 "Sinha predicts FDI surge from US, elsewhere")
He was speaking at a 'India-US Dialogue', organised by the Observer Research Foundation and Network18. "FDI is linked to business, brick and mortar on the ground… Discussions that I am having with American business people, I can tell you those business plans, those investments are being worked out and soon we will see a surge of FDI coming to India as well," he said.
Sinha said the government was trying to accelerate manufacturing in India. "It becomes a very important area where we can operate", he said, adding both countries stand to benefit.
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On FDI in multi-brand retailing, however, Sinha reiterated the government stand that it would impact millions adversely.
"We have been absolutely clear… We are not in favour of FDI in retail," he said.
Beside manufacturing, the government is focusing on innovation in India, he said. "We can innovate in India for India. GE has a large facility in Bengaluru. This is an important aspect of overall 'Make in India'," he said.
He said there was tremendous opportunity in investing in India. In the past year, $40 billion was pumped into India in both equity and debt. "A lot of that came from the US. There are significant returns as India grows and develops and as we build trillion dollar infrastructure," Sinha said.
On FDI, India received $806 million from the US in 2013-14, only 3.3 per cent of the overall inflow of $24.3 bn. "If you speak of money, many hedge funds and private equity, they like what they see in India, there is a tidal wave of that money. This is the liquid money," he added.
He said both countries could work together to find financing instruments and investment vehicles that will "generate returns that America need and we get the capital we need to build our infrastructure and power our economy".