India to roll out 'red carpet' for foreign investors: Jayant Sinha

DUBAI: India will roll out the "red carpet" for foreign investors not red-tapism as part of the ' Make in India' initiative, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said, emphasising the reforms introduced by the government.

Highlighting India's role as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Sinha talked about investment opportunities available to investors across sectors at a business gathering of Assocham and the Gulf Cooperation Council here.

"We will roll (out) the red carpet for foreign investors and not red-tapism. This belief forms a part of the 'Make in India' campaign," he said yesterday.

"The Indian government believes in empowerment of the Indian people over merely providing entitlements. It is a pro- business and pro-poor government working towards creating jobs, that will eventually spur India's GDP growth rate to 8 to 9 per cent," he said, stressing on the reforms introduced by the government and the drive towards 'Make in India'.

One of the initiatives to support this campaign is the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, established in 2015-2016 budget to ensure that India's infrastructure matches its growth ambition.

Chitra Ramakrishna, MD and CEO of the National Stock Exchange, talked about the capital markets and its recent developments that could be of interest to UAE investors at the attended by over 100 business leaders from the UAE.

"We are greatly encouraged by the series of economic reforms that have been undertaken by the Indian government. The historic economic cooperation between the UAE and India is a prime example of our strong partnership, but we believe that there are many further unexplored opportunities," Sheikh Sultan bin Sooud Al Qassemi, Chairperson Barjeel Geojit Securities, said.

Anurag Bhushan, Consul General of India in Dubai said, "The UAE being one of the largest trading partners of India, it is imperative to strengthen this relationship further and facilitate more investment flows between the two countries."