Economic opportunities dominate Day 2 of PBD

Trade and investment opportunities in a resurgent India were the highlights of the morning session of Day 2 of the 6^th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, jointly organized by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, the Government of the NCT of Delhi, and the Confederation of Indian Industry from 7-9 January in New Delhi.

Mr Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry, India said that amidst the shift in the Global Economic Architecture, India has experienced a huge transformation since the early nineties when economic reforms were launched. Today India's engagement with the global economy is around US$ 450 billion and foreign exchange reserves are at a record level of US$ 270 billion. India followed an "India specific" model and is now globally competitive. He said that Indian companies are now heavily investing abroad, and the consumer market is growing at a fast pace.

The Minister felt that the success of China is due to its SMEs, not the large corporations. Chinese SMEs get the support of their Diaspora, while the Chinese government supports their large enterprises. The Minister urged the Indian Diaspora to lend their intellectual and entrepreneurship resources to build the Indian SME sector and engage it with the SMEs worldwide.

Mr TKA Nair, Principal Secretary to the PM, chaired the session.

Mr Harvinder Takhar, Minister of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Canada, said PIOs can promote trade between their home country and India, as they understand both countries. He highlighted the initiatives taken in his home constituency Ontario to promote trade in terms of reduction of paper work and opening of a marketing office in Delhi. Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal, President, CII and Chairman and Group CEO, Bharti Enterprises, said India has good land resources and food processing industry is going to come up rapidly. The Diaspora can add "more momentum" to the knowledge industry in IT, Innovation and Biotechnology sectors in India. On skill sets development, he urged PIOs to invest in institutions for building skill capacities.

Mr Anil Kapur, Managing Director, Western Union Services India Pvt. Ltd., stressed the need for more money transfer systems and banks, as around half of remittances are done through informal channels. He recommended leveraging the strength of the Department of Posts and use of technology. Lord Karan Billimoria, CBE, DL, Co-Chair, Indo-British Partnership and Founder and Chairman, Cobra Beer Ltd., UK said that 25 million NRIs around the world are eager to be the part of the growth process of India.

States of India outlined their progress and incentives for investment, vying for the attention of overseas Indian investors at the session on Developmental Challenges of States. "The debate of developmental challenges could not happen at a better time in India. This should engage the government, the civil society and also the NRIS", said Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of External Affairs. He stressed that the imbalance in the rate of growth of the states of the nation needs to be addressed. Shri Mukherjee also asked the states and the NRI forum to come together in education, healthcare, energy sustainability, research and development as these sectors will "mar or make our future development." The Minister pointed out that India's trade agreements and strategic partnerships with various nations will take India forward in the developmental process and are unique to leverage growth.

The session saw the Chief Ministers of NCT of Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Jharkhand and the Industry Minister of Bihar addressing the diaspora audience about the facilities and investment areas and opportunities of the state.

Ms Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister, Government of NCT of Delhi described the Capital city state as the hub of health and education with state of the art infrastructural facilities. She urged PIOs to invest in infrastructure development.

Shri Narendra Modi, Chief Minister, Gujarat, describing the NRIs as "true ambassadors of the nation" portrayed Gujarat as the state with the growth rate of 10.6% - the highest in Asia. He said that Gujarat is focusing on port-led industrial and infrastructural development along with development in agriculture and services. Welcoming the Prime Minister's recommendation for a PIO University in India, he said his state is ready to start the mission.

Shri V S Achuthanandan, Chief Minister, Kerala, spoke about investment opportunities in his state in tourism and IT & IteS. Shri Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Chief Minister, Haryana, identified investment thrust areas in infrastructure, agro and food processing, IT, automobiles etc.

Shri Madhu Koda, Chief Minister, Jharkhand, said that the government has signed MoUs with leading steel and power companies and is committed to infrastructure development in PPP mode. He asked NRIs to invest in industries, technical education and health. Shri Gautam Singh, Minister of Industries, Bihar presented the investment opportunities in the mineral rich region, and outlined the new industrial policies to attract investment in the state.

9^th January 2008
New Delhi