Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, and Textiles, Government of India, in his inaugural address at the National Conference on MNCs organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) today, commended the contribution of MNCs in the Indian economy in terms of technological diffusion, employment generation, skill development and spirit of innovation, among others.
The Minister affirmed that, recognising the immense contribution of MNCs in the growth story of India and with a view to improve the business environment, a plethora of improved policy and business reforms have been introduced by the Government. These include privatisation of Air India, removal of retrospective taxes, reforms in mining and coal sector, and efforts to grow the renewable energy sector. He mentioned that strengthening and promoting partnerships between government and industry is imperative for the introduction of reform measures to combat the issues faced by industry. He opined that low costs and huge market makes India a lucrative destination for the MNCs.
He further mentioned the importance of integrating India’s quality with global standards and the need to purge the mindset of different quality products for domestic and export market. He affirmed the Government’s commitment to help India become a part of the global value chain by introducing several measures that are in the pipeline including FTA with UAE, Interim Agreement with Australia, Working Group with GCC nations, and signing more Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) with a focus at reducing non-tariff barriers.
Arun Goel, Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries stated that the government has been working assiduously towards streamlining the business procedures, introducing schemes such as the Production Linked Incentive Schemes (PLI) and enhancing ease of doing business to provide greater opportunities to MNCs in India. He mentioned that leveraging on advanced technologies shall help India in positioning itself as an important nodal point in the Global Value Chains (GVCs). Shri Goel highlighted that while looking at geometric angles to growth there needs to be focus on engineering R&D.
Sumita Dawra, Additional Secretary, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that for reducing the complexity involved in compliance with business laws, the Centre has been introducing several measures to simplify and expedite the administrative as well as procedural clearances which will benefit the foreign firms. These include the introduction of the National Single Window System and India Industrial Land Bank (IILB). Further, while acknowledging the contribution of MNCs to India’s growth story, she stated that the authorities will be partnering with industry to improve e-governance and investment climate for MNCs.
Mr T V Narendran, President, CII mentioned that foreign investors have indeed proved to be a catalyst for India’s growth trajectory by offering greater employment opportunities, inducing innovation, technology transfer, and bringing in global management best practices which has been made possible owing to the government reform measures aimed at reducing policy, regulatory and infrastructural bottlenecks, while operating on Indian soil. He also appreciated the contribution of MNCs in the domain of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) wherein they have added immensely to women empowerment, access to health, environmental improvement, among various other social initiatives. He reaffirmed CII’s commitment to continue supporting the Government in making India an even more attractive destination for foreign investors.
Soumitra Bhattacharya, Chairman, CII National Committee on MNCs and Managing Director, Bosch India mentioned that the strong growth story of foreign companies in India is projected to continue while following the mantra of ‘Make in India and for the World’, as there is increased interest among international investors in the country with the government continuing to implement reforms to improve the business environment. He mentioned that India has become a priority for foreign companies looking to get a bigger share of the international market and they are continuously adopting strategies to expand their footprint in India.