The Unites States of America’s Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Nisha Desai Biswal, said on Tuesday that several US companies are keen to invest in India but they want an amicable environment with more transparency, predictability and legal certainty. She also suggested that a high-standard bilateral investment treaty (BIT) may help in increasing US investment in India.
Speaking at the University of Chicago Alumni Club of India, Biswal said while India is the place to invest at present but there was a lot India needed to do to attract investors. "We believe US FDI could double if India continues to liberalise its investment regime...Companies involved in global manufacturing
need transparency, predictability, and legal certainty," Biswal said.
She acknowledged Indian Government was working on some important reforms to make it a more attractive destination for FDI, including the announcement of the Single-Window Clearance process for foreign investors, and easing of FDI restrictions in sectors including construction, insurance, stock markets, and railways.
Biswal added economic diplomacy is a major pillar of India-US relationship due to which trade between two nations has grown by a factor of five over the last 15 years, to over $100 billion. American companies now invest more in Indian equities — over $12 billion in 2015 — than they do in China. US firms invested over $15 billion in India in the last two years, and will reportedly sign deals worth another $27 billion over the next two years.
However, she conceded there were still challenges before the two countries.