'Invest India' to help small and medium investors: Anand Sharma

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Saurabh Gupta | 02 Apr, 2010
'Invest India' is a step to help overseas companies, especially the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which want to invest in India, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told SME Times on the sidelines of an event in the capital on Thursday.

"India is now the third most attractive destination in the world for investment and in order to make India even more attractive destination for investment, we have formed 'Invest India', under Section 25 of the companies Act, 1956, to help foreign investors at each and every step of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)," Sharma said.

In the XI Five Year Plan, the Cabinet has approved a proposal by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry for the formation of a company - 'Invest India', a joint venture between the Government of India, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the State Governments.

"In this direction consolidation of FDI Policy, a single document, is a step toward simplification of FDI norms. Such consolidation would insure that all information on FDI policy is available at one place, which is expected to lead to (a) simplification of the policy, (b) greater clarity of understanding of foreign investors and sectoral regulators, as also (c ) predictability of policy," the Commerce Minister added.

"Having a single policy would also ease the regulatory burden of the government," he added.

Invest India will act as the first reference point for any investor, whether it is big or small, interested in India and will also facilitate in setting up business within the country, by making available sector wise consultants and coordinating with the state government on feasible measures.

The JV will conduct capacity building exercises at the state government level to create an investor friendly environment. It will also undertake promotional work by expanding investor awareness beyond the metros. The company will assist DIPP and other Ministries & Departments in investment promotion projects/ events and any other activity within the ambit of investment promotion.

Meanwhile during the interaction, the Minister added that, FDI equity inflows for the month of February, 2010 have been USD 1.72 billion, which represents an increase of 15 percent, on USD terms, over the inflows received in February 2009 (which were of the order of USD 1.49 billion).

FDI equity inflows for the current financial year (i.e. April 2009 to February 2010) have been around USD 24.68 billion. These comparable to the FDI equity inflows for the comparable period of the previous year, which are around USD 25.39 billion.

According to the minister, the venture is intended to assist foreign investors in identifying and realizing investment opportunities in India. The company will also assist the government in its efforts towards projecting India as an attractive investment destination for foreign investors.