With a view to enhance the investment climate in the country post pandemic, Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman had consultation with Chief Ministers and Finance Ministers of States/Lt. Governors of UTs on 15.11.2021. This was stated by Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

The Minister stated that the Government of India has taken concrete steps to increase capital spending and drive an infrastructure and investment-led growth which will lead to employment opportunities, access to market and materials, improved quality of life and empowerment of vulnerable sections. During the interaction, it was also discussed that there is a monetizable asset base in states, which can be leveraged to enhance the capital available for new infrastructure creation and other social sector pressing priorities, the Minister stated.

Giving more details, the Minister stated that states/UTs also raised few issues such as need for Standard Operating Procedure on environment/forest clearances and enhanced powers to States; Uniform coastal zone regulations framework; Strengthening of Dispute Resolution Mechanism to strengthen PPP ecosystem; Strengthening of banking infrastructure to address gaps in banking penetration & credit-deposit ratio in states; Need of State-specific trade policy in North East region of India and Development of  Agri-specific infrastructure  throughout the country.

The Minister further stated that a two-day conference on ‘Creating Synergies for Seamless Credit Flow and Economic Growth’ was held on 17th & 18th November 2021 with participation of various industries, banks & financial institutions. The conference discussed flow of credit into different sectors and need to push lending in the productive sectors of the economy.

Investment climate reform to increase capital spending and leverage state assets for financing infrastructure and credit flow. Discussion to enhance the national investment climate emphasised increasing capital spending and leveraging a monetizable state asset base to mobilise capital for infrastructure and social priorities. The meeting identified procedural and institutional reforms-such as a Standard Operating Procedure on environment/forest clearances, strengthened dispute resolution for PPPs, enhanced banking infrastructure, and region-specific trade and agri infrastructure policies-to facilitate investment mobilisation and channel credit to productive sectors; a conference on creating synergies for seamless credit flow followed to engage industry and financial institutions.