Banga sees US-India work on level playing field for Indian prosperity
Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman have discussed India’s opportunities for growth and investment pertaining to wide-ranging reforms which continues to position the country as an attractive destination for foreign investors.
Sitharaman updated American investors on the macro-economic stability, infrastructure-led economic growth opportunities and financial sector reforms. These opportunities are positioning India as a strong player in global supply chains.
She addressed the Global Investors Roundtable organised by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) through video conferencing on 24 June 2021.
The broad messages conveyed to the investors were:
a. Significant drop in new COVID infections in the country and decline of second wave
b. Strong Relief and Reforms undertaken by Government during the pandemic times
c. Continued macro-economic stability and resilience in economic recovery in the recent months
d. Vision to make India Self-Reliant (Aatma Nirbhar Bharat)
e. Steps taken for Infrastructure led economic growth
f. Creating multi-sectoral opportunities for investors
g. Strong track record of reform implementation in the last 6 years
h. Other strengths/advantages of India as an investment destination
i. Opportunities for investment in Climate, ESG and Sustainability focused investments.
The Minister also underlined India’s overall vision to build a self-reliant modern economy driven by 5 “I’s” viz. Intent, Inclusion, Investment, Infrastructure and Innovation.
She assured that India is committed for long term relationship with US investors and proposes to meet twice yearly.
The roundtable witnessed participation from some of the largest foreign investors, including Mastercard, MetLife, Prudential, Air Products, Dell, SoftBank and Warburg Pincus.
The investors also heard about:
I. The continuous reforms that make India a great place to do business.
II. Covid and its aftermath has shown Indian economy’s resilience.
III. Highest ever GST collections shows the bright spot – More formalisation of economy and tax compliance
IV. A great potential for Innovation and R&D.
V. New opportunities emerging for foreign investors with recent FDI reforms privatisation policy and PLI scheme.
VI. Fiscal situation is under control and expect to improve further.
VII. 15 new unicorns in first 5 months of 2021 itself reflecting growing startup ecosystem to be amongst the best in the world.
Responding to the ministerial update, Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga complimented, “When United States and India, along with the best of the private sector, work together with a level playing field and fair competition to drive innovation and progress in India and for India, a great deal can be accomplished.”
George Oliver, Chairman and CEO, Johnson Control, added, “We are extremely excited about the growth opportunity in India and expand further in India, one of the fastest emerging global economies. India has made significant progress and is expected to double its energy demand by 2040 and we are keen to support this growth story.”
Mark Widmar, CEO, First Solar, said, “Applaud the effort done already towards the investment opportunities in India, especially with the combination of Industrial policy and the trade barriers that have enabled this initiative. Also, encouraged to see the vaccination and economic progress.”
The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) is a non-profit organization, with the primary objective of strengthening the India-US bilateral and strategic partnership through policy advocacy in the fields of economic growth, entrepreneurship, employment-creation, and innovation. #investment #banking #projects #infrastructure #economy /fiinews.com
