Int'l business coming to India won't go empty handed:Kapil Dev

Cricket legend Kapil Dev has called on foreign investors to invest in India, especially in Haryana, saying things are changing and any international business investing in the country will not go empty handed.
"India is my country, Haryana is my state. You can invest in Haryana, we are good enough for it," the 56-year-old former fast bowler said at the annual Indo-European Business Forum (IEBF) awards ceremony in the House of Lords complex here last night.
"No result can come overnight. We have to give our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) our best effort. He has good thought, good meaning but it will work only if all of us work with him... We promise things are changing and we don't believe any international business coming to India will go empty handed," he said.

Dev joined leading London-based NRI industrialist GP Hinduja and Baroness Sandip Verma, junior minister in the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change, to present the IEBF awards to Indorama Corporation founder-chairman SP Lohia and IYR Krishna Rao, chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh among others for their contribution to the field of global business.
IEBF is a non-profit organisation founded by NRI lawyer Vijay Goel to promote trade and investment flows between India and Europe.
This year's event marked the UK launch of 'Make In India', a book by its advisory committee member Sunil Kumar Gupta on the nitty-gritties of doing business in India.

Hinduja said, "Make In India is a very good concept... A masterstroke Mr Modi has played. It will help the GDP, help growth and employment. The Hinduja Group has already announced USD 10 billion investment in 'Make In India'. But to be honest, India is still not ready to accept our investment. There is a lot to be done. Red tapism should be converted to a red carpet."

"More importantly, the NRIs who are a natural resource and always been helpful to India but they are not being treated the same way as local Indians are treated in their investment. Why should there be a difference between an NRI investment and Indian investment. It should be at par," Hinduja said.

The Hinduja Group co-chairman said he plans to send a memo through the IEBF to India on how NRIs should be more involved in India's growth story.
"We have good faith and confidence with the energetic Mr Modi to see what he has promised, he will deliver. Today, there is no better place than India for investments," he added.