Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday told the global community in Bangkok that it is the best time to invest in India as the country is undergoing transformative changes, PTI reported. The prime minister is on a three-day visit to Thailand and made the remarks at the Aditya Birla Group’s golden jubilee celebrations. He will also co-chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-India summit later in the day.

“For investment and easy business, come to India,” the prime minister said. “To innovate and starting up, come to India. To experience some of the best tourist sites and warm hospitality of people, come to India. India awaits you with open arms.”

He highlighted India’s progress in the World Bank’s annual Ease of Doing Business ranking to 63rd spot and said it is one of the most attractive economies for investment. Modi talked about initiatives taken to reform India’s tax regime and said his government is going to start face-less tax assessment so that there is no scope for discretion or harassment.

“In today’s India, the contribution of the hard working tax payer is cherished,” he said. “One area where we have done significant work is taxation. I am happy that India is one of the most people friendly tax regimes. We are committed to further improving it even more.”

“India is now pursuing another dream-to become a five trillion dollar economy,” the prime minister said. “When my government took over in 2014, India’s GDP was about 2 trillion dollars. In 65 years, 2 trillion. But in just 5 years, we increased it to nearly 3 trillion dollars.”

On Saturday, Modi said India had eliminated a big reason for terrorism and separatism, in apparent reference to the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and the reorganisation of the state.


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