Sizable part of reforms completed in India, says Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India has already completed a "sizable" part of reforms and the historic Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime will be rolled out from July.

Addressing the Indo-German Business Summit along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Modi said Germany is among India's most important partners both bilaterally and in the global context.

"There is tremendous potential in India-Germany economic collaboration. Our economic partnership is still below its full potential," said the Prime Minister who is here on the first leg of his 4-nation tour.

This is Modi's second bilateral visit to Germany since 2015.

"When I spoke in April 2015, our process of reforms had just started. Now, I can safely say that we have completed a sizable part of it," he said.

Modi said India has emerged as the fastest growing major economy the last three years with GDP growth rate of over 7 and is a "bright spot" in the global economy.

Terming GST as the "most historic reform" in India, Modi said it will be implemented from "next month" in an apparent reference to the scheduled date of July 1.

He further said "trend of reforms" is spreading fast to all the states as he invited German companies to increase their investments in India

There are more than 1,600 German companies and 600 German joint ventures in India and the German economic profile supports excellence and expertise that match with India's development priorities of Make in India, Clean India, Skill India, Digital India, Smart Cities.

Modi told the gathering of business leaders that through the 'Make in India' initiative, his government is committed to transforming the country as a major player in the global value chain.

He said India offers opportunities for companies to invest.

India, which has been liberalising its foreign direct investment policy, received a total of $43.5 billion worth of FDI in fiscal ending March 2017.

In the recent past, India has implemented about 700 reforms, including in the IPR regime and on ease-of-doing business front.