FM Nirmala Sitharaman attends Investors Roundtable meeting in South Korea
May 03, 2023
Seoul [South Korea], May 3 : Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday attended the Investors Roundtable meeting in South Korea's Incheon, sharing investment opportunities that India offers under the "visionary and dynamic leadership" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Sitharaman also spoke about the vision and reforms-oriented approach towards good governance under PM Modi's leadership to shape a "New India" and redefine its place in the global economic order, the Ministry of Finance informed in a tweet.
Taking to its official Twitter handle, the Ministry of Finance posted, "Union FM Smt. @nsitharaman participated in the Investors' Roundtable meeting in Incheon, South Korea, today, and shared the incredible #investment #opportunities that India presents under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi."
It added, "Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman elaborated on the vision and reforms-oriented approach towards #GoodGovernance under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi to shape #NewIndia and redefine its place in the global economic order."
Further, during the Investors' roundtable, Sitharaman highlighted the recent reforms in India, speaking on the National Infrastructure Pipeline, National Monetisation Pipeline, Digital Public Infrastructure and Production Linked Incentive, real estate sector and FDI policy reforms.
In its tweet, the Ministry of Finance stated, "During the meeting with the investors, FM Smt. @nsitharaman mentioned that India has stood out as a beacon of hope facing the tailwinds of the pandemic and the headwinds of the geo-political conflicts to become the fifth-largest economy in the world."
Sitharaman expressed gratitude to the investors in South Korea for showing continued confidence in India and for expressing their willingness and commitment to participate in the Production Linked Incentive PLI Scheme, particularly for the mobile phone and electronic components sector. She also invited the investors to become part of the Indian economy's journey.
The Foreign ministry stated, "FM Smt. @nsitharaman invited the investors to become a part of the journey of Indian economy in #AmritKaal, which is full of immense new opportunities for #growth and #investments."
On Tuesday, Sitharaman arrived in South Korea for a 4-day official visit.
During her visit to South Korea, Sitharaman attended the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Governors' seminar on the theme 'Policies to Support Asia's Rebound' in Incheon. Speaking at the ADB seminar, Sitharaman called for greater digital integration of economies.
Sitharaman stressed that the protection of vulnerable sections has been India's prime focus as the government charted its course towards recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Finance's tweet. She highlighted India's focus on MSMEs and added that ensuring food security has been instrumental in the Indian economy's successful recovery from the pandemic.
Responding to questions on how countries can support workers, who will lose their jobs in the shift to net zero, Sitharaman said, "It is always a balancing act, particularly for a country like India where the population is very high and the youth component of our population is even better in favour of the country. So, you have to constantly keep balancing on your priorities for greening your economy."
She noted that the fear that technology will replace the human hand is "real and live." She called it "important" to equally see both the benefits of technology and transition to the greening. Sitharaman stressed that industries in India are very rapidly resetting themselves to bring in Web three to shift over to Industry 4.0.
"It is important for us to equally as much as we see the benefits of technology, as much as we see the transition to the greening is important. We also have to design some economy, some layers in the economy which will be labour intensive and provide them that skills. Even at this stage as I'm talking, industries in India are very rapidly resetting themselves to bring in the web three to move over to industry 4.0," Sitharaman said.
"Now if the existing labour remains where they are, they are not going to be up-skilled to meet up with these technology infusions. There will be a crisis even for the manufacturer, so will be his next generation of workers. So, governments of the day together with industry will have to constantly, even as they balance this climate versus productivity move and invest more towards greening. You have to on the other side bring in skill sets which are required for more technology-driven society and that is where you will bring this work," she added.