The Union Government has decided to launch Rupee Bonds “in some countries” to provide long term finance for infrastructure development in the country. This will be in addition to the setting up National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and launching of Tax Free Infrastructure Bonds.
Disclosing this at the India-Singapore Economic Convention here on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Singapore could be among the countries where Rupee Bonds would be launched.
Stating that his government has taken “dynamic steps” early this month to further open up the economy for foreign direct investments (FDI) the Prime Minister said that “with this last round of reforms, India will be among the most open economies for FDI”.
In this context, he pointed out that some new sectors have been fully opened for FDI. Entry and exit conditions for FDI have already relaxed to a great extent. For most of the sectors, FDI clearances were now on automatic route. In addition to greenfield areas, many sectors can freely absorb FDI in brownfield projects. These included roads, construction and medical services.
Mr. Modi said that though the interest of foreign investors in India has gone up tremendously in the past few months, there were a number of regulatory and taxation issues which were adversely impacting on their sentiments. Hence, the government has taken decisive steps to remove many of the long pending concerns.
According to Mr. Modi, India is now undergoing economic and social transformation on a scale that is unmatched in history. His government is also working hard to ensure the benefits of this growth reaches to the common man. The government's strategy is to energise the economy, empower the people, fund the un-funded, secure the poor and enhance the income level of all.
Emphasising that India today was next frontier of economic revolution, Mr. Modi said that the changing paradigm had created new opportunities for global investors. These opportunities ranged from building 50 million affordable houses and 100 smart cities, modernization of railway network and re-development of stations to setting up new railway corridors, generation of 175 GW of renewable energy, construction of national highways, bridges and metro rail networks.
The Prime Minister said that Singapore was an important and valuable friend of India in its global outlook. India regards Singapore as an essential ally in the implementation of its “ Look and Act East Policy”.
Beyond bilateral scope, he said there were also significant opportunities through collaboration with third countries. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), comprising ASEAN and its six dialogue partners, was another potential opportunity “for our companies”, he added.
