Geeta Mohan | Posted by Ganesh Kumar Radha Udayakumar
New Delhi, November 1, 2017 | UPDATED 07:30 IST
"If you really go digital you ultimately reduce or even remove human interactions in transactions. It reduces license raj and even the possibility of corruption," Balakrishnan explained.
Sushma SwarajOn his two-day visit to India, Singapore's Foreign Minister Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan focussed on boosting economic ties between the two nations.
Speaking at a CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) symposium on 'India, Singapore & ASEAN: Shared History, Common Future' on Tuesday, the minister praised Prime Minister Modi's move to make India a cashless economy and to make transactions transparent in order to fight corruption.
He said, "If you really go digital you ultimately reduce or even remove human interactions in transactions. It reduces license raj and even the possibility of corruption. This is why PM Modi launched the demonetisation drive, electronic identification Aadhar."
"It is not just going digital for digital sake, but the fact that it completely transforms the way transactions are executed," he added.
This came on a day when the World Bank released its latest data on ranking of nations in "ease of doing business" wherein India jumped up thirty spots at 100 from 130 . The focus of the Indian administration has been to attract foreign investors by making it easier for them to invest in India and to cut out on the bureaucratic red tapism.
MEETING WITH E.A.M SWARAJ
Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Balakrishnan met with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj to hold bilateral talks under the framework of a Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC). Swaraj hosted a lunch in honour of the visiting dignitary and his delegation.
According to a Ministry of External Affairs statement, both sides "discussed a wide range of bilateral issues of shared interests and mutual concerns. In particular, they reviewed the upcoming high level exchanges, commemoration of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of ASEAN and 25 years of India-ASEAN dialogue partnership, cooperation in political, defence and security fields, trade and investment, cooperation in tourism and culture, connectivity, and other aspects of partnership. They also exchanged views on issues of mutual interest at regional and multilateral levels, including cooperation at UN and International organisations."
Making a pitch for Modi's "Act East Policy", minister Balakrishnan emphasised the need for connectivity and the need to "liberalise" air services.
"India needs to boldly liberalise its air services. My favourite comment to bureaucrats - interest of the state outweigh(s) interest of the state airline", he said. He was making the point that Singapore has more than 16 million tourists per year (just by air), and half of them come from India.
While the foreign minister praised India, he also drew examples from the fast-growing Chinese economy, applauding the effort to lift the Chinese population from abject poverty.
"A global multilateral rules based order based on global economic integration and openness, we will have lots of opportunities, depends on India-China-US", he said.
ASSAM VISIT
On Wednesday, Dr. Balakrishnan will visit Guwahati in Assam, where he will meet Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonawal.
He will witness the signing of an MoU to launch a Skill Development Centre being set up with Singapore's assistance, under the Prime Minister's Skill India Initiative.
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