Modi offers fertile land for foreign investors

Amid disparagement and vilification from certain quarters within the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to be on a mission to bail out its sagging economy. Modi, who is at present in the United States of America to attend the UN General Assembly, appears to be working on a trade agreement with the US, if the remarks of its President Donald Trump at a media meeting on Wednesday is any indication.

Not just that, Modi has been exhorting global business community to invest in India, in an apparent bid to strengthen the country's finances. It may be recalled that it was just a few days ago, India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced a deep cut in corporate tax rates, say, from 30 percent to 22 percent, something that India Inc has been clamouring for a long time.

At a time when the economy is witnessing a dismal performance with the GDP falling to 5 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal- from over 8 per cent a year ago, the Prime Minister and Finance Minister are doing their bests to bring back normalcy in the country's financial affairs.

The slowdown has already taken a toll on several sectors including automotive, real estate and FMCG. This rate cut is expected to make companies more competitive by bringing corporate tax rates on par with prevailing rates in other countries.

Narendra Modi on Wednesday invited international business community to come to India and invest here, asserting that the historic reduction in corporate tax rates by his government created a golden opportunity for global investors and he even promised more measures to improve the business climate in India.

Speaking at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum, Modi said India offered a golden opportunity for investment in the country. "If you want to invest in a market where there is scale, come to India... If you want to invest in start-ups with a huge market, come to India...

If you want to invest in one of the world's largest infrastructure ecosystem, come to India," he said. Well, Modi's offer to global business community is indeed promising and is expected to have a lasting impact on the country's finances. Modi cited India's rapidly modernising cities and use of the latest technology and citizen-friendly infrastructure as good enough reasons for them to come and invest here.

Apart from the rapid urbanisation, as Modi rightly pointed out, India has opened its defence industry "like never before" where global players can find a safe bet. India, which is aiming to become a $ 5 trillion economy by 2024-25, needs to attract international business community to achieve its financial dreams.

It may be mentioned here that to improve the falling economy, the Modi 2.0 government has repealed almost 50 laws in its attempts to create wealth. It should be noted that Modi has been taking key decisions with an aim to save the country from an economic downfall.

According to Modi, $ 1 trillion has been added to economy in the last five years and the target is to make the country a $ 5 trillion economy. India has been making remarkable progress in many sectors including renewable energy, foreign direct investment and many others. Hope Modi's efforts will not go waste.