India will remove all barriers in foreign direct investment: Sinha
Barring a few key areas such as defence, the government will continue with its economic reforms policy and soon free investment from controls
Government is finalising a proposal to free foreign investments from all government approvals and controls, Mr. Sinha told a special session on 'India: New Beginnings on Economic Reforms' on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.
Details about the equity structure, terms and conditions, enlarging the automatic route for FDI and transparent procedures would be some of the salient features of the mechanism, he said.
Mr. Sinha also said the government would push ahead with the reforms process. Next month's Budget will further "push ahead" the economic reforms process, he said.
Mr. Sinha, along with Karnataka chief minister, Mr S M Krishna, and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, gave a spirited portrayal of India as an attractive and reliable investment destination.
The finance minister acknowledged India had an image problem among foreign investors and noted their concerns over bureaucratic delays but drew delegates' attention to the near unanimity of views about the economic reforms among parties.
The Centre and state governments represented at Davos are all for "economic reforms" irrespective of their political affiliations, he said.
Mr. Naidu said reforms were the only option left to usher in peace and prosperity and improve the living standard of the millions. "Our aim is to carry forward reforms at the street level," he said.
Mr Naidu said efforts were being made to integrate information technology with development activities and urged investors to seize this opportunity.
Mr S M Krishna warned although there was a near unanimity among political parties of all shades on reforms, they would be counter-productive if the social and economic condition of the people does not improve. "Forces of reforms are emerging stronger in the thick of the knowledge based revolution," he said.
He said the investment climate was good throughout the country. "We are not pitching for investment in Bihar, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh alone."
Mr Sinha, the first speaker at the meeting, said this year's Budget will improve the "feed-good factor" further. He said both the revenue and fiscal deficits of both the Centre and the states are being tackled as a "national problem".
Source : MI
Feb 01, 2000 |
