Making a strong pitch to US investors, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India represents rising trade opportunities with a nation that can be trusted and which offers access to a market that has scale and availability of skilled human resources. The PM’s remarks at the India-US business summit last week, read in the context of current anxieties over supply chains based in China, were a clear bid to position India as a safer and more reliable trade partner and destination.
"US-India friendship has scaled many heights in the past. Now, it is time our partnership plays an important role in helping the world bounce back faster after the pandemic. American investors often look out for the perfect timing to enter a sector or a country. To them, I would like to say: there has never been a better time to invest in India," Modi said.
Looking to position India as a welcoming destination, Modi said areas like finance, insurance, defence and space offered big opportunities. He said 100% FDI was allowed and big schemes like Ayushman Bharat and crop insurance had increased acceptance of insurance products and the sector could grow to $250 billion by 2025.
Modi said the health sector was growing at 22% and there were more rural internet users than urban. “There are over half a billion more people who are being connected. Opportunities in technology also include opportunities in the frontier technologies of 5G, big data analytics, quantum computing, block-chain and internet of things,” he added.
Pointing to synergies that could be seen to contrast with China, Modi said, “India offers a perfect combination of openness, opportunities and options. Let me elaborate. India celebrates openness in people and in governance. Open minds make open markets... These are principles on which both India and the US agree."
