Recent reforms to make India global investment destination

Recent initiatives like opening up and increasing participation of foreign capital in various sectors will help in making the country a global investment destination, a senior government official said Tuesday.

According to Amitabh Kant, secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the government recently opened up foreign direct investment (FDI) regime vigorously for some key sectors such as railways, defence, construction, insurance and medical devices.

Kant was speaking at the 84th annual general meeting (AGM) of International Chamber of Commerce India (ICC), an affiliate body of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Kant pointed that India needs to create 33,000 jobs per day for the coming three decades if its gross domestic product (GDP) must grow at 9-10 percent per annum.

"It is a daunting challenge. Old and complex regulations, laws and procedures must be discarded to create a predictable, consistent and transparent investment ecosystem to encourage young entrepreneurs and innovators who would become job creators rather than job seekers," Kant said.

The DIPP chief called for the need to converge and integrate technology across government departments.

"The first step towards this end is the eBiz platform, which aims to create a business and investor friendly ecosystem in India by making all business and investment related clearances and compliances available on a 24x7 single portal, with an integrated payment gateway."

Kant cited that for India to have a GDP growth rate of 13-14 percent, it needs to become a manufacturing hub for the global market.

"India needs to become a part of the global supply chain and be a competitive manufacturer of best quality global products to assure sustained growth rates," Kant added.