Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Interim Budget statement that the government was negotiating bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with several countries should be good news at a time when foreign direct investment (FDI) has been slowing. In this context, our lead editorial notes that India would do well to adopt a flexible position that will enhance investor confidence and invite significantly higher levels of foreign investment over time. Read here
In other views
Washington and New Delhi are grappling with the question of “Make in India.” This is a mixed story because the economics of transferring manufacturing to India is not immediately obvious, writes Ajai Shukla. Read here
India’s coal-mining states would benefit greatly from a distributed solar programme for rural women. Such a “Solar Didi Yojana” could be implemented in states such as Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to ensure a just transition to a net-zero economy, writes Chairman of the Standing Committee on Finance in Parliament Jayant Sinha. Read here