Doing business with India is a win-win proposition this was the message conveyed by Indian participants at a largely attended panel discussion on "Attractiveness of India as an Investment Destination" as part of a day- long Seminar on "Doing Business in India", which was organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and KPMG in Hannover today. Investing in India is being simplified for the benefit of foreign investors, Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, said while urging the German industry to come and be a part of the Indian growth process. Other leading participants in the discussion included Dr. Ajay Dua, Secretary (Industrial Policy & Promotion), Ministry of Commerce & Industry; Mr. Saroj K Poddar, President, FICCI; Mr. V.R.S. Natrajan, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Earth Movers Ltd.; Dr. Laszio Straub, Vice President , Corporate Development, Knorr-Bremse; and Dr. Sibylle Bartels- Hetzler, Member of the Board, KPMG, Germany. The Minister also released a FICCI-KPMG publication titled "Investing in India", which brings out the emergence of India as one of the fastest growing economies in the world and the various steps taken to encourage foreign investment into India including the process of lowering FDI caps in different sector which was being judiciously done.
Dr. Dua reiterated that the total factor productivity in Indian industry was much higher than in other emerging economies and had become a major reason for India's emergence as an FDI destination. "Not only does India enjoy advantages in terms of availability and remuneration for labour but also there are considerably opportunities in India to substitute labour intensive processes for capital intensive activities. Also the vast domestic market for most consumer and durable goods and its rapid growth due to higher disposable incomes in hands of young population have made India an ideal domestic growth led market economy. By whichever criterion middle class is identified, the purchasing power in hands of Indian urban class as well as rural rich is growing and their appetite for consumer and white goods is growing", Dr. Dua said. He also highlighted India's large production of agricultural goods like cotton, tea, pulses and milk besides huge reserves of iron ore, bauxite and coal. The high-savings rate of 29% in India was flagged as an added factor for undertaking new investments in India by Dr. Dua. Reinforcing the message, Mr. Poddar said 70% of foreign companies investing in India were making profits and urged German companies to "consider India in your investment goals and look at India with interest and enthusiasm". The liberalization of rules and regulations in India, according to Dr. Dua, had unleashed a spirit of enterprise and promoted trade, both domestic and foreign. This combined with the diligence and discipline of India's labour force had contributed to the significant economic growth witnessed in India in recent years, he pointed out, adding that this growth would further accelerate once the physical infrastructure of power, roads and ports got improved. The two other panel discussions held today as part of Doing Business with India event were panel discussions on: "Regulatory Aspects of Starting Business in India" and "Entry Strategies for SMEs to India". _____________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list ([email protected])
