India has shed its apprehensions about foreign investment, welcomes all types of entrepreneurs, says Modi

New Delhi, August 11, 2021

India has shed its apprehensions on foreign investment to welcome all types of entrepreneurs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today.

Addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Annual Meeting 2021 via video conferencing, Modi urged the Industry to take full advantage of the atmosphere of trust in India’s development and capabilities.

Highlighting the changes in the approach of the Government, he said the new India was ready to march with the new world.

“India, which was apprehensive of foreign investment at one point of time, is welcoming investments of all types today. Similarly, tax policies used to induce despondency among the investors now boasts of the world’s most competitive corporate tax and faceless tax system. Red-tapism of the past has been replaced by a significant rise in the ease of doing business index.

“Similarly, rationalization of the maze of labour laws into four labour codes. Agriculture, which used to be treated as a mere means of livelihood, is being connected with the markets through reforms. As a result, India is getting record FDI and FPI. Forex reserves are also at an all-time high,” he added.

“There was a time when the term ‘foreign’ was synonymous with better quality. Industry bigwigs understand the consequences of such a psychology. The situation was so bad that even indigenous brands developed with great hard work were advertised with foreign names.

“The situation is changing rapidly. The trust of the countrymen is with the products made in India. Every Indian wants to adopt products made in India even though the company making those products may not necessarily be Indian,” he added.

"Today, when the youth enter the field, they do not have that hesitation. They want to work hard, take risks and bring results. Similar confidence is in India's startups today," he said.

The Prime Minister highlighted that today India has 60 unicorns as opposed to, possibly, 3-4 unicorns 6-7 years ago. Out of these, 21 had emerged during the last few months.

"The unicorns, with their diversity of sectors, indicate changes in India at every level. Investor response has been tremendous for those startups and this signals that India has extraordinary opportunities for growth," he said.

This is the result of the country's faith in the industry that the ease of doing business and the ease of living is improving, he said, citing the changes made in the Companies Act as an example.

He emphasized that the government was able to undertake difficult reforms as a matter of conviction, not compulsion. Referring to the initiatives taken during the Parliament session, he said the Factoring Regulation Amendment Bill will help small businessmen to get easier credit. The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Amendment Bill will protect the interests of small depositors.

Rectifying the mistakes of the past, the government did away with retrospective taxation. Going by the praise by the industry, the initiative will strengthen the trust between the government and the Industry, he said.

"This government was ready to take the biggest risk in the interest of the nation. The Goods & Services Tax (GST) was stuck for so many years only because the previous Governments could not muster up the courage to take political risks. We are not only implementing GST but today we are also witnessing record GST collection,” he added.

During the meeting, the industry leaders appreciated the Prime Minister’s commitment towards reforms in various sectors, to achieve the goal of a $5 trillion economy, an official press release said.

Speaking on the theme of the meeting "India@75: Government and Business working together for AatmaNirbhar Bharat", they gave inputs and suggestions to overcome infrastructural challenges, enhance manufacturing capacity, make the financial sector more vibrant, boost the technical prowess of India to attain a leadership position in the technology sector, among other things.

Modi noted that the CII meeting was taking place on the eve of the 75th Independence Day, amid the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. “This is a huge opportunity for new resolutions and new goals of the Indian industry. The major responsibility for the success of the self-reliant India campaign lay on Indian industries.

NNN