US industry leaders hail budget, say it will fetch India more FDI

Welcoming the budget, the US-India Business Council said that abolition of the dividend distribution tax removes a major disincentive to foreign companies seeking to set up operations in India

The 2020-21 Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will improve the ease of doing business in India and attract more foreign direct investment, US industry leaders have said.

Presenting her second budget in Parliament on Saturday, Sitharaman offered tax breaks to foreign investors and specifically those like sovereign wealth funds who are willing to place a long-term bet on the economy.

She said the Budget was aimed at boosting incomes and enhancing purchasing power, stressing that the economy's fundamentals were strong and inflation was well contained.

“Despite a slowdown in growth, the global outlook for investment in India remains