Efforts to liberalise FDI policy will continue: Sharma

The Government will continue its efforts to liberalise the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in the coming weeks, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said here on Wednesday.

Expressing optimism for the economy in the New Year, Sharma said the coming months would also see a greater push for development of industrial corridors across the country and work would commence for establishment of the first few cities along the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.

‘Bold decisions’ He said in 2013 India was rated as the most favoured investment destination globally, which, Sharma claimed, was due to the “bold decisions” of the UPA Government for liberalising the FDI policy in key sectors, such as civil aviation, retail and telecom.

“I expect that with greater foreign investment and technology collaborations, Indian manufacturing will also move up the value chain and acquire greater competitiveness globally,” he said in a statement.

Sharma was also optimistic about the export scenario.

“In spite of weak demand in traditional markets, exports have done reasonably well and in the first eight months of the current financial year, exports touched $204 billion, registering a growth of over 6 per cent over the same period last year,” he said, adding that it was reassuring that the trade deficit had come down to $99.9 billion during this period.