US Companies can play a critical role in delivering Financial Inclusion in India : Pranab Mukherjee
“Financial inclusion is a key determinant of sustainable and inclusive growth. It can unlock the vast hidden potential of savings, consumption and investment propensities of the poorer sections of India ”, said Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of Finance.
Speaking at the conference on India – US: An Agenda for Co-Creation jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the US India Business Council (USIBC), here today, Mr. Mukherjee pointed out some of the critical areas in which US can partner with India in achieving financial inclusion. He said US companies can play a key role in delivering financial inclusion by first, innovating and designing physical products that meet specific requirements of rural areas and can run in energy efficient manner. Secondly by designing software that can enable seamless connectivity for rural consumers and can also prevent cyber crimes and misuse of customer information. Third, “the US companies can also design financial products and services that are relevant to the poor”. And finally US companies can help India in achieving financial inclusion by providing training and capacity building for financial sector professionals.
Earlier, Mr. Mukherjee elaborated on India ’s potential as an investment destination. “ India offers exciting opportunities for global investors” he said, and made a special reference to the implementation of Indian Government’s disinvestment programme in this context. He also emphasized that the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India is open upto 100 percent under automatic in most of the sectors, and India is effectively open for business.
The Minister pointed out that India ’s regulatory and supervisory framework has been strengthened through various legislative and administrative measures, which are consistent with the best international practices. He further added that evolvement of stable and transparent regulatory regime provides a level playing field between public and private sector agencies. The procurement guidelines and bidding documents have been made transparent to enable foreign investors to participate in India ’s growth story with relative ease, said Mr. Mukherjee.
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