Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said during the current global economic slowdown, India represents a bright spot for investments as the Government was making every effort to remove bottleneck in doing business.
Addressing the Indo-German Summit organised by NASSCOM and Fraunhofer Institute, Germany, in Bengaluru, the Prime Minister said, “We are fortunate to be sailing in the right direction. The recent data on global economic activity reinforces this assertion. However, we cannot afford to be complacent. We are committed to doing everything possible to convert these projections into reality.”
Modi said with an open and global mindset, his Government has worked aggressively in the last 15 months to make India an easy place to do business.
“We are committed to creating favourable conditions for business and industry,” he said, while pointing to the recent World Bank study on ease of doing business and a healthy competition among various States in the country.
Saying that ‘Make in India’ will help to push the manufacturing sector to at least 25 per cent, the PM said that as a part of ease of doing business, the Centre has fast-tracked approvals and clearances for industry and infrastructure.
“Transparent auction and allocation of spectrum and key natural resources like coal, iron ore and other minerals in the last 15 months have created a level playing field for investors,” the PM noted.
Stressing the need for futuristic physical and social infrastructure, Modi said that more resources have been allocated for infrastructure sectors.
Through a professionally-managed ‘India Investment and Infrastructure Fund’, we are targeting an annual flow of Rs 20,000 crore from our own resources, he said. Modi also pointed that transparent and predictable taxation system put in place to see that genuine investors and honest tax payers get quick and fair decisions on tax matters.
“As a result of our initiatives, the sentiments for private investment and inflow of foreign investment have turned positive. The growth rate of our GDP is above 7 per cent. FDI inflows have gone up by 40 per cent compared with previous year’s corresponding period,” the PM pointed out.
Many international financial institutions, including the World Bank, IMF, OECD and others, are predicting even faster growth in the coming years. Saying that India is committed to protecting Intellectual Property Rights of all innovators and entrepreneurs, Modi said the Centre has taken several initiatives for transparency and online processing in IP administration.
“A comprehensive National IPR policy is being finalised. last week I myself reviewed the situation. I can say this will be a progressive, and forward looking policy,” he said.
Asking for a greater Indo-German collaboration in development, Modi told German investors that India offers opportunities ranging from building 50 million houses to setting up 100 smart cities; modernisation of railway network and stations to setting up of new railway corridors; generation of 175 GW of renewable energy to construction of transmission and distribution networks, National Highways, bridges, and Metro rails.
“We are trying to power this potential through our campaigns like Digital India and Skill India. To tap the energy fully, we have launched the Start up India Campaign,” he said, adding “Recently, we tried to ignite this energy through an interface of our youth with the eco-system of Silicon Valley. India, in fact, is on the threshold of a big IT revolution. We are at the tipping point where technology is going to be leveraged to meet the aspirations of our 1.25 billion citizens. These initiatives provide additional avenues for investment in modern technology and human resources”.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister and German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited German automotive major Bosch’s facility for a first-hand view of its operations in India.
Both the leaders also interacted with top executives of German firms operating in India, including Bengaluru, and exchanged views on how to help the Government boost its ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digitise India’ initiatives for creating jobs and promote exports.
Earlier, Karnataka Governor Vajubhai R Vala and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah received Modi, who arrived by an Indian Air Force (IAF) plane at the HAl Airport amid tight security.
Merkel, 61, who is on a three-day official visit to India since Sunday, flew into Bengaluru on Monday night with a large official-cum-business delegation to participate in the twin events with Modi.
To further strengthen its presence in India, Bosch said it plans to invest Rs 650 crores (over 100 million euros) in 2015.
During the nearly two-hour-long visit, the two leaders, accompanied by a high-level German delegation, walked through the Bosch Innovation Center and the vocational training centre, inquiring about the company’s research, engineering, and vocational education activities in India.