PM Modi said that to enhance the flow of foreign investments, India has liberalised the FDI regime.
In a visit focused on drawing investment,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an eloquent pitch to the industry leaders of United Kingdom today, outlining the reforms undertaken by his government which, he said, has boosted the economy and made India a coveted business destination.
"In ease of doing business India went up 12 places in one go. No other country has made such a great improvement, PM Modi said hours after holding bilateral talks with his UK counterpart David Cameron where the two nations pledged to deals worth
9 billion pounds. (
Full text of PM Modi's speech)
PM Modi's visit, the first by an Indian prime minister since 2006, follows Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit last month that yielded $62 billion in deals.
In Guildhall, the Prime Minister said the World Bank has very recently projected India's growth rate at 7.5 percent for this fiscal and even better in the coming years.
He also underscored the measures taken to address long-pending regulatory and taxation concerns that included streamlining defence licensing process and environmental clearances and rationalizing capital gains taxes.
Simplification of taxes has been one of the key demands of business leaders in the UK, along with protection of intellectual property rights. "India is committed to protection of Intellectual Property Rights," the PM assured them.
Enumerating why India is one of the most open countries for foreign investments, PM Modi referred to the latest push for reforms, during which his government eased foreign investment rules in 15 sectors.
In September, PM Modi had made an equally vigorous push for investment during his visit to the US. He had an extensive session with a group of Fortune 500 executives and had a series of one-on-one meetings with executives including business tycoon Mike Bloomberg, CEO of Mastercard Ajay Banga and Google's Sundar Pichai.
On Friday, the Prime Minister is expected to attend a forum of British executives, where several memorandums are expected to be signed.