Nitin Gadkari divulges webinar with 10,000 investors; conveys their interest in India

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari downplayed all talks of the government being against industries and growth and reiterated the commitment to create more jobs and improve the financial situation of the country. Gadkari's remarks come at a time when the economy has been hit due to the lockdown triggered by the outbreak of Coronavirus. 

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Gadkari bats for growth in economy 

"India has got a huge market, skilled manpower, availability of raw materials and the government too is pro-development and pro-industry because we want to create more employment potential and eradicate poverty. Four days ago Phillip Capital organised a programme for investors in the United States. About 10,000 investors were with me in that webinar. They want to invest in India as returns are good & it's now a safe destination for investment," he said.

India's GDP growth for January-March quarter (Q4) 2019-20 stands at 3.1%, according to PTI. The country's GDP grew by 4.7% on a quarterly comparison Q3 of FY 2019-20. The government had revised fiscal deficit target for FY20 to 3.8% and overall FY 19-20 GDP stands at 4.2%, hitting an 11-year low. 

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The Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways added that investment opportunities in the country were improving with the economy now reopening. The output of eight core infrastructure industries fell by 23.4% in May with fertilizer being the only sector that has improved. All other sectors, coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement, and electricity witnessed a drastic fall in May.

Gadkari, who also holds the portfolio of Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the Central government said, "We are trying to take in more investment for MSMEs and we are also trying to change the definition of MSMEs as well. The manufacturing sector and the service sector were classified separately but now they have been merged and we name it 'Manufacturing and Services' sector."

Earlier, the government of India had released a Rs 20 lakh crore 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' financial package to help India become self-reliant. Further on from there, there is now a strong anti-China sentiment over a range of reasons, with lowering economic deficit to China becoming among the top priorities.

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