Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that India remains the most attractive destination for global investors despite the ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. In an exclusive interview with The Economic Times, Shah said that India’s stable democracy, transparent policies, and strong consumer base make it the “safest, best and only place to invest” in the current global scenario.
“India is not just the safest, but the only place to invest,” Shah told Economic Times. “We are a democracy with transparent policies, a big consumer market. We have brain power and skills to offer. I believe this turbulence is not a hurdle for India. We should see it as an opportunity.”
When asked whether India can still aim for high growth amid global challenges, Shah said that no country has advanced without facing some turbulence. “We are prepared. India is poised to be a global economic powerhouse,” he said.
Responding to questions about India’s goal of becoming a developed nation without necessarily hitting 8% annual GDP growth, Shah said growth needs to be understood in the global context. “In today’s world, our growth cannot be very different from global rates of growth. We will be in competition with the top 10 economies of the world, so growth rates will be in that range,” he told ET.
He added that most economies saw slower growth after the pandemic, but India managed to maintain its momentum. “Not only did India maintain its growth, (but) we have been the fastest growing economy for the past seven to eight years,” Shah said. “When the calculation of 8% was made, it was in the context of the global economic performance then.”
Shah also pushed back on concerns that investments are flowing out of India. He said that Indian companies expanding abroad should be seen as a sign of growth, not a negative trend. According to him, foreign direct investment (FDI) in India has grown by 143% over the past 11 years, reaching $749 billion, compared to the UPA era.
“Let’s not create a negative environment... We should applaud the expansion of Indian companies,” Shah told Economic Times.
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