Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said he was for making the security clearance issued by his ministry for foreign investments a one-time affair.
From three years, the validity has been enhanced to 10 years, the Minister said, adding he would like and work towards making the clearance a one-time requirement.
Mr. Singh, who was addressing the inaugural session of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce National Conclave here on Friday, said this highlighting of the structural and procedural reforms was initiated by the government for making India a double-digit economy. Declaring that the Narendra Modi-government has adopted a “proactive, holistic and integrated approach”, he said for US companies a one-stop investment platform was available. Besides expediting approvals, focus was on cutting down on bureaucratic hurdles and delays.
“We have minimised procedures to a good extent and more needs to be done,” Mr. Singh said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama have added a new, successful chapter in the bilateral ties, he said, describing the relationship between the two countries as multi-dimensional, one that goes beyond commerce into a strategic partnership. Bilateral trade rose from $19 billion in 2000 to $100 billion in 2014, he told the conclave whose theme was ‘Increasing US-India Trade to $500 billion’.
