Speaking at the Roundtable on Investment Opportunities in India held at the New York Stock Exchange, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke on the meaningful governance reforms that India has undertaken to enhance investor engagement. The Minister explained that over the last ten years, India has taken up quite a number of process and governance reforms to make this economy investor-friendly, and accordingly, kept ease of doing business at the cornerstone of the Indian policy approach.
It brought together a diverse pool of pension funds, institutional investors, and fund managers from all across the United States and marked growing Indian importance in global financial markets. Sitharaman told participants that digitization is going to play a key role in the growth trajectory for the next few years and cited the impressive digital advancement India has made. Growth is crucially valued for its efficiency benefits in these reforms that would become important drivers for economic growth in the medium and long term.
Further proof of the strength of the Indian economy, Sitharaman announced that market capitalization for the country had touched $5.5 trillion, catapulting India to the position of the fourth-largest market in the world-ostensibly after the United States, China, and Japan. This as well was just one solid evidence of the success of the steps taken by the government. She further mentioned the active involvement of global players, such as Citibank and JPMorgan, within India’s International Financial Services Centre (GIFT City).
Infrastructure, Sitharaman noted, is a prime focus area, explaining NIIF as a collaborative platform meant to attract public and private capital investments. She also spoke about two upcoming funds-the Private Markets Fund II and the US-India Green Transition Fund, looking at exciting long-term investment opportunities.
As part of her tour to the United States, Sitharaman recently concluded a visit to Mexico with which she met with the business leadership and exhibited opportunities within India’s Global In-House Capability Centers and sustainable finance sectors.
Her focus on ease of regulation is a reflection of the other amendment that has been carried out in the more recent Foreign Exchange (Compounding Proceedings) Rules, and reflects once more the ambitions of the government in encouraging foreign investment and making the business environment of India even better.
