Jaitley promises ease of doing biz, tax reforms

Promising a rational tax regime and easier business environment, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today asked Turkish industry leaders to invest in India including in smart cities, textiles, food processing and renewable business sectors.

In an interactive session with them on the sidelines of the G20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, he said the government has made significant progress in improving ease of doing business in India.

“We have made significant progress on ease of doing business, although I would not say as yet that we have perfected it,” Jaitley said. Committing himself to rationalising the taxation regime, both in terms of direct and indirect taxes, he said a number of initiatives that offer significant investment opportunities have been announced for global investors including from Turkey.

“We are in the process of rationalising our tax structures, both direct and indirect taxes... We have very large natural resources... we have expedited the clearances and more and more laws are being liberalised,” Jaitley said while listing out the steps being taken by the government.

The Finance Minister said India has benefited significantly from the decline in global oil prices. While a part of these benefits have been passed on to consumers and has helped reduce inflation, such benefits have also led to greater funding for infrastructure. Still, the requirement for funds remains huge in the infrastructure space, where foreign investors can play a significant role, he added. Jaitley said the infrastructure space, including the recently announced 98 smart cities, offer significant opportunities for companies from Turkey, which has a large number of entities in this business.

The Turkish delegation, which included a number of companies from the construction, as also from the textiles, food processing and renewable energy sectors, expressed keen interest in doing business in India.

Jaitley said that food processing also offers significant opportunities to Turkish businesses as India has very high production of foodgrains and milk products, but it does not have as yet the necessary processing infrastructure.

At the meeting organised by business chamber CII, Jaitley also suggested that the Turkish construction companies can form a consortium and explore business opportunities in India with the help of the Indian industry body and the Turkish Indian Chamber of Commerce, whose key functionaries were also present there.

CII President Sumit Mazumder also listed the various steps taken by the new government to improve ease of doing business and to attract investments.