India offered increased trade opportunities and access to a market which offers scale, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointed out

Making a renewed pitch for India’s emergence as an attractive investment destination, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday referred to “global optimism towards India” due to “a perfect combination of openness, opportunities and options”.

Referring to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Prime Minister said global economic resilience against external shocks can be achieved by stronger domestic economic capacities.

India was contributing towards a prosperous and resilient world through the clarion call of an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India), he said.

Prime Minister Modi’s remarks came during the keynote address at the India Ideas Summit being hosted by the US-India Business Council (USIBC) on the theme of ‘Building a Better Future’

During the last six years, India had taken steps to make its economy more open and reform oriented, thereby increasing competitiveness, he pointed out.

India offered increased trade opportunities and access to a market which offers scale, the Prime Minister pointed out.

During his address, Prime Minister Modi touched on several sectors and explained why they were attractive for investment.

Defense and Space: The FDI cap for investment in the defense sector was being raised to 74 percent. India has established two defense corridors to encourage production of defense equipment and platforms.

Civil Aviation: The number of Air passengers are expected to more than double within the next 8 years; the top private Indian airlines plan to include over a thousand new aircraft over the coming decade.

Technology: A recent report said that for the first time ever, the country had more rural internet users than those in urban areas.

Healthcare: The Healthcare sector in India is growing faster than 22 percent every year.

Infrastructure: India is witnessing the largest infrastructure creation drive in our history. Investors can be a partner in building housing for millions, or building roads, highways and ports.

Energy: As India evolves into a gas-based economy, there will be big investment opportunities for US companies.

Agriculture: The sector has seen historic reforms in recent times.

About the US, PM Modi said, “We are natural partners,” pointing out that the countries were two “vibrant democracies with shared values”.

But the Prime Minister pointed out that the world’s approach to the future must be “human-centric” with the poor and vulnerable people at the core.

“Ease of Living is as important as Ease of Business,” he stated.