Krishna hopeful of regain growth

Washington. ‘‘In an era of global interdependence, not everything is within the powers of national governments. But we are confident we will restore investor confidence and regain momentum and growth’’. External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has said. Krishna’s remarks came at the end of the day-long annual gala of the US India Business Council (USIBC) wherein American corporate leadership, think tanks expressed skepticism over the current business environment in India and lamented that economic reforms are not taking place.
India’s proposed retroactive tax provisions have sparked vitriolic American criticism and warnings that investment plans by overseas companies could be reconsidered. “increasing signs of an absence of business climate are hampering India’s progress and scaring away foreign investment,” Ajay Banga, new chairman of the US-India Business Council and CEO of MasterCard Worldwide, told in Washington.
Ahead of a meeting on Wednesday with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Krishna signaled that India might raise the industry demand for more work visas. There has been a recent rash of controversial denials of L1B visas (for specialised knowledge workers) by the American consulate in Chennai. ” I am aware of the concerns of the US businesses; USIBC has been forceful in articulating them!” Krishna said. “But, it is also true, that as our inter-dependence deepens, it becomes even more important to address the issues with a sense of urgency and purpose,” he added.
“The progress that we have made gives us the confidence to deal with the challenges in our relationship. Our trade in goods and services has reached a milestone by crossing 100 billion US dollars last year. India has been one of the fastest growing destinations for US exports,” he said and acknowledged that the US remains a major source of investment in India.
Indian companies, too, have established presence in at least 40 states in the US, with a significant part of their investments going into the manufacturing sector, and generating more than 80% of their employment locally from the United States Krishna said.
Regulatory uncertainty and policy gridlock have battered foreign corporate sentiment towards India, adding to a dramatic slowdown in the Asia democracy’s economic growth and exacerbating a widening current account deficit that has knocked the rupee to record lows.