Thiruvananthapuram: US companies have huge interest in investing in high-tech
commerce in India which has the advantage of large human capital, David C
Mulford, US Ambassador to India, said on Tuesday. The
FDI from US companies had been quite small, only about 45 billion dollars
as of now and the Indian government had taken a position that it should be
quadrupled, Mulford said. "The
FDI will grow in future more quickly in India," Mulford said at a meet-the-press
programme. There were already 1400 US companies registered in India. "The
impression that there will be long-standing problems if you are ready to invest
in India should be changed," he said. He appreciated the mega container
terminal project at Kochi, which would be a big boost to industries. He
said the economy could be strengthened significantly without compromising
much on political positions. Radical
and negative language could be avoided when the government could set their
own terms before the investors. If
India lifted the prohibition on the entry of FDI in retail, a lot of American
and European players would come to India. Opponents to this argued that it
would damage local small enterprise which was contrary to facts based on evidence
in other countries, he said. Mulford
said there was political consensus in India on the desirability of a strong
Indo-US relationship. "I have worked with two
governments which has around 35 political parties representing different states.
All of them are for good relations with US," he said.
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