New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made a strong pitch to convince Japanese business groups to 'make in India and invest in India'.
Asserting that his government is working on development and increasing manufacturing activities, Modi said there cannot be a better place to make investments than India.
"I have come to assure you that there is no Red Tape but Red Carpet in India. We have eased off lot of regulations," Modi said.
He told Japanese investors that India is a "god gifted location" for reaching out to global markets. Referring to his government's 100 days in power, Modi said it has achieved what could not be achieved in the last two-and-a-half years. The country's GDP grew 5.7 per cent in the April-June quarter, the highest in more than two years.
The prime minister is on a five-day visit to Japan, his first bilateral trip outside the subcontinent. His visit has been marked by rare warmth and rarer protocol gestures by his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, since Modi landed in Kyoto on Saturday afternoon. While Modi termed Abe "an old friend", their joint statement, or the 'Tokyo Declaration', referred to their meeting as "the dawn of a new era in India-Japan relations".
Earlier on Monday, India and Japan announced deepening of their strategic defence and economic cooperation. While Tokyo announced doubling of its investments in India and committed itself to putting $35 billion (Rs 2,10,000 crore) in India's public- and private-sector projects over the next five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised he would introduce special mechanisms like "Japan Fast Track Channel" for Japanese investors.
"The 21st century belongs to Asia ... but how the 21st century will be depends on how strong and progressive India-Japan ties are," Modi had told Japanese and Indian business executives.
Japan will invest in Modi's pet projects, such as cleaning of the Ganga, bullet trains, building smart cities, etc.
The two countries have also decided to set a target of doubling Japan's foreign direct investment and the number of Japanese companies in India within five years.
In addition to setting up Electronics Industrial Parks in India and Japan, Japanese "Industrial Townships" and other townships will also be set up with investment incentives for companies.
Japan has also announced the launch of a feasibility study by Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) for setting up of a 10 MW canal-top grid connected solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Gujarat as a model for next generation infrastructure, stated an official release from the Press Information Bureau.
Cooperation on the Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project was also part of the joint statement. “Appreciating Japan's contribution to the development of urban mass rapid transport system in India, Prime Minister Modi sought Japan's association with Ahmedabad Metro Project. Prime Minister Abe expressed Japan's willingness to support the project in a mutually beneficial manner,” the release stated. JICA has been funding a number of metro projects in India. The state-run agency implementing the Ahmedabad Metro project has sought a Rs 5900 crore loan from JICA.
An admirer of Japanese society, Modi also took time from his official engagements to visit an elementary school in Tokyo to "learn strategies" that he said could help "bring modernity, moral education and discipline" to India's primary education system.
During his visit, both the countries also agreed to speed up talks on the possible sale of an amphibious aircraft to India's navy which is likely to become Japan's first overseas military sale in nearly 50 years and a result of Abe's more muscular approach to defence in the face of an assertive China.
The two leaders also acknowledged "significant progress" in the elusive nuclear energy cooperation and Abe commended India's efforts in the field of non-proliferation, including the affirmation that goods and technologies transferred from Japan would not be used for WMD (weapons of mass destruction) delivery systems.
The two leaders also affirmed their shared commitment to "maritime security, freedom of navigation and over-flight, civil aviation safety, unimpeded lawful commerce, and a peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law," the joint statement said.
Modi appreciated the Japanese government's decision to remove six of India's space- and defence-related entities, including Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, from its banned list. These entities, banned after the 1998 nuclear tests, could now enter into technology-transfer agreements with Japanese companies.
