India Inc lauds PM Modi's 'clear policies' reiteration to state govts

Modi had made a similar statement at a post-Budget conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi last month

India Inc on Wednesday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nudge to state governments to establish clearer policies and ensure good governance, law and order to attract investments from global companies.

In his address from the Red Fort on the occasion of the 78th Independence Day, Modi said that the world's leading companies want to invest in India.

"I urge state governments to establish clear policies to attract investors. Provide assurance of good governance and build their confidence in the law and order situation," he said.

"Every state should engage in healthy competition to attract investors. This competition will bring investment to their states, providing local youth with opportunities and creating jobs."

 

Deepak Sood, secretary general, Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (Assocham), said that the initiative to rope in states to establish clear policies to attract investments would be a "double-down approach for scaling up investment-led growth".

Modi had made a similar statement at a post-Budget conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi last month.

Saying that clearer policies would attract more investors, Modi had said, "In the Niti Aayog meeting, I urged the Chief Ministers to create investor-friendly charters for their states."

"There should be healthy competition among states to attract investment, and I want every state to be part of this growth. Not a single state should be left behind," he added.

On Wednesday, Modi said that states should adapt their policies "according to global requirements". He added that currently, approximately 300,000 institutions are operating across the country, including state governments, panchayats, etc.

"I appeal to these units today: If each of you undertakes just two reforms per year at your level, reforms that directly benefit the common man, I am not asking for much, my friends," he said.

"Whether it’s a panchayat, a state government, or any department, simply implement two reforms a year and put them into practice. Imagine the impact—this could result in around 25-30 lakh reforms annually," he added.

Sanjiv Puri, president of CII, called this a "standout feature" of the speech.

"His suggestion that even two reforms carried out per year at the sub-national level are sufficient to transform the country is spot on, and in line with CII suggestions on governance reforms," he said.

"Industry strongly feels that the extra firepower to support India’s ascent will indeed come from building consensus with the states for undertaking next-gen reforms, especially in factors of production such as land, labour, etc., which are in the domain of states," added Chandrajit Banerjee, director general, CII.

Modi also said that the quality of goods produced in India should be of "international" standard and that the country should work on "Design in India" for the world. "This will depend on the quality of our production, the quality of our services, and the quality of our approach," he said.

Anish Shah, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), said that the body "strongly believes" that India must be seen as a high-quality nation and that "our products must match the best in class seen anywhere in the world in terms of design, sustainability, and service quality".

"It is time for Indian companies to look at the world as a market for their products, and by focusing on research and development, innovation, and design across the entire value chain, we will be able to create global champions coming out of India," he said.