New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the City of London at The Old Library, Guildhall. Earlier, Prime Minister addressed the Royal Gallery at the British Parliament and held talks with his UK counterpart David Cameron.
Below are the highlights of the speech:
UK PM David Cameron- We have come from the Palace of Westminster where PM Modi addressed a joint session of Parliament
- One thing is clear India wants a partner to help finance its ambitious plans, it has come to the right place
- But it works both ways. India can help UK achieve its goals
- You want to build 100 smart cities. UK wants to rejuvenate its cities too.
- We want to continue our reputation as the tech centre of Europe
PM Narendra Modi
- It is a great pleasure to be with you this evening. I must confess there has been a delay in my coming to country. But the good news is that me and PM Cameron have been touch, exchanging views
- UK and India have known each other very well since a long time. Our system of governance is based largely on the Westminster model. Our people, businesses share common ground
- That is why UK is a major trading partner. And this is not one sided. India is the third largest source of FDI in UK but there is still significant potential
- We are particularly keen to develop the sectors where UK is strong
- Friends since my government took over, we have been working relentlessly to put the economy on track.
- We have worked aggressively to make India an easy and simple place to do business
- Our growth rate last year was 7.3 per cent and we are projected at 7.5 per cent this year
- In ease of doing business India went up 12 places in one go
- States are moving hand in hand in the space of cooperative and competitive federalism.
- One of the biggest challenges is the employment of the youth. For this manufacturing must be boosted
- We want to make India a global manufacturing hub. We have fast tracked approvals for industry and infrastructure
- Measures like transparent auction and allocation of resources has created level playing field for investors
- We have liberalised FDI in various sectors - railways, insurance. Early this week, we carried out substantive changes in FDI policy
- We have now dropped most of FDI proposal under the automatic route. With this round of reforms, India is one of the most open countries for FDI
- We have tragetted an annual contribution of $3.5 billion in the India Infrastructure Fund
- We have made security and environment clearances. We have articulated we will not participate in retrospective tax measures
- We have also deferred implementation of general avoidance rule for 2 years
- We have introduced GST bill in Parliament. Hope to see it in 2016
- As a result of our initiatives foreign inflows have turned positive. FDI has gone up by 40%
- India has been ranked most attractive investment destination by Ernst and Young
- India has jumped 16 places on the WEF's global competitive index
- In just 18 months we have restored India's credibility among global players
- We are keen to learn from your experience in implementing PPP projects
- India is committed to protect Intellectual Property
- We want your active involvement in transforming our dreams into reality
- We have also launched the Start-up India campaign
- India is on the threshold of a big IT revolution
- Renewable energy is our new mantra
- Never before was India so well prepared to attract talent, investment and technology
- We will be open to welcome you, your ideas, innovation and enterprise
- We are making it easier to invest in India. Further, we are making it even better to Make in India