Addressing the ongoing India-Sweden Business Summit in New Delhi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman encouraged multinational corporations to participate in various upcoming greenfield and brownfield projects in the country.
Sitharaman informed the gathering that India plans to spend Rs 100 lakh crore on building and upgrading public infrastructure over the next five years. She also invited Swedish firms to invest in infrastructure development projects. “We are looking at building more smart cities where Swedish businesses can contribute,” she said.
The Finance Minister said India has a decisive leadership which has undertaken radical structural reforms in various sectors of the economy, which has allowed businesses to prosper. The government has taken various steps, including reduction of corporate tax, she added.
India and Sweden have seen concrete outcomes in life sciences and other sectors which have benefitted both the countries. According to reports, more than 200 Swedish companies have a presence in India. About 55 of them are manufacturing and have been able to create more than two lakh direct jobs and 20 lakh indirect jobs.
The ties between India and Sweden have been on an upward trajectory in the last few years. The bilateral trade volume was USD 3.37 billion in 2018.
The India-Sweden Business Summit is going on when King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden are on a five-day visit to India. Apart from Delhi, the royal couple is scheduled to visit Mumbai and Uttarakhand.
