Our economy is attractive for investors,” she said Sitharaman said that even though companies are looking at a China-plus-one strategy, many countries do not offer that opportunity given that they are facing enormous uncertainty. She said foodgrain and fuel insecurities have become a big issue, and countries are readjusting to source them from other parts of the world, resulting in changes in global trade.
Commerce and industries minister Piyush Goyal said investors and industry are attracted to India, and to states that have very progressive policies. He said he discussed the timeframe for the next commercial dialogue with the US commerce secretary on Tuesday. “She (commerce secretary) expressed a serious interest in coming to Bengaluru, and experiencing Karnataka. Very recently, at Silicon Valley, while I was engaged with industry, with investors and innovators atSan Francisco and Palo Alto, you could see the resonance of Karnataka particularly in the IT space, R&D, space and future technologies,” he said, lauding Karnataka as a state where “wiser people look to invest”, adding that the state offers skills, technology and ease of doing business.
Union minister for coal and mines and parliamentary affairs Pralhad Joshi said the biggest-ever commercial coal mining auction of 124 coal mines will take place on Thursday. The auction will be held online through a transparent two-stage process, on the basis of percentage revenue share. Joshi said the reforms brought about last year has aided in a total auction of 100 mines other than coal. He said that mineral exploration norms have been relaxed recently and nine private exploration agencies have been accredited so far. “The PM has given us a target that the mining sector should contribute 2. 5% of the GDP and we are working in that direction,” he said.
