Government places highest emphasis on ease of doing business: Modi

GANDHINAGAR: Strongly committing to continuing economic reforms, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today promised to bring a paradigm shift in polity and economy by providing corruption-free regime and easing processes to make India the easiest place to do business.

Addressing the biannual Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, dubbed 'Davos of the East', that had Fortune 500 CEOs and global leaders in attendance, Modi said creating an enabling environment for business and attracting investments is his top priority.      

"We have placed the highest emphasis on Ease of Doing Business," he said. "My government is strongly committed to continue the reform of the Indian economy."      

Over the last two-and-a-half years, the government has worked relentlessly to realise India's potential and to set right the economy, he said, adding the results have been encouraging in substantial improvement in key macro-economic indicators like GDP growth, inflation, fiscal deficit, current account deficit as well as foreign investments.      

"India has become the fastest growing major economy in the world. Despite the global slowdown, we have registered excellent growth. Today, India is a bright spot in the global economy. We are seen as the engine of global growth," he said.      

Stating that highest emphasis has been placed on Ease of Doing Business, he said decisive steps to ease licensing processes and rationalise provisions and procedures relating to clearances, returns, and inspections have been taken.     

"We are monitoring implementation of hundreds of action points across various sectors, aimed at improving the regulatory framework. This is part of our promise of Good Governance," he said.      

As India moves closer to global best practices, the government's confidence has been boosted by the positive impact of our policies and practices. "This also gives us the motivation to further simplify our processes to become the easiest place to do business," he said.      

"Every day, we are further rationalising our policies and procedures, to make it simple for businesses to establish and grow," he said. "We have liberalised our FDI regime in many sectors and in various ways. India is today among the most open economies."  

The Prime Minister said the total FDI inflows since May 2014 have touched USD 130 billion, reflecting confidence of foreign investors in Indian economy.