For returns with reliability, India is the place to be: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday offered four Ds — Democracy, Demography, Demand and Diversity — to top global fund houses.

He also told them that the government will do whatever it takes to make India the engine of global growth resurgence.

Addressing a virtual Global Investor Roundtable, he told the 20 leading fund houses attending that India is the place to be for returns with reliability, demand with democracy, stability with sustainability.

The fund houses at the Roundtable included Australian Super, British Columbia Investment Management Corp, Future Fund, Japan Post Bank, Korean Investment Corporation, Ontrario Teachers, PensionDanmark, Qatar Investment Authority, Teachers Retirement Texas, Temasek and US International Development Finance Corporation. These funds manage over $6 trillion of assets, or more than double the size of the Indian economy.

“India offers you Democracy, Demography, Demand as well as Diversity. Such is our diversity that you get multiple markets within one market. These come with multiple pocket sizes and multiple preferences. These come with multiple weathers and multiple levels of development,” he said in his inaugural speech which was followed by an interaction session with the fund managers. Over the next two weeks, the Prime Minister will have one-on-one meetings with these fund houses.

Highlighting various reform measures, especially the relaxation of FDI norms, Modi promised more. He called the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ mission a strategy and not just another scheme.

“A strategy that aims to use the capabilities of our businesses and skills of our workers to make India into a global manufacturing powerhouse. A strategy that aims to use our strength in technology to become the global centre for innovations. A strategy that aims to contribute to global development using our immense human resources and their talents,” he said.

Urging investors to put money in farm sector, he said recent reforms in agriculture open up new exciting possibilities to partner with the farmers of India. “With the help of technology and modern processing solutions, India will soon emerge as an agriculture export hub,” he mentioned.

He said that India is a place to be for returns with reliability, demand with democracy, stability with sustainability, India is the place to be and growth with a green approach. “A strong and vibrant India can contribute to stabilisation of the world economic order. We will do whatever it takes to make India the engine of global growth resurgence,” he said.

After the event, Mark Machin, President & CEO of CPP Investments remarked that thid event provided insight into the government’s vision to build out the India economy and accelerate the growth of international institutional investment in India. "India is key to our long-horizon investment strategy, focused on growth markets, and we have a strong appetite to build on our existing investments across infrastructure, industrial and consumer sectors," he said.

Charles Emond, President & CEO of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) while talking about India said: “India is an important market for CDPQ—we have invested several billions in sectors such as renewables, logistics, financial services and technology-enabled services—and we aim to strengthen our presence over the coming years. I’d like to sincerely thank Prime Minister Modi and his government for taking the lead on organising this roundtable where global investors and business leaders could discuss opportunities to support a stronger economy for India.”

Jase Auby, Chief Investment Officer, Teacher Retirement System of Texas, USA shared his view on India and his participation at the Roundtable, “Pension fund investors dedicate large portions of their portfolios to assets expected to benefit from growing economies and markets. The structural reforms undertaken by India are likely to provide a strong foundation for such high growth well into the future,” he said.

COMMENT NOW