Deregulated India attracting tens of billions of dollars in foreign investment
India attracted $44.9-billion in foreign direct investment during the 2017/18 financial year, Indian High Commissioner to South Africa Ruchira Kamboj highlighted on Monday. She was addressing the Invest in India Business Forum in Sandton, north of Johannesburg.
"Why India? Because it's the new India," she explained. "A country that is on the move. ... Our country today is on a very high growth path." India is now the fastest growing major economy in the world.
This has all been made possible by major reforms that have made it much easier to do business in the Asian giant. Complex procedures have been simplified. The bureaucracy has changed its mindset, she pointed out, from being a regulator to being a facilitator. In India, it used to take 26 days to incorporate a company; now it takes only one day. These reforms were driven by strong political will.
"This is the new India, where it is very easy to do business in," she affirmed. The country now had a specialised foreign investment promotion and facilitation agency, Invest India, which has won international recognition and awards. Invest India provides support to investors from the very start of the investment process to its completion.
It also made a lot of sense for foreign investors to link up with local partners. India is an incredibly diverse country and local partners bring local expertise. "I would always say -- go with a partner," she advised.
"Labour in India is very productive and very cheap," observed Kamboj. "They are willing to work for six days a week."
"We have a fairly good infrastructure now," she added. A number of the country's States (India is a federation) have been emulating the reform initiatives of the Central (Federal) Government. They have been simplifying their State regulations and investing in infrastructure. "The States are supporting the Centre."
"It is very easy now to do investments," she stressed. "This is the right time, with the new climate."
With regard to bilateral investments between India and South Africa, this now totalled about $10-billion, Indian Deputy High Commissioner Dr S Janakiraman pointed out at the same event. But, of this, some $9-billion was accounted for by Indian investment in South Africa, and only around $1-billion was represented by South African investment in India. Hence India's desire to encourage South African investment into the Asian country.
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