 "Huge opportunities in India,want to make it most open economy: PM Modi")
Presenting India as a land of "incredible" opportunities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday invited Japanese companies to invest, saying substantial finances are needed for development of the country and reforms were underway to make it the world's "most open" economy.
Addressing top Japanese business leaders here, he said India wants "greater influx of Japanese investments" and "for this, we will be proactive in addressing your concerns".
He said his government was committed to "further refine our policies and procedures" to boost 'Make in India' and was putting in place a "stable, predictable and transparent" regulatory mechanisms.
He mentioned progress on GST and talked about other "decisive steps" to usher in reforms in policies and laws to make India an attractive destination for foreign investment.
"Today, India is on the path of several major transformations. We have taken decisive steps and built a governance system that will help India realise its potential. The results are already visible," the Prime Minister told the luncheon session organised by Japanese business chambers - Keidanren, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Japan-India Business Forum.
Noting that India's development needs are "huge and substantial", he said there are unprecedented opportunities for Japanese companies in the country.
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Explaining why the Japanese companies should invest in India, he said: "Even against a weak international economic scenario, the news from India is of strong growth and abundant opportunities. It is of incredible opportunities, and about India's credible policies."
Modi, who is on his second visit here since becoming the Prime Minister in May 2014, said that in 2015, the Indian economy "grew faster than other major economies" and "the World Bank and IMF assess this trend to continue".
He said lower labour costs, large domestic market and macro-economic stability combine to make India a very attractive investment destination.
Emphasising that his government is "pursuing a new direction of economic reforms", the Prime Minister said his "resolve is to make India the most open economy in the world".
Modi, who is on a three-day visit of Japan aimed at
pushing the bilateral relations, said, "to those who are exploring (opportunities), I promise you that we are committed to further refine our policies and procedures to boost Make in India".
The Prime Minister said India's prowess in software is complemented by Japan's strength in hardware. "Want to assure you that we will provide a level-playing field," he told the Japanese companies.
"India's development needs are huge and substantial. We seek rapid achievement of our developmental priorities, but in a manner that is environment friendly. We want to build roads and railways in a faster way; we want to explore minerals and hydrocarbons in a greener way; we want to build homes and civic amenities in a smarter way; and we want to produce energy in a cleaner way," he said.
In addition, Modi said, there are futuristic infrastructure projects of second generation which include the Dedicated Freight Corridor, the Industrial Corridors, High Speed Railways, Smart Cities, Coastal Zones and Metro Rail projects.
"All of these offer unprecedented opportunities for Japanese industry. 'Made in India' and 'Made by Japan' combination has already started to work and converge wonderfully," he said.
He congratulated the Japanese companies which are already in India and pointed out that cars made in India by a Japanese carmaker are already selling in Japan.
"The very word 'Japan' in India is a benchmark of quality, excellence, honesty and integrity," Modi said and noted that Japanese people have led the world in sustainable development with a deep sense of social responsibility and ethical behaviour.
He said India and Japan are best suited to work together.
"India's core values are rooted in our civilizational heritage. It gets inspiration through the teachings of 'Truth' from Gautam Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi. It gets its wings from our democratic traditions, emphasis on both wealth and value creation, a robust sense of enterprise and quest to modernise and prosper its economy.
"Our past has desired us to stand together. Our present is encouraging us to work together," Modi said.
"I have been saying that this 21st Century is Asia's Century. Asia has emerged as the new centre of global growth. It is competitive in manufacturing and services, is becoming a hub for global innovation, is home to large talented workforce, and as home to 60 per cent of global population, it is an ever expanding market," he said.
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"I have long maintained that India needs scale, speed and skill. Japan has a very important role to play in all three," the Prime Minister said.
"Creating an enabling environment for business and attracting investments remains my top priority. Stable, predictable and transparent regulations are redefining the nature of doing business in India," he said, adding: "We will further strengthen the special mechanisms including Japanese Industrial Townships."
Modi said in the last two financial years, India received about $55 billion as foreign direct investment, which is "not only the highest ever FDI but also highest growth in FDI in India".
"Today, every global company has an India strategy. And, Japanese companies are no exception. It is no surprise that today Japan is India's fourth largest source of FDI," he said.
Japanese investments, he said, extend to both green-field and brown-field projects, manufacturing and services, infrastructure and insurance, and e-commerce and equity.
Japan's involvement in India's mega projects like Dedicated Freight Corridors, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor, Metro Rail and High Speed Rail "signifies scale and speed", he said.
He asked the Japanese companies to make use of the 10-year business visa, the e-Tourist Visa, and the Visa-On-Arrival facility that is being offered by India to Japanese travellers.
The Social Security Agreement with Japan has also been implemented, he noted, adding it was good news E-governance is no longer just a fancy buzzword, but a basic facility.
Talking about the changes in rules and laws in India, Modi said, "we have successfully enacted a new legislation regarding Goods and Services Tax (GST)."
The Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code passed recently will make it easier for investors to have an exit, he said, adding India is also setting up commercial courts and commercial divisions to ensure speedy disposal of commercial matters.
The arbitration proceedings will now become faster as the Arbitration law has been amended, Modi said.
"In June this year, we have further relaxed our FDI regime. We have also announced a new Intellectual Property Rights policy," he said while mentioning the specific reforms undertaken.
"All of these point to the new direction of economic reforms that India is pursuing. My resolve is to make India the most open economy in the world. The impact of our efforts is being felt and recognised globally," he said.
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Modi said FDI equity inflows have gone up by 52% in the last two years and India has gone up 19 spots on the World Logistics Performance Index 2016 brought out by the World Bank.
"We have done substantial improvement on Ease of doing business. Our ranking has improved considerably," he said, adding in the last two years, India has gone up by 32 places on the Global Competitiveness Index of World Economic Forum.
Citing the World Investment Report of 2015, he said India is first among the top 10 FDI destinations of the world.
Underlining that India and Japan will have to continue to play a major role in Asia's emergence, the Prime Minister said the growing convergence of views between the two countries under the 'Special Strategic and Global Partnership' has the capacity to drive the regional economy and development and stimulate the global growth.
"Strong India, Strong Japan will not only enrich our two nations, it will also be a stabilising factor in Asia and the world," he said.
Modi said India and Japan has a number of skill development initiatives already underway and "our partnership now extends to this crucial area of our priority".
He said "the captains of Japanese business and industry sitting here will agree with me that a combination of Japan's technologies and India's human resources will create a win-win situation."
He said he had mentioned it earlier also that the combination of Japanese hardware and India's software is a "fantastic combination" which will benefit both the countries.
"Let us join hands even more closely and strongly. Let us march forward and explore bigger potentials and brighter prospects," he concluded in his address to the gathering that also included some Indian business leaders.
After the CII-Keidanren Business Luncheon, Modi tweeted: "Had very good discussions with business leaders on ways to boost India-Japan economic ties.