Washington-based US India Business Council (USIBC), a premiere business advocacy group focused on strengthening commercial ties and promoting investment in the US-India corridor, has lauded the initiatives announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget.
"Overall, the initiatives show India's continued commitment to enhancing productivity, creating jobs, and capitalising on nine per cent projected growth to integrate into global value chains. Critically, to achieve these goals, the budget embraces efficient tools and vital outcomes like increasing the use of digital technology, mobilising private capital and climate-sensitive development," USIBC President Atul Keshap said in a statement, earlier today.
Keshap, who most recently served in New Delhi as United States Charge d’Affaires to India leading the US Embassy team, had last month been appointed the head of the council which is a critical and vital voice in driving ever-closer commercial cooperation between the world's two largest democracies.
The former diplomat, who has been the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives earlier, said that the 12 per cent increase in the capital budget expenditure for defence will help support India's border security and Indo-Pacific ambitions.
"Still, increasing targets for indigenisation of production may slow India's access to the equipment it needs to safeguard its security. Making India a more friendly manufacturing environment for international defence companies will be critical if they are to supply India's defence needs in a prompt and efficient manner," he said.
Terming it as a forward-looking budget, the USIBC said that the announcement of a 35 per cent increase in capital expenditure is a significant step forward, especially after the substantial increase in the prior budget.
Keshap appreciated the Indian government's commitment to a rapid rollout and supportive ecosystem for 5G technology, saying the key will be to translate these initiatives into accelerated infrastructure development on the ground that speeds up travel, lowers logistics costs and broadens digital access by attracting private investment.
"The budget embraces digital technologies to advance key goals like financial access, quality health care, enhanced educational and skilling opportunities, and higher agricultural output. The Government can only maximize returns from these initiatives if it creates a level playing field for competition among firms who supply key inputs, be they digital payment providers or life sciences companies," he said.
Emphasising that private investment will continue to be a key driver of growth, the USIBC chief said that efforts to ease doing business like reducing the time to set up a business, eliminating thousands of compliance requirements, and making land management more efficient will help achieve this objective.
"The acknowledgement of the role that venture capital and private equity play in flowing quality investment into new enterprises and job growth is critical, as is the commitment to enhance the ecosystem for these firms' operations," he said.
The advocacy organisation stressed that building 100 new cargo terminals will make it easier and less costly for manufacturing inputs to enter the country.
"The increase in the PLI scheme for solar manufacturing is also step in the right direction," said Keshap.
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