US business and industry urged to seize India's potential

Washington, May 7, 2015: With India moving quickly on its commitment to reform, the new Indian ambassador to the US, Arun K. Singh, has expressed confidence that American business and industry will seize the potential to reinforce India-US strategic ties. "We are in a very momentous phase of our relationship," he said in an address Wednesday to the US-India Business Council, with a membership of about 300 top American companies investing in India joined by global Indian companies. "India is moving quickly on its commitment to reform, throwing up tremendous opportunities for working together," said Singh, who arrived here last week after a two-year stint in France. "I am confident that the US Business and Industry, will continue to seize the potential, and our cooperation will reinforce our strategic ties in a long-term framework," he said The past year has been transformational in many ways, Singh said noting that since taking over a year ago Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has pushed forward with the reform agenda at a remarkable speed. It has focused on infrastructure development, manufacturing, technological advancement, skills development and financial inclusion, through new and innovative programmes like Make in India, Digital India, Smart Cities and the Jan Dhan Yojana. Behind all these initiatives lies Modi's vision of making India a global manufacturing hub, with state of the art infrastructure and a skilled workforce, he said. "To realize this vision, foreign investments and transfer of technology would be important components," Singh said. "We need a business environment that fosters innovation and encourages investment."