Deputy Consul General of India, NY, feted by IACC.
By American Bazaar Staff
NEW YORK: The India-America Chamber of Commerce (IACC) welcomed the new Deputy Consul General and the current Acting Consul General of India, Dr. Devyani Khobragade, at a reception in Manhattan. Prominent chamber members and business leaders gathered to greet her at the meet.
In her speech, Khobragade focused on mutual investment and trade between the US and India, and outlined the broad context of greater engagement likely between the two countries.
“The key message that was given in this budget was that India is working to create a conducive environment for investment openness to foreign investments. A slew of proposals were outlined in the budget speech which are aimed at improving the investment climate, re-invigorating growth and promoting inclusive development,” said Khobragade.
Khobragade outlined the key message of the 2013 budget: improving the pace of implementation of infrastructure projects; introduction of an investment allowance for new, high value investments; to improve coal availability to power projects; and improving the performance of the power sector in various states.
“The other focus of budget was aimed at correcting the macro-economic imbalances of high fiscal and current account deficits and persistently high consumer inflation,” she said. “We now look forward to robust investments from U.S. investors in sectors such as infrastructure, manufacturing, financial services, and retail.”
Addressing the members about the Indian investments in the U.S. and the jobs it has created, she observed, “Over the past few years, India’s actual FDI outflows have been growing at a tremendous pace, mainly due to progressive liberalization in India’s overseas investment policy during these years. In line with this broad trend, India’s investments in the U.S. have also accelerated.”
Khobragade pointed out that the key drivers of deeper bilateral business partnerships include: sustained economic growth in India, and consequent demand for capital and technology to meet India’s developmental priorities which has opened up new trade opportunities in both countries, and the economic re-emergence of India.
She said of interest was also India’s position as key global hub of new world trade routes and trading arrangements; establishment of new supply chain networks; one of the fastest growing markets in the world; India’s focus on innovation and its unique strengths in knowledge industries that have made her one of the largest R&D centers for many of the top notch US companies including General Electric, Honeywell, and IBM; focus on education, health, manufacturing, field of agriculture and increasing trade.
Rajiv Khanna, the President of IACC, observed that last year India was the fourth largest economy in the world on purchasing power parity, next only to the United States, China and Japan.
“Today, India is the third largest economy in the world on purchasing power parity, next only to the United States and China. But India’s story does not end with comparison on purchasing power parity alone. India’s economy is expected to grow from its current $1.8 trillion GDP to a GDP of $30 trillion by 2030, which will transform it into the world’s third largest economy in real GDP terms,” said Khanna in his speech.
He said India’s economy is rapidly leapfrogging from an agrarian society to a knowledge-based society, with the service sector being the key driver of the economy.
“But India’s growth story does not end with the service sector. Even in manufacturing, which is considered India’s weak point, India’s National Manufacturing Policy plans to increase the manufacturing sector’s share in the nations GDP from 16% to 25%, creating an additional 100 million new jobs,” he said.
India is creating National Investment and Manufacturing Zones, zones in which the government will modify regulations on difficult issues which impede greater manufacturing growth, he added.
Even in infrastructure, which again has always been considered India’s primary challenge, private investment has grown rapidly and currently stands at $60-70 billion per year. Power generation, ports, telecom, roads and airports have all seen rapid expansion, the scale and speed of which is unprecedented for India, said Khanna.
“The bilateral relations between United States and India continue to grow from strength to strength,” said Khanna.
Describing his experience when he first joined the board of the chamber in the late 80’s, Khanna observed, “the bilateral trade between the United States and India was a mere $100 million dollars a year. Last year, it reached $100 billion. That by itself may not be significant; what is more significant is the fact, that this is just a beginning.”