June 01, 2023

Modi Lays The Red Carpet For The Global Business Community

By A Special Correspondent

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Citing the fours Ds of Democracy, Demography, Demand and Decisiveness, Prime Minister Modi made an impassioned pitch for India as the preferred destination for global, especially US businesses, at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum. Modi's pitch assumes great significance due to the the ongoing trade and tariff war between the US and China and the fact that many US businesses are actively seeking to relocate their manufacturing units outside China.

Modi was at his eloquent best when he told the august gathering that "your desires, and our dreams, match. Your technology and our talent can change the world. Your scale and our skill can speed up global economic growth." For good measure, he added that "if there is any gap, I will act as a bridge."

While expressing his government's desire to partner with global businesses to develop India, Modi reminded them that India presented a golden opportunity that they should not ignore. He said "let me tell you, the new government is only three-four month old. I want to assure that this is only the beginning. Still there is a long way to go. In this journey we want to partner with the global business community. This is a golden opportunity for you."

Modi told the gathering that his government had embarked on rapid urbanization where they could have a huge stake. He appealed to the community to invest in the defence sector. He also reminded them that in order to improve ease of doing business, his government had repealed more than 50 archaic laws. Finally, as a masterstroke, he said his government had also reduced corporate taxes, much more on new manufacturing units, and they should take advantage of that.

This was Modi at his best, doing his PR bit for the country. His impassioned plea, coupled with reduced taxes in India and tariff and Trump-related troubles in China could make US businesses take a serious look at relocating to India. If even a dozen big fishes come, Modi's job will be done and his dream of propelling India to a $5 trillion economy in the next five years will be achieved.