Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pitched India as an ideal investment destination for ASEAN nations, while talking at the ASEAN Business Summit. He urged the global investment community to invest in India and draw comfort from its fast economic growth, strong fundamentals, continuous reforms and a welcoming environment. Prime Minister said that his government had launched a second wave of reforms that would make the country a “land of immense opportunities”. “Reforms, to me is just a way station on the long journey to the destination. The destination is the transformation of India,” he told the gathering.
"By almost every major economic indicator India's doing better than when we took office 18 months ago," the prime minister told the ASEAN-Business and Investment Summit. "Obviously, this did not happen by accident. The world economy is not exactly doing well. This success is the result of a series of concerted policies," he said.
“Our democratic values and an alert judicial system ensure the safety of your investments,” he said. "India and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) are natural partners. Our ties date back to ancient times," Modi said. "I have been saying that the 21st century belongs to Asia. I say this because of the track record of Asean countries," PM Modi said amid loud applause.
"Obviously, this did not happen by accident. The world economy is not exactly doing well. This success is the result of a series of concerted policies," he said. "Most of the ASEAN economies have done their bit for Asia's resurgence. Now it is India's turn," PM Modi said. "I invite you to come and see the winds of change in India," he said.
"Winds take time to cross the borders. That is why I am here to invite you personally. That's how we have jumped up by 12 ranks in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Report of 2016. These are just a few examples. Almost on a daily basis, we are trying to remove the bottlenecks that were affecting our growth process. Even early this month, we took very dynamic steps to further open up the economy for foreign direct investment," he said.
"With this round of reforms, we are among the most open economies in the world. Going further, I want to assure you that India is committed to protecting intellectual property rights," he said, adding: "We're moving fast to make sure our tax regime is transparent and predictable."
"It was obvious that reforms are needed. We asked ourselves the question - Reforms for what? What is the aim of reform? Is it just to increase the measured rate of GDP growth? Or is it to bring about a transformation in society? My answer is clear: we must 'reform to transform'," he said.
By Premji
