Washington: American companies are attracted to invest in Gujarat due to ‘honest, transparent and open governance, ’ said a US lawmaker months after he met the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate for the next Lok Sabha elections.
"During a meeting with the leadership of companies like Ford and Tata Motors who are investing billions in new factories in Gujarat I was impressed to learn that these policies are being implemented in good faith and with the cooperation of American companies," Republican Congressman Aaron Schock said to a magazine.
"These companies chose specifically to invest in this region of India because government was honest, transparent and open," he said. "When the Gujarat government promised to build a road to help them move goods to market, it delivered," Schock said. However, Schock who met the Gujarat Chief Minister in Ahmadabad in the month of March did not specifically mention Modi by name.
"Over the last several years, Gujarat, with a population larger than Texas and California combined, has experienced an impressive 10 per cent annual economic growth" he said. What I took away from meeting with officials in Gujarat trying to explain this success was their ardent focus on eliminating corruption in the region, which continues to plague the country as a whole," he said.
"Their policies to increase transparency, eliminate "pay-to-play" politics, and "cut the red tape while rolling out the red carpet" were refreshing to hear," said Schock, who is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and its Subcommittee on Trade. Describing India in many ways a study in contradictions, the Congressman said unfortunately, while success stories can be found in Gujarat, much of the rest of the country has not followed.
"With all the rewards seemingly in reach for companies who choose to invest in India's stable democracy the fastest growing market base in the world, with access to important trade routes; and an educated population in need of medicines, services, know-how and goods - many are still rightfully hesitant to undertake major investment here," he said.
"Pharmaceutical companies fear bringing life-saving drugs to market, only to have their patents thrown out by a slow-moving judicial system that always sides with domestic interests over foreign multinationals," he said. Large manufacturers are afraid to invest the resources needed for large-scale operations in a country whose transportation system makes the gridlock in DC look like a Sunday summer cruise," said the lawmaker.
