Modi pushes global investments in India
BRIGHT PROSPECTS: The economic growth rate last year was 7.3 pc, prime minister told chief executives
NEW YORK: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday made a strong pitch to global investors to “Make in India”, saying India remained a fast growing economy even in the current global crises, offering immense potential for investments.
“Our economic growth rate last year was 7.3 per cent. There has been a 40 per cent increase in foreign direct investment (FDI),” the prime minister told chief executives at the roundtable on financial sector in New York.
He also said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and ratings institutions such as Moody’s have maintained that the economic climate in India was bound to improve further.
Among the CEOs present at the roundtable were Jamie Dimon, chairman, chief executive and president of JP Morgan; Steve Schwarzman, chairman, chief executive and cofounder, Blackstone; and Charles Kaye, co-chief executive, Warburg Pincus.
Other leading figures at the roundtable were Henry Kravis, cochairman and co-chief executive, KKR; Bill Ford, chief executive, General Atlantic; and Peter Hancock, president chief executive, AIG Insurance.
Chase Coleman, co-founder and managing partner, Tiger Global; and Vicki Fuller, chief investment officer, NY State Common Retirement Fund, were also present.
During the hour-long interaction, Modi also outlined steps taken to simplify the country’s tax laws and in attracting investments, domestic and foreign, especially in infrastructure.
He said much had been done to ease doing business in India.
Soon after the meeting, US investors said the interaction was fruitful and that the prime minister was evocative in sending out his message.
“Overall, I was very pleased with the comments of the PM.
India is very attractive to us,” said Vicki Fuller, chief investment officer, NY State Common Retirement Fund.
Jamie Dimon, chairman, chief executive and president of JP Morgan said: “It was a great meeting with PM and very constructive as well.”
Earlier, the White House said President Barack Obama would work closely with him to expand economic opportunity for both Americans and Indians. “There are any number of reasons why the President would work closely with his counterpart, Prime Minister Modi,” on strengthening IndiaUS economic ties, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Wednesday.
Modi, who arrived in New York on Wednesday, is set to hold his third summit with Obama within a year next Monday after meeting investors in New York and tech leaders at Silicon Valley giants like Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Tesla among others.
When Obama travelled to India in January, “there was much discussion of the important economic ties between our two countries,” Earnest said in response to a question about the just concluded first India-US strategic and commercial dialogue.
Several American business leaders had also travelled to India at the same time “to engage in discussions with Indian business leaders and leaders in the Indian government to discuss strengthening the ties between our two countries,” he noted.
“The idea here is that by strengthening these ties, we can expand economic opportunity in both of our countries; that the more business that American businesses can do in India, the more economic opportunity that it creates back here in the US,” Earnest said.
— IANS