Measures to attract FDI must be backed with proper infra: Ashok Leyland MD

Comment comes at a time when Centre and various State governments are aiming to attract companies looking at shifting their operations out of China

Ashok Leyland MD and CEO Vipin Sondhi has said that there is an opportunity for the country to attract FDI from corporations at present, and the government should support initiatices in this space with infrastructure and ease of doing business.

In a statement issued today, Sondhi said, “The current situation presents an opportunity for our country to attract FDI from corporations. Over the next 18-24 months, we as a nation would do well to focus on  developing state-of-the-art, technology-enabled industrial parks owned by the State Industrial Development Corporations or co-owned through Public Private Partnerships or through 100 per cent Private investments," he said.

These must be supported with proper infrastructure, including availability of electricity, water, manpower and land, which improves ease of doing business.

Each State has a unique combination of strengths that could enable the formation of clusters in these parks to cater individually to sectors such as engineering, automotive, textile, pharma, electrical hardware and so forth.

India has the ability and a window to collectively re-focus on its Make-in-India initiative by creating jobs, infrastructure, and de-risk its supply chain dependency. It can be our moment and we must attempt to seize it, he added.

His comment comes at a time when the Central and various State governments are striving to attract companies looking at shifting their operations out of China. Various State government have already announced a slew of measures to support and attract industries amid the Covid-19 crisis.