New Delhi: Stating that India is emerging as a land of opportunities, the prime minister, Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, invited investors from the United States to invest in India in a range of sectors, like defence, space, energy, healthcare, agriculture, etc.
While addressing the “India Ideas Summit” organized by US-India Business Council (USIBC), the prime minister congratulated the USIBC on its 45th anniversary this year and said over the past decades, the USIBC has brought Indian and American business closer.
Modi said, “India invites you to invest in defence and space. We are raising the foreign direct investment cap for investment in defence sector to 74 per cent. India has established two defence corridors to encourage production of defence equipment and platforms.”
“We offer special incentives for private and foreign investors. A few weeks ago, we cleared pathbreaking reforms in the space sector. Come, be a part of these upcoming sectors,” he added.
The theme of this year’s summit was “Building a Better Future”.
During his address through videoconferencing, he called for the approach to the future must be more human-centric.
“Our growth agenda must place the poor and vulnerable at the core. ‘Ease of living’ is as important as ‘ease of business’,” Modi said.
Talking about economic resilience, he said, “Recent experience has taught us that the global economy has been too focused on efficiency and optimization. Efficiency is a good thing. But, on the way, we forgot to focus on something equally important. That is resilience against external shocks. It has taken a global pandemic to remind us how important resilience is.”
He further added that the global economic resilience can be achieved by stronger domestic economic capacities. “This means improved domestic capacity for manufacturing, restoring the health of the financial system and diversification of international trade.”
The prime minister also talked about his “Atmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India) mission.
“India is contributing towards a prosperous and resilient world through the clarion call of an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. And, for that, we await your partnership,” he said.
On global optimism towards India, he said, “Today, there is global optimism towards India. This is because India offers a perfect combination of openness, opportunities and options. Let me elaborate. India celebrates openness in people and in governance. Open minds make open markets. Open markets lead to greater prosperity. These are principles on which both India and the US agree.”
During the last six years, “We have made many efforts to make our economy more open and reform oriented. Reforms have ensured increased competitiveness, enhanced transparency, expanded digitization, greater innovation and more policy stability,” the prime minister said.
“Investment is the best show of confidence. Every year, we are reaching record highs in FDI. Each year is significantly higher than the earlier one,” he added.
FDI inflows in India in 2019-20 stood at 74 billion dollars, which is an increase of 20 per cent from the year before that.
He said, “Friends in USIBC inform that ‘pledged investment’ from the US has already crossed $40 billion this year. In the middle of Covid-19, India has attracted foreign investment of over $20 billion between April and July 2020.”
Every year, we are reaching record highs in FDI. Each year is significantly higher than the earlier one. FDI inflows in India in 2019-20 were 74 billion dollars. This is an increase of 20 percent from the year before that: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 22, 2020
Hailing India and the USA as two vibrant democracies with shared values, Modi said, “We are natural partners. The US-India friendship has scaled many heights in the past. Our partnership plays an important role in helping the world bounce back faster after the pandemic.”
