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Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday he would be meeting industry stakeholders at Vanijya Bhavan to discuss ways to bring in more foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign institutional investment (FII) and ways to make the process faster, smoother, and more efficient.

At the FICCI’s annual general meeting, the minister said that even as India and the US continue their negotiations on finalising a bilateral trade agreement, India is looking at ways to pump in greater investment in the country to increase job creation, augment new technological breakthroughs, and promote research and development, and innovation.

“Today I am meeting with stakeholders from the investment community to discuss what more we can do to make foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign institutional investment (FII) both faster, smoother, more efficient,” he said, adding that the additional investments will also promote defense manufacturing and provide greater stability to domestic currency which will help reduce inflation further.

 

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“We do need to see policy certainty and stable currency and confidence in investors about the entire investment ecosystem,” he added.
The minister said the industry must diversify its supply chains and reduce dependence on one geography, referring to the US being India’s largest export destination, despite it imposing 50 per cent tariffs on Indian products.

 

‘You’ll hear good news on India-US trade deal once it’s fair, equitable and balanced’

When asked about the impending free trade agreement (FTA) with the US, which official sources said might be in the final stages of talks, Goyal said India will continue to place the interests of its farmers and fishermen at the forefront.

“When the deal will become fair, equitable and balanced, you will hear good news,” he said.

“Negotiation for a trade agreement is a process and India as a nation has to see the interests of farmers, fishermen and small industry”, Goyal said at the Indo-US Economic Summit, organised by Indo-American Chamber of Commerce in the capital.

India and the US are negotiating the proposed bilateral trade agreement since March. So far six rounds of negotiations have been completed.