America
India, US have stake in each other's economic future: Indian envoy
By
Arun KumarWashington, July 17
India's lowering of
barriers to investment and encouraging business expansion will help US
and Indian companies to further increase their presence in each other's
country, according to Indian ambassador Arun K. Singh.
"The
exchange is good for both nations and should be encouraged," he said in a
blog post in The Hill, a top US political website, noting the two are
"economic powerhouses that are helping each other grow in a dynamic
global marketplace."
"We have a stake in each other's economic
future - and that future is very bright," Singh said citing a new report
about Indian companies pouring investment dollars into businesses in
the US and creating tens of thousands of American jobs.
The
report from the Confederation of Indian Industry and the accounting firm
Grant Thornton reveals that not only is Indian investment in the US
large, it's also extremely widespread and clearly growing, he noted.
The
100 Indian-based companies surveyed for the study have made an
aggregate $15.3 billion investment in their US operations and created
91,000 jobs in the US, "which by any measure is a substantial
contribution to the American economy," Singh wrote.
The US isn't
just a favoured destination for the time being; it is likely to remain
attractive for Indian investors for years, he wrote citing the survey,
he said.
"These substantial investments are also a testament to
the trust and openness that India and the US enjoy both at the
people-to-people and government-to-government levels," Singh said.
Noting
that India, according to Select USA, is now the fourth-fastest growing
source of foreign direct investment into the US, he said, "the
significant and growing contributions of Indian investments in the US
remain a vital component of the bilateral relationship."
American
firms have long been major investors in India, but efforts by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi to make economic growth a hallmark of his
administration have accelerated US investment there, he said.
India
has been lowering barriers to investment and encouraging business
expansion, Singh said noting the Indian government has over the past
year raised limits on foreign investment in sectors such as insurance,
medical devices, railways and defence.
"This will no doubt
provide myriad opportunities for US companies to increase their presence
in India and will strengthen Indian companies so that they can enlarge
their footprint in the US," he wrote.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])