government has been working tirelessly to revive the nation’s economy ever since coming to power in May 2014. As such, Modi has claimed to set up fair, predictable and transparent policies as well as a stable tax regime to attract foreign businesses and investments.
It can be noted that under the UPA regime, the main complaint faced by India from foreign investors was the latter’s hostile attitude towards international business relations, a delimiting factor that was further mired by other issues like corruption and bureaucracy. However, Gujarat, which was under Modi’s control, became one of the most investor friendly states in the country.
Now that he is in power, Modi is attempting to rework the same magic on the entire nation, transforming it into a potential hub for foreign investors. The Indian Prime Minister pointed out three area that India has to its credit in order to facilitate the same; demography, democracy and demand.
Highlighting the various benefits of doing business in India, Modi pointed out how the country is one of the very few nations in the world that offer high quality manpower, albeit at a lower cost, as well as low cost manufacturing.
The address also saw Modi listing out a few of the initiatives his government has taken in recent months to increase the ease of doing business in India, including liberalizing FDI in construction, allowing 100% investment in railways, and allowing for 49% FDI in the insurance and defense sectors.
Accordingly, under his Digital India Initiative, work has started to incorporate information technology into government proceedings and processes in order to improve program implementation and service delivery to a great extent. Modi has also assured the creation of a single window clearance system for projects at both the State and Central levels, which would greatly reduce the bureaucracy issues one has to face when setting up business in India.
Modi also highlighted recent research reports, including that of the IMF which has stated that India would become the second fastest growing economy in the coming years and would be the only country whose economy will grow in 2015 as well. With this, he has given out a clear statement that India has the necessary hands for facilitating foreign businesses and is ripe for the plucking.
Summary
At the Vibrant Gujarat Summit on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed several prominent world leaders, claiming to create a favorable policy environment for foreign investors in the coming months. Modi has indicated that India will become the easiest country in the world to do business in, in the next few years.
