Business with India

Modi mantra: Making India the easiest place for doing business

- by India Writes Network

Putting India on the global investment map, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to make the country the “easiest” destination to do business, which would blend a stable tax regime with a predictable, transparent and fair policy environment.
Unveiling immense possibilities the country’s growing economy offers to the world, Mr Modi, with UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry sharing the dais, assured investors that the government will “hold your hands whenever needed.” “If you walk one step, we will walk two steps for you,” the prime minister said at the 7th edition of the ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ summit, a biennial show hosted by the Gujarat government since 2003, which has morphed into a must-attend event for top global companies looking to invest in Gujarat and in India. “This event is perhaps the biggest gathering on earth where a budding entrepreneur has opportunity to see President of the World Bank. We are here as a family, not only in terms of space, but because we recognise that someone’s dream is dependent on someone’s direction. All of us want the planet earth to become a better place to live not only in terms of space, but also because we recognise someone’s dream.”
“India offers you 3Ds – Democracy, Demography and Demand and this is what you are looking for. You will not find all of them (3D’s) together at any other destination of world. We have a large number of hands to work and even a larger number of dreams to be realised,” he said.

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Rely on Modi’s India, Ambani unveils $16.5 billion investment

- by India Writes Network

Upping the stakes in the India growth story, India’s billionaire tycoon Mukesh Ambani unveiled plans for mammoth $16.5 billion (Rs 1,00,000 crore) investments across diverse sectors, and projected that India was on the path to become the world’s fastest growing economy.
The investments will be focused on expanding the RIL petrochemical production capacity and launching the 4G broadband services, which will provide a big boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet projects, including Make in India and Digital India initiatives.
Speaking at the 7th Vibrant Gujarat Summit here, the biggest investor conclave being held in India since the Modi government took charge in May 2014, Mr Ambani, the world’s richest energy billionaire and India’s richest man, underlined that “India is marching forward with a clear vision to emerge as global power even when as most of the world is struggling with low growth.”

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Modi expected to visit UK after the elections

- by Manish Chand

The India-UK relations are poised to move into a higher trajectory, with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to visit Britain after the May elections in that country.
Mr Modi was speculated to visit Britain towards January-end, with British Prime Minister David Cameroon keen that the Indian prime minister travels to his country early this year.
However, with the upcoming elections, the plan appears to have changed.
A group of NRIs and PIOs from the UK met Mr Modi on the sidelines of the Pravasi Bharatiya Summit in Gujarat’s capital Gandhinagar.
The prime minister conveyed that he will be visiting Britain after the elections, Lord Diljit Rana, veteran entrepreneur and member of the House of Lords, told India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) in an interview. The visit is likely in September-October, said Lord Rana, president of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin, (GOPIO) said.

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Reshaping Indonesia-India relations critical to 21st century Asia

- by India Writes Network

Vibrant democracies, emerging powers, and partners in the unfolding Asian resurgence. India-Indonesia relations have a rich past, and is looking to zoom into a rich future, bristling with possibilities. Co-founders and fellow-travellers of the Non-Aligned Movement, India and Indonesia have imparted a contemporary strategic dimension to their multi-faceted relationship. From President Sukarno gracing the first Republic Day celebrations of 1950 to India hosting Indonesia’s then President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations in 2011, the India-Indonesia partnership in the 21st century is acquiring new layers and depth.

The year 2014 saw a change of guard in both New Delhi and Jakarta, propelling self-made politicians from humble backgrounds to the top of the power ladder. The new leaderships in both countries are keen to seize the moment to infuse a new energy and vitality into this robust relationship.

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Banking reforms: How to cure KYC headache?

- by India Writes Network

A far-reaching reform would be to use the PAN database for giving KYC clearances for banking and investment services as well. Do we really need three separate and parallel systems for customer data for tax, banks and mutual funds? Merging the KYC process of the banking and investment services into the PAN system of the Tax department would greatly improve efficiency all around. Indian citizens and thousands of NRI/PIOs and foreigners would be spared the nuisance of doing the KYC process which simply reuses the same data and does not add any value.
Prime Minister Modi is to be lauded for pushing against bureaucratic resistance in giving millions of Indians access to the banking system through the Jan Dhan Yojana. When reforms are proposed there is opposition from the establishment. But where a decision is made, the bureaucracy will find a way to implement it. Now the prime minister has the chance to simplify and streamlining the outdated, repetitive and inefficient KYC process by basing it on a single database of the PAN system. This will save an enormous amount of time and money for customers, bank employees, and be more effective in tracking down tax evaders and criminals. He will be thanked for this service by millions of users.

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