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NEW LAW ON SEZ TO BE PLACED IN PARLIAMENT SOON –INVESTMENT CLIMATE IN INDIA BEING CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVED, SAYS KAMAL NATH
Date : 10 Mar 2005
Location : New Delhi
Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, said here today that he would soon be presenting before Parliament the new law on Special Economic Zones (SEZs), as part of the government’s focus on improving the investment climate in India through a series of legal measures.
Inaugurating the India Trade and Investment Forum on “The Resurgent India: It’s Challenges & Opportunities”, organised here jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) and the Department of Industrial Policy Promotion (DIPP), Shri Kamal Nath said that the Indian economy was among the fastest growing economies in the world, with average GDP growth in the last ten years of 7%. India’s exports were set to cross 75 billion dollars, growing at over 25% per annum, despite a strengthening rupee. “The Foreign Trade Policy that I announced in August last year seeks to double India’s share in global merchandise trade, and to reach a level of exports of 150 billion dollars four years from now. Increased foreign trade is a critical element of our economic strategy as it generates economic activity which is incremental, resulting in greater employment generation, which is one of our principal goals”, he said.
The 16-point Action Programme for Investment endorsed in the 2002 CHOGM already lays down principles for governments and businesses to promote investment among member states. These relate to fostering conducive business environments by governments and for better corporate governance for companies. “My Ministry would be happy to explore possibilities for expanding these facilities by hosting or promoting further such conferences and forum through the special programmes that we are conducting to foster trade and investment links in emerging markets”, he said.
Underlining the importance of the collective Commonwealth voice in multilateral trade bodies such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) since Commonwealth account for 40% of WTO membership, Shri Kamal Nath observed that greater cooperation on trade policy issues through the Commonwealth Forum could speed up the process of the Doha Development Agenda.
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