Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has assured global investors that India provides a stable and predictable business environment and emphasised that businesses investing and expanding in the country would not face the uncertainties seen in other parts of the world. He said that the world is fragmented today and trust is a scarce commodity. But India, he said, ensures a fair play for every investor, business person, and trader.
Goyal also said that India has finalised nine free trade agreements (FTAs), covering 38 countries, whose combined gross domestic product (GDP) exceeds $60 trillion. He noted that India, before 2014, entered into some free trade agreements, including with Singapore. But collectively, all those free trade agreements covered a GDP of $10 trillion.
The minister said India is negotiating FTAs with a host of countries and blocs, including Canada, Israel, the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), Mexico, the SACU (Southern African Customs Union) region, Brazil-led Mercosur, and Russia-led Eurasia. He said ‘all of these economies collectively will add $15 trillion. So I would have opened the doors of India and opened Indian businesses, getting opportunities in GDP of $85 trillion out of a global GDP of $115 trillion. That’s 76 per cent of global GDP that will be open to Indian businesses.’
