Govt working to boost investment in India, boost FDI and FII: Piyush Goyal

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Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said he is meeting stakeholders to discuss ways to boost foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign institutional investment (FII) by making the processes faster, smoother, and more efficient.

“One of our goals to achieve Viksit Bharat by 2047 is to create an investment friendly ecosystem. In fact, today I am meeting with stakeholders from the investment community to discuss what more can we do to make FDI and FII faster, smoother and more efficient,” he said at annual general body meeting of FICCI in New Delhi.

The minister said that investments will lead to job creation, bring in new technologies, promote research and development, and innovation. It would also promote defence manufacturing, provide greater stability to domestic currency which will help reduce inflation further.

“We do need to see policy certainty and stable currency and confidence in investors about the entire investment ecosystem,” Goyal added.

He also suggested the industry to diversify their supply chains and reduce dependence on one geography. “The government is focusing on building a strong domestic manufacturing base. We need to assess our supply chain for vulnerabilities, especially when trade is being weaponized and we have experienced it.”

The minister also emphasised on building a skilled workforce by including the younger generation, basically everyone who is born since 2000. “India's problem is more of underemployment than unemployment. The only solution to addressing India's problem of underemployment is to raise an army of skilled talented workforce,” he said.

On Indo-US relations

Speaking at the Indo-US Business Summit in New Delhi, Goyal said “good news" on the proposed India–US trade agreement can be expected once the two sides arrive at a deal that is fair, equitable and balanced.

“Negotiation is a process and India as a nation has to secure the interest of its stakeholders and balance it with our sensitivities - our farmers, fishermen, small industry. You will hear good news once the deal becomes fair, equitable and balanced,” he said.

The minister further said he doesn’t consider there to be a hiatus in India-US relations. “It continues to be very important and strategic for both countries. We have just signed the 10-year defence pact with the department of war of the US. A partnership which is as comprehensive as the US-India relationship has many elements and every element need not run at the same speed,” he said adding that sometimes there is some bickering in every family.

“The story of Indo-American partnership can best be described as two trusted partners working together for the shared prosperity for not just the two countries, but for the entire world. In fact we have just signed a major LPG agreement for importing 2.2 million tons per annum from them. So it is an ongoing partnership,” he said.