Governments realise need for policies to draw investment: Jaitley

Governments across the political spectrum in India have by now realised the need to formulate policies to attract investment and expand economic activity, union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday.

"One of India's greatest strengths today is that irrespective of political and ideological differences, governments across the country are realising we have to formulate policies that enable us to attract investment and expand economic activity," Jaitley said.

That is why there is not only a change in policy formulation, but also in the mindset... even the idiom is changing," the minister said while addressing the inaugural session of the Bengal Global Business Summit here.

He said states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka would also hold similar investment conclaves soon.

"These are all indicative of the fact that notwithstanding the global crisis whereby external factors adversely impact on us, on the strength of our domestic factors, government at the Centre and in various states are still devising and finding methods of how to make the Indian and state economies stronger."

He warned that if investment dried up and began moving out, there would be no jobs, no revenue and hardly any growth.

Jaitley said each state was calculating how it could ensure ease of business.

Stressing that a stable policy was a prime requisite for attracting investors, he said annual investment summits demonstrate a clear intention of a break from the past.

"There is an increasing realisation that the economy will work only if large businesses and large economic activities come into the state... which create jobs... which gives us revenue... where an enriched state government can enable and service its poverty alleviation programmes," the minister said.