“When we are inviting investment we cannot be sitting on a ton load of bureaucratic difficulty,” Seetharaman said underlining her intension to create more investment environment for foreign companies starting with the landmark agreement to set up at least four Chinese industrial parks in India.
She stressed the need for greater market access for Indian goods and services, from gems and jewellery and grey cotton fabrics to IT and pharmaceuticals. Indian companies have expressed to the Commerce Minister in interactions that unwieldy regulations and trade barriers were blocking their entry.
Once Chinese companies decide on the locations the government would have a clear message for her Chinese interlocutors. She said there was “immense scope” for Chinese investment, “not just for manufacturing but many sectors where the Chinese have an advantage. Whether manufacturing or railways, we could always find out more such areas where Chinese investments can be encouraged”.
Chinese investment in India, till date, totals $1.1 billion, according to Beijing’s figures. She felt the industrial parks would pave may for reducing the record trade deficit, which is at $31 billion last year.
The bilateral trade declined from a high of $73 billion in 2011 to $65 billion. With Chinese manufacturing flooding the Indian market, Seetharaman said “What is important is to find a production activity to be centred in India so that jobs are created for Indians”.
