PM Modi woos investors, lays out Asean vision
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday sought to hard-sell India to investors, saying it was the best time to be in the country as foreign direct investment, ease of doing business and productivity were rising, while tax rates, red tape and corruption were in decline.
Modi also said the country is committed to stronger surface, maritime and air connectivity links with Asean nations, which is central to New Delhi’s Act East policy and the Indo-Pacific.
Describing India as one of the world’s most attractive economies, Modi told an event organised in Bangkok to mark the Aditya Birla Group’s golden jubilee in Thailand: “India received $286 billion FDI in the last five years. This is almost half of the total FDI in India in the last 20 years.”
He added, “I say this with full confidence – this is the best time to be in India!” He noted that the ease of doing business, ease of living, FDI, productivity and efficiency, and pace of infrastructure creation were rising, while the number of taxes, red tape, cronyism and corruption were falling.
Modi also referred to his government’s plans to make India a $5 trillion economy. “When my government took over in 2014, India’s GDP was about $2 trillion. In 65 years, $2 trillion. But in just five years, we increased it to nearly $3 trillion,” he said.
He described taxation as an area where his government had done significant work and said India has one of the “most peoplefriendly tax regimes”. He said: “We are committed to further improving it even more…We are now starting faceless tax assessment so that there is no scope for discretion or harassment.”
In a separate address at the India-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit, Modi said that an integrated, organised and economically developing Asean was in India’s interest.
Modi, currently in Bangkok to attend the East Asia and RCEP summits, welcomed the mutual coordination between India and the 10-nation grouping on the Indo-Pacific. “Integrated, organised and economically developing Asean is in India’s basic interest. We are committed to further strengthen our partnership through stronger surface, maritime and air connectivity and digital link,” he said.
A line of credit of $1 billion will be useful for physical and digital connectivity, and India intends to greatly increase the movement of people for study, research, trade and tourism, he added.