In a bid to attract US investment in India, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has assured US corporate leaders and lawmakers that India is committed to ensuring a transparent, fair and non-discriminatory investment environment for foreign investors. He expressed his view at Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus.
On the occasion, Chidambaram and others exchanged views on the global economic situation, Baucus, according to Indian Embassy officials, fondly recalled his first visit to India as a young student in the 1960s and his meeting with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
During his four-day visit to US, Chidambaram met with CEOs and top management officials of a number of merican companies, including Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC).
Chidambaram emphasized the need for US companies to set up local manufacturing bases in India, saying "it is in the mutual interest of both countries for India to become a large manufacturing economy".
In discussions focused on the current business and investment environment in India, the issues highlighted by the US companies included transfer pricing relating to profit allocation and, taxation. The impact of the comprehensive immigration reforms recently passed by the US Senate on future business prospects of Indian Information Technology (IT) companies operating in the US was also discussed.
Indian embassy officials said the companies were appreciative of the measures taken by India to address concerns relating to transfer pricing. Chidambaram also apprised the companies of the recommendations of the Arvind Mayaram Committee on enhancing FDI caps in many sectors, and the steps being taken to implement the recommendations.
He also met with the chairman of the US Ex-Im Bank, Fred Hochberg and other senior officials of the Ex-Im Bank Wednesday.
Chidambaram, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia would be keynote speakers at the 38th anniversary leadership summit of the US-India Business Council (USIBC) here on Thursday.
(With inputs from IANS)
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