On the latest episode of CNBC-TV18's India Tonight, Karan Thapar catches up with Cabinet Minister of Commerce and Industry, Anand Sharma. He quizzes the Rajya Sabha MP from Congress on his expectations of foreign inflows into India and the policy overhang in foreign direct investment space.
Below is the edited transcript of the interview. Watch the accompanying videos for the full show. Q: Last year, incoming FDI was down by perhaps as much as 30% making India the only major Asian economy this was this was the case. What is the situation facing India during this new financial year? A: Last year, its true that FDI had gone down, and that did raise serious concerns. Of course, India remained one of the most favoured destinations for the investors, even during the worst economic crisis that the world has seen in seven-eight decades. There were host of factors; Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had done a study. However, without going into what happened last year, we have made efforts to reach out to the investors to reassure that we have in place a regime which is investor-friendly, we have an abiding commitment to continue with the reforms agenda, and there will be many policy rollouts which will attract strong FDI this year. We have done much better so far in the first three months. Q: Do you have any figure about how much better you have done in the first three months? A: Yes, close to Rs 14 billion in the first quarter of this financial year. Q: And how does that compare to the last year? A: Last year it was five. Q: So more than double, almost three times? A: Almost. Q: How confident are you that the good start that you have made this year can be sustained? There is turmoil in Europe, there is economic uncertainty in America and there is even talk in America of a possible double-dip recession. So this 14 billion that you have got in the first three months do you think you can sustain and build on it? A: Yes, first, these 14 do not reflect three big ticket investmentsDiscover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
