EU, India set up fund for investments

EU, India set up fund for investments (The Hindu)

Context The European Union (EU) and India announced the establishment of an Investment Facilitation Mechanism (IFM) for EU investments in India. Introduction

• The Investment Facilitation Mechanism (IFM) will allow for a close coordination between the European Union and the Government of India.
• As part of the IFM, the EU Delegation to India and the DIPP will hold regular high level meetings to assess and facilitate “ease of doing business” for EU investors in India.
• Invest India, the Indian government’s official Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency, will also be part of the IFM.

Purpose of establishing IFM

• The aim is to promote and facilitate EU investment in India.
• The IFM has been established with the key objectives of paving the way for identifying and solving problems faced by EU companies and investors will regard to their operations in India.
• The IFM will cover new investors as well as those already established in India.
• The IFM will also serve as a platform for discussing general suggestions from the point of view of EU companies and investors with regard to ease of doing business in India.
• As part of the IFM, the EU Delegation to India and the DIPP will hold regular high level meetings to assess and facilitate “ease of doing business” for EU investors in India.
• This will include identifying and putting in place solutions to procedural impediments faced by EU firms and investors in establishing or running their operations in India.

Background

• The Investment Facilitation Mechanism (IFM) builds on the Joint Statement of the 13th EU-India Summit held in Brussels in March 2016, where the EU had welcomed India’s readiness to establish such a mechanism to oppose protectionism and to work in favour of a fair, transparent and rule-based trade and investment environment.
• Ease of doing business is a fundamental priority of the Indian Government’s Make in India Campaign and the establishment of IFM for facilitating EU investments in India is another step to achieve this goal.