Why Modi Will Need More Than Tax Breaks to Make India an Investment Hub

It’s still harder to open and run a business in India than in most other nations, World Bank data shows.

India wants to attract “mega investments” in manufacturing with tax incentives, but it will need more than that to compete with Southeast Asian peers who are gaining from a shift in global supply chains. 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman outlined plans in her budget last week to offer income and indirect tax breaks to global technology companies to set up factories in India to make everything from semiconductors to solar panels. The government also wants to organize a global summit to attract investors. 

As Asia’s third-largest economy, India lags behind Southeast Asian peers when it comes to winning over investors. Foreign direct investment into India was 1.5% of gross domestic product in 2017, according to the World Bank, compared with 3% in Malaysia and 6.3% in Vietnam.

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Part of the reason is that it’s harder to open and run a business in India than in Southeast Asia, according to the World Bank’s ease of doing business index. For example in Vietnam, which has an economy a 10th the size of India’s, it’s easier to start a business, register a property and enforce a contract, according to the index.


Source: Economic Times

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