Foreign Direct Investment has been constant in the country even during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the comments of the finance minister of the country Nirmala Sitharaman. She also added that in recent times investors around the globe are taking the country’s commitment to reform seriously.
During the months of April to July, foreign Direct investment into India was estimated to be $ 20 billion.
The finance minister of the country, Nirmala Sitharaman said, “India’s commitment to reform is taken seriously by investors abroad and they take India to be a very desirable destination, otherwise we wouldn’t be seeing a good amount of FDI coming even during the pandemic time when India, as many of our critics would say, had the strictest lockdown.”
In a conference that the finance minister held on September 5th, 2020, she released the state rankings based on the implementation of State Business Reform Action Plan 2019.
The finance minister informed that Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana top the rankings for states in the State Business Reform Action Plan 2019 Ranking. She appreciated the state’s efforts in scheme implementation under the action plans that make conducting business in those states easier.
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade ranks states based on the various implementation of the business reform action plan. While ranking, the focus of the state remains on areas like information and technology, the setting up of a single-window system, construction permit enablers, and land administration.
The rankings were released by the union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, and Cabinet Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. 36 states/ union territories had participated in the implementation of State Business Reform Action Plan 2019, according to data from the Press Information Bureau of India.
PIB India also tweeted about the State Business Reform Action Plan 2019 saying that it is “aimed at improving the business environment in States by simplifying procedures, digitization of information, and easing compliance burden.”
https://twitter.com/PIB_India/status/1302169506605723651?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
While releasing the list, Piyush Goyal commented, “India’s steadfast commitment to reforms is evident from the steady climb to 63rd rank in 2019 in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking from 142nd rank in 2014.” He also clarified that higher-ranking received by a state does not mean that the state would be held superior to others. He added, “Efforts put in by all states count.”
At the conference, the minister of state for commerce and industry also said, “The government has been making efforts to streamline business regulation through a single-window system, labor law reforms, reforms in Disputes Act, etc to make doing business quick and economical.”
The finance minister acknowledges that efforts by the states would add to fulfill the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for Atmanirbhar Bharat sooner. She also said Atmanirbhar Bharat would help India to be self-reliant and also build up its strengths. She said, “Aatmanirbhar Bharat will lead to greater export competitiveness, better pricing and quality of exports, which show the Indian skill of making things to perfection.”
The finance minister commented that the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative is not meant to make India inward-looking but to build on its strengths. According to her, achieving Atmanirbhar Bharat would also make the country more competitive.
Finance Minister welcomes US-based companies
During a virtual conference of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum’s (USISPF) Board of Directors on the sidelines of its 3rd Annual Leadership Summit, the finance minister of the country welcomed partnership and investments by the US-based companies in India, especially in the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors.
The statement released by USISPF was reported by EconomicTimes, which showed that the finance minister discussed with the board members about ease of doing business in India; digitization & fintech; agriculture (including agricultural infrastructure), and private sector participation across all the sectors of the Indian economy.
Additionally, topics like Skill development; healthcare; CoVID-19 mitigating measures undertaken by the government & the possible future course of actions; the role of government spending in the infrastructure sector in the coming years; and manufacturing in India (with a special emphasis on the logistics sector in India), were also discussed in the virtual conference.