India among top 10 FDI destinations: PM Modi

PM Modi said it was the best time to be in India and that many things such as foreign direct investment, ease of doing business, red-tapism and corruption are on a decline

Highlighting India's economic growth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on November 3, said the country is among the top 10 destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world and had received $286 billion of FDI in the last five years.

He was speaking at an event in Bangkok, to mark golden jubilee of the Aditya Birla Group's presence in Thailand. PM Modi said it was the best time to be in India and that many things such as foreign direct investment, ease of doing business, ease of living and productivity are rising while tax rates, red-tapism, corruption, cronyism are on a decline.

“All of what I have said just now makes India one of the world's most attractive economies for investment. India received 286 billion US dollar FDI in the last five years. This is almost half of the total FDI in India in the last twenty years,” Modi said. India has stopped working in a routine, bureaucratic manner as it is undergoing "transformative changes", PM Modi told a group of influential business leaders, hard-selling the country as one of the most attractive investment destinations globally.

PM Modi particularly talked about initiatives to reform India's tax regime and said his government is now starting face-less tax assessment procedure so that there is no scope for discretion or harassment.

“In today's India, the contribution of the hard working tax payer is cherished. One area where we have done significant work is taxation. I am happy that India is one of the most people friendly tax regimes. We are committed to further improving it even more,” PM Modi said.

The prime minister is on a three-day visit to Thailand to attend ASEAN-India, the East Asia and the RCEP summits. “India has seen many success stories in the last five years in various sectors. The reason for this is not only the governments. India has stopped working in a routine, bureaucratic manner,” PM Modi said.

Referring to direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme, Modi said it has ended the culture of middlemen and inefficiency. “You would be shocked to know that for years, money was spent on the poor which did not really reach the poor. Our Government ended this culture thanks to DBT. DBT stands for direct benefit transfer. DBT has ended the culture of middlemen and inefficiency,” he said.

The prime minister projected India as one of the very few attractive investment destinations globally and called upon the Thai business leaders to be part of the India growth story. “For investment and easy business, come to India. To innovate and starting up, come to India. To experience some of the best tourist sites and warm hospitality of people, come to India. India awaits you with open arms,” he said.

In his over 20-minute speech, Modi also talked about India's skilled human resources. “If there is one thing I am especially proud of, it is India's talented and skilled human capital. No wonder India is among the world's largest start-up eco-systems,” he added.