An inter-ministerial group will look into and resolve key challenges being faced by Japanese investors in India, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday, while pitching for greater bilateral trade and business ties with Japan.
Speaking at the third Edition of the Invest India Exclusive Investment Forum-Japan Edition, Goyal said the government will meet 50 companies from Japan in four separate sessions. Half of these companies are prospective investors while the other half are already operating in the country.
Essentially a digital roadshow for Japanese companies, the event saw top officials from the ministries of textiles, heavy industry, pharmaceuticals, and food processing, among others, pitch India as a lucrative hub for potential Japanese investments. The country is the fourth-largest investor into India with more than $33.49 billion, or 7.13 per cent of all investments pushed in since 2000.
Japan’s Minister for Economy, Trade & Industry, Hiroshi Kajiyama reminded that Japanese companies are currently in the process of working on more than 200 investment plans in India. However, many of them are being delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, he added..
“As the world has recovered from the grip of the Covid-19, the Government of India has been preparing strategies and Action Plan not only for business continuity and is set to a revival but also setting out red carpet for global investors to continue to choose India as the preferred destination for investments,” said Goyal.
Dwelling on the Indo-Japan close relationship, Goyal said that both share common interests in economic and strategic fields. He said that economic relations between India and Japan have vast potential for growth. “Japan’s interest in India is increasing due to variety of reasons including India’s large and growing market. With its large population and growing consumer base, India is the preferred destination for Japanese investments. There are more than 1,400 Japanese companies to work within India and well treated 5,000 business establishments around the country and 10,000 Japanese brothers and sisters are now leading a very fulfilling and productive life in India,” the minister stressed.
New Delhi recognises that the relationship with Japan has been a fruitful one in various sectors such as automobiles, chemicals, consumer goods, food processing and today digital world provides numerous opportunities. But while the partnerships have so far focused on technical cooperation, the government is now looking to Japan as a strategic and investment development partner.
Both the countries have mutually agreed to taking up the issues with Japan companies on a cooperative basis. In the area of science, technology and innovation, the collaborations have been increasing significantly.
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Guruprasad Mahapatra said India is planning to set up the 13th Japanese industrial township in Assam, a move aimed at promoting domestic manufacturing in key sectors. He also stressed that work on the GIS enabled data base of industrial areas and clusters across the country is afoot.