Post Obama visit India high on US investors’ agenda, says Jaitley

The India-US CEO conclave was organised on Monday.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that India is back on investors’ agenda with US President Barack Obama’s visit helping to forge a ‘new commercial relation’ with India. He however, warned that this opportunity should not be squandered away by “obstructionism or complacency”.

Exuding confidence that US businesses would increase investment in the country, Jaitley wrote in a Facebook post, ‘President Obama, Davos and After’, “The conclave of Indian and American CEOs exhibited a strong confidence about India. The desire of American businesses to invest in India was great. Their queries related essentially to the ease of doing business in India.”

The India-US CEO conclave was organised on Monday. “With the American economy growing stronger, US corporates are flush with funds looking to invest elsewhere. India appears high on their agenda,” Jaitley said.

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The finance minister, who recently returned from the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting at Davos pointed out that the perception of India had changed there as well. “The WEF meet was one with a difference … For the past few years serious doubts had been expressed about India and its economic potential. It was placed as a member of the ‘fragile five’. ‘I’ was in danger of falling off from the BRICS. This year the environment was entirely different,” he said.

Observing that both internal and external factors favour the country, Jaitley said: “Oil price decline has favoured India as a net buyer. With a reform oriented Government in place, India’s policy to move upwards in near future is rated high.”