The American administration has praised current Indian government for encouraging businesses to invest. It has helped US businesses invest nearly $1.5 billion in 38 projects across India, he added, in sectors ranging from energy to banking. Another $1 billion is in the pipeline, said Ray Washburne.
“We’re very encouraged with the prime minister’s reforms- peeling back regulation, which encourages businesses to invest,” said Washburne, who heads the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a U.S. government agency tasked with helping American companies do business in emerging markets. It encouraged America to enter and get involved in India, he added.
Many countries, who have invested in India, the complaint about its myriad regulations and demanded uniform law regarding it. According to investors in the US, the initiative to simplify regulations took the form of an overhaul of India’s tax system. The introduction of a national goods and services tax (GST) assigns products a single tax rate across the country, effectively turning it into a single market for the first time.
Washburne, appointed by President Trump in August, was speaking on the sidelines of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad, hosted jointly by India and the U.S.
However, Trump has earlier criticise India for running a trade surplus with the US as current govt’s programme Make in India clash with Trump’s campaign to “Buy American, Hire American”. His rhetoric on immigration, especially his plans to re-examine the H-1B work visa, have also caused anxiety in India, whose tech industry sends thousands of engineers to the U.S.
“We are committed to expanding our trade relationship and our investment relationship with India. It’s in the interest of both our economies,” Thomas Vajda, the acting deputy assistant secretary for South Asia at the U.S. State Department, was quoted by CNNMoney.
India along with the US is hosting 1500 entrepreneurs and investors for three days event at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC).
Five startups- Ather Energy, Ahhaa, Hyperloop, AmbuPod and Ethereal Machine, were selected and chosen following guidelines of Niti Aayog and Startup India. They were attended by both Modi and Ivanka.
