External affairs minister S Jaishankar said on 9 January at a video conference with Indian expats that the government would like NRIs and persons of Indian origin to invest in a big way in India and soon steps will be taken to facilitate it.
According to the Economic Times of India, in answer to a question by an NRI from Singapore, he said: “We as a country, as a government definitely would like to see the NRIs invest metaphorically and literally in India in a bigger way.”
“We hope to take measures soon to facilitate investment by NRIs and PIOs.”
He said the external affairs ministry will also seriously think about organising a ‘pravasi global CEO conference’ at some stage this year in London.
Early stage daft of new law
In a separate development, exclusively revealed by Reuters on 15 January, India is planning a new law to protect foreign investment.
It is aiming to speed up dispute resolution in a bid to attract more capital from overseas to boost stuttering domestic growth, two officials with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
In a 40-page initial draft, India’s finance ministry has proposed appointing a mediator and setting up fast-track courts to settle disputes between investors and the government, one of the sources said.
“The idea is to attract and promote foreign investment, but a major issue for investors is enforcement of contracts and speedy dispute resolution,” said the official.
The draft proposal is aimed at diffusing investor mistrust around the sanctity of agreements, which has worsened recently after some state governments decided to review approved projects or threatened to cancel contracts.
“We are yet to evaluate what the risks of bringing such a law are and if it would do more harm than good,” said the second source, adding that discussions were at an early stage.
