Anand Sharma invites Japanese Inc to invest in India

Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister Anand Sharma, addressing the "India Investment Roundtable" jointly organized by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) of Ministry of Commerce and Confederation of Indian Industry in Tokyo today, invited leading Japanese companies to invest in India and become partner in the growth story of India for mutual benefit.

India and Japan share a warm and close relationship and Japan is an important partner in India's infrastructure development he said. The Delhi Mumbai Industrial Development Corridor (DMIDC) is the largest infrastructure project under implementation.

Out of the 12 Green field projects, 8 are along the DMIDC and master plan for 7 of them have been completed. Mr Sharma said that besides infrastructure electronic hardware is another key area where India and Japan can collaborate.

The demand for electronic hardware in India is increasing rapidly and Japan's support in meeting this demand would be important. India has emerged as a key destination for foreign investors in recent years as a result of economic liberalization and increasing integration of India with the global economy.

The government has opened up multi-brand retail and civil aviation markets to 51 and 49 per cent FDI respectively and more reforms in insurance and pension sectors, among others were in the pipeline.

Mr Hiromasa Yonekura, Chairman, Keidanren in his welcome remarks appreciated the policies of the Indian government to promote economic reforms aimed at developing industrial and social infrastructure, including power supply, roads, railways, ports along with the development of logistics and industrial parks.

He strongly supported India-Japan cooperation in various projects like Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) between Mumbai and Delhi, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and projects under the concept of South India Core Nodal development and Japanese investment manufacturing.

Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General CII in his address said that during last one year government of India has taken several measures to drive growth in the Indian economy and the initiatives extended not only to industry and commerce, but also tax measures, legislation and other areas. Key economic bills such as Banking Bill and Companies Bill are on the table and there has been good progress on Goods and Services Tax and Direct Taxes Code to streamline the taxation system, he said.

Talleen Kumar, Joint Secretary DIPP, gave a detailed presentation at the roundtable on the investment opportunities in India. He highlighted the National Manufacturing Policy, various aspects of the Indian economy and opportunities available for Japanese enterprises including SMEs for investment in manufacturing and infrastructure sectors.

Vikram Kirloskar, Vice Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Company mentioned that the successful joint ventures between India and Japan in the auto sector could be a role model for Indian and Japanese collaboration in other sectors including services. Mr Deep Kapuria, Chairman, Hi - Tech Group of companies, highlighted the need for greater participation of Japanese SMEs in India.

The India Investment Roundtable was attended by over 20 CEOs of several Japanese companies including Sumitomo Chemicals, Toshiba, Komatsu, NYK Line, Daiichi Sankyo, Mitsubishi Corporation, all Nippon Airways, Mitsui, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Itochu, Indian industry, officials of the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India and Indian Embassy in Tokyo.