India will continue to be a magnet for FDI funds: Kamal Nath

Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, has stated that even in the current global crisis, India will continue to be a magnet for foreign direct investment (FDI) funds. Addressing the Partnership Summit 2009 "Trade & Investment: Focusing on Opportunities and Growth", here today, the Minister said that during April-October 20008, the FDI inflows to India stood at $ 18.7 billion, which is more than double the inflow during the same period last year. The Summit, which is organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), was attended by a large number of Ministers from India and abroad, representatives from trade and industry.

Speaking at the Summit, Shri Kamal Nath said: "India looks forward to partner with countries that have a strong agri-food sector from production through processing and distribution to partner with India in bringing about the second agricultural revolution". He further stated that the second sector that offers immense potential is the SME sector. "India's production design and process engineering costs - especially in the case of medium sized companies, are 70-80 per cent lower than in a developed country", he added.

On the Doha Round of talks at WTO, the Minister said: "We cannot have a Development Round without an outcome which provides full comfort to the livelihood and food security concerns of the poor in the developing countries. These are too vital to be the subject of trade-offs. There cannot be a one size fits all approach. While developing countries have aspirations of moving from poverty to a semblance of the prosperity enjoyed by common people in countries of the North, the developed countries, quite validly have expectations from the rest of the WTO membership. The challenge that we have to grapple with is how to reconcile the legitimate aspirations of some with the understandable expectations of others. The key to finding this convergence would also be, I presume, the key to finding the convergence between globalisation and social justice".

Foreign direct investment appeal persists, promoting agri food and SME partnerships while demanding trade outcomes that protect livelihoods. India will remain attractive for foreign direct investment despite global crisis, with inflows rising notably; priority investment opportunities include agri-food partnerships across production, processing and distribution and collaboration with SMEs due to lower production and engineering costs. On trade negotiations, a legitimate development outcome in the Doha Round must protect livelihood and food security for poorer countries, reject one-size-fits-all solutions, and seek convergence between globalisation and social justice.