Gujarat "leads" in FDI investment, India replaces China as top destination due to privatization, labour reforms

By Our Representative
Gujarat has “topped” the list of 10 most sought-after destination states for foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2015 in a comparison drawn between India and China by a new report by the Financial Times Group's thinktank FDI Intelligence. The report says, Gujarat "attracted $12.4bn and claimed 10% of all capital investment into both countries."
"In 2011, Gujarat was ranked the 14th most popular state for FDI within the two countries", the report says, adding, "Maharashtra in western India has been one of the strongest performers across the years and it has continued to close the gap on the top Chinese destination, Shanghai Municipality, with the locations attracting $8.3bn and $10.6bn, respectively, in 2015."
However, the report, titled "The FDI Report 2016: Global greenfield investment trends" does not say how much of the "committed" investment has actually fructified. In fact, a separate FDI Insight analysis does not mention Ahmedabad, Gujarat's business capital, or any other city of the state, among top ten FDI job creating cities in the Asia-Pacific region.
It says, with 15,000 jobs, Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City was "the regional leader in job creation over July 1 to December 31, 2015", adding, "Not far behind was the southern Indian city of Bangalore, which came second as a destination for FDI jobs, with 14,223 created over the same period."

"Singapore came third as a FDI destination for jobs, with 11,042. Noida, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, came in fourth with 9,922 and Shanghai took fifth place with 8674", says the report.
The "sensational" revelation on Gujarat comes admidst "The FDI Report 2016" claiming that “India replaced China as leading recipient of capital investment in Asia-Pacific with announced FDI of $63bn". It adds, "China suffered a 16% drop in FDI projects." India, on the other hand, experienced an “8% increase in project numbers.”
Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making India and Gujarat No 1 destination, the report says, the factors which led to this included pushing into the backdrop such factors like "lack of progressive FDI reforms, retrospective taxation, excessive permit requisites, centre-state political stalemates, inflexible labour markets, land acquisition issues and inadequate infrastructure hindered large-scale FDI into India prior to 2013."
Praising Modi his "campaign" for attracting FDI, the report underlines, it "garnered global attention as he has encouraged foreign investors to privatise key sectors such as the railways, defence manufacturing and insurance, as well as the liberalisation of medical devices." It adds, all this has helped in "ease of creating business."
The report says, "FDI flows into India increased from $24bn in 2013 to $59bn in 2015. The floodgates had been opened. India’s dramatic ascension in the global FDI rankings has largely been due to a dynamic Modi-led government focusing on ‘big bang’ FDI and labour law reforms."

It adds, "Relative stability within the government coupled with an effort to reduce the stagnating effects of bureaucracy has given foreign investors, across many industries, confidence in India as a remunerative investment opportunity. India announced itself as a global force in the FDI sector as it broke into the top 10 economies in terms of incoming FDI flows in 2014."
It praises what it calls "Modi’s marquee visit to New York in late 2015 saw a plethora of US-based CEOs of Fortune 500 companies such as Google, Ford, Cisco, IBM, Lockheed, Marriott, Starwood, MasterCard, Merck, Pepsi, DuPont, Dow and EY hosting the prime minister and citing plans to expand in India. This event turned out to be a causative indicator for 2015 as India moved up to number six in the world for FDI flows in 2015."

Comments

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Where’s the urgency for the 2,000 MW Sharavati PSP in Western Ghats?

By Shankar Sharma* A recent news article has raised credible concerns about the techno-economic clearance granted by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) for a large Pumped Storage Project (PSP) located within a protected area in the dense Western Ghats of Karnataka. The article , titled "Where is the hurry for the 2,000 MW Sharavati PSP in Western Ghats?", questions the rationale behind this fast-tracked approval for such a massive project in an ecologically sensitive zone.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad* The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

Structural retrogression? Steady rise in share of self-employment in agriculture 2017-18 to 2023-24

By Ishwar Awasthi, Puneet Kumar Shrivastav* The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) launched the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in April 2017 to provide timely labour force data. The 2023-24 edition, released on 23rd September 2024, is the 7th round of the series and the fastest survey conducted, with data collected between July 2023 and June 2024. Key labour market indicators analysed include the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR), and Unemployment Rate (UR), which highlight trends crucial to understanding labour market sustainability and economic growth.

Venugopal's book 'explores' genesis, evolution of Andhra Naxalism

By Harsh Thakor* N. Venugopal has been one of the most vocal critics of the neo-fascist forces of Hindutva and Brahmanism, as well as the encroachment of globalization and liberalization over the last few decades. With sharp insight, Venugopal has produced comprehensive writings on social movements, drawing from his experience as a participant in student, literary, and broader social movements.

Authorities' shrewd caveat? NREGA payment 'subject to funds availability': Barmer women protest

By Bharat Dogra* India is among very few developing countries to have a rural employment guarantee scheme. Apart from providing employment during the lean farm work season, this scheme can make a big contribution to important needs like water and soil conservation. Workers can get employment within or very near to their village on the kind of work which improves the sustainable development prospects of their village.

'Failing to grasp' his immense pain, would GN Saibaba's death haunt judiciary?

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The death of Prof. G.N. Saibaba in Hyderabad should haunt our judiciary, which failed to grasp the immense pain he endured. A person with 90% disability, yet steadfast in his convictions, he was unjustly labeled as one of India’s most ‘wanted’ individuals by the state, a characterization upheld by the judiciary. In a democracy, diverse opinions should be respected, and as long as we uphold constitutional values and democratic dissent, these differences can strengthen us.

94.1% of households in mineral rich Keonjhar live below poverty line, 58.4% reside in mud houses

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* Keonjhar district in Odisha, rich in mineral resources, plays a significant role in the state's revenue generation. The region boasts extensive reserves of iron ore, chromite, limestone, dolomite, nickel, and granite. According to District Mineral Foundation (DMF) reports, Keonjhar contains an estimated 2,555 million tonnes of iron ore. At the current extraction rate of 55 million tonnes annually, these reserves could last 60 years. However, if the extraction increases to 140 million tonnes per year, they could be depleted within just 23 years.

Search This Blog