Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman addressed U.S. investors in a meeting on June 24, 2021, noting that India’s present fiscal situation is well under control and in all expectations would only improve further confirming the country’s strong post covid economic resilience.
The U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) convened a global investors’ meet where Ms Sitharaman emphasized that the government has demonstrated sound and adequate records of ‘reform implementation in the last six years and successfully exhibited the ‘strong relief and reforms undertaken during the pandemic times’.
“Macro-economic stability, infrastructure-led economic growth opportunities, financial sector reforms and positioning as a strong player in global supply chains are just some of the ways India continues to rise as a global economic powerhouse,” she added, highlighting that there was a considerable drop in new virus infections and also a significant decline in the spread of the second wave.
Representatives of reputed multinational companies including Mastercard, Metlife, Prudential, Dell, Softbank and Warburg Pincus participated in the meeting. The Finance Minister broadly explained India’s vision to make the nation ‘self-reliant and modern’ through the ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat Programme’ and based on the fundamental building blocks for self-reliance of 5 ‘I’s including Intent, Inclusion, Investment, Infrastructure and Innovation.
The Finance Minister expressed India’s commitment to forging a long term business relationship with U.S. investors and proposed to meet them two times in a year. “The continuous reforms make India a great place to do business and the highest ever GST collections shows the bright spot — more formalisation of economy and tax compliance,” Ms Sitharaman told the U.S. investors as reported in an official statement.
Emphasising India’s ‘continued macro-economic stability and resilience in economic recovery in the recent months’, the Finance Minister said India’s wide-ranging reforms continue to position the country as an attractive destination for foreign investors. There are ‘new opportunities emerging for foreign investors with recent FDI reforms, privatisation policy and PLI (production-linked incentive) scheme’, she pointed out. It is noteworthy that the foreign investment process has been made much simpler now and company registration in India by foreign investors can be done online without any red tape.
“Innovation and R & D have great potential. New opportunities are emerging for foreign investors with recent FDI reforms, privatisation policy and PLI scheme,” the Finance Ministry said in a press briefing, summarising the Finance Minister’s message at the USISPF meeting. To register your company in India from USA has never been so straightforward before, not needing the U.S investors to be physically present anymore during their company establishment, the ministry informed.
First Solar CEO Mark Widmar appreciated ‘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’, a ministry spokesperson reported. Mr Mark was also encouraged to see the vaccination and economic progress, the statement added.
India had 15 new unicorns in 2021 that reinforced India’s growing startup ecosystem ‘to be amongst the best in the world’, commented Ms Sitharaman. Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth explained the bigger themes of the recent Union Budget and the far-reaching positive and beneficial consequences to be realized.
