India is becoming the world's new investment destination as it has favourable investment climate due to the government's efforts towards ease of doing business, high economic growth rate, availability of skilled work force and better credit rating, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on Sunday.
Addressing a delegation of an investors' association, he said many opportunities lie in various sectors in India, particularly the urban segment.
Any investment made in Smart City Mission will "not be repented in the future", he added.
"India is becoming world's new investment destination as it has favourable investment climate by virtue of government's efforts towards ease of doing business, high GDP growth rate, demographic dividend, skilled work force and favourable credit rating," the Union Urban Development Minister told a 50-member delegation of 20-20 Investment Association.
The Association, a group of the world's most prestigious and economically powerful institutional investors who together represent over $7 trillion in investment capital, had called on Mr Naidu to explore the opportunities for investment in various urban missions.
Mr Naidu said that the central government is taking measures to enable increased flow of resources to urban local bodies and states which includes enhanced central assistance.
He said that under Smart City Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), the central government has committed to provide an assistance of Rs. 1.13 lakh crore till 2018-19 to improve basic urban infrastructure.
To boost the entire investment environment and to bring in foreign investments to the country, the government has brought in FDI-related reforms and liberalisation touching upon 15 major sectors of the economy, Mr Naidu said.
The minister said the Urban Development Ministry has taken initiatives to transform the urban sector by introducing various missions such as Smart City Mission, AMRUT, Swacch Bharat Mission and HRIDAY.
Various reform initiatives such as credit rating, value capture financing, waste to energy and waste to compost were also discussed, a release said.
The minister appealed to the delegation members to invest in smart city projects and assured them of all support from the central government in this regard.
