By Arun Kumar

Washington:(IANS) India’s lowering of barriers to investment and encouraging business expansion will help US and Indian companies to further increase their presence in each other’s country, according to Indian ambassador Arun K. Singh.

“The exchange is good for both nations and should be encouraged,” he said in a blog post in The Hill, a top US political website, noting the two are “economic powerhouses that are helping each other grow in a dynamic global marketplace.”

“We have a stake in each other’s economic future – and that future is very bright,” Singh said citing a new report about Indian companies pouring investment dollars into businesses in the US and creating tens of thousands of American jobs.

The report from the Confederation of Indian Industry and the accounting firm Grant Thornton reveals that not only is Indian investment in the US large, it’s also extremely widespread and clearly growing, he noted.

The 100 Indian-based companies surveyed for the study have made an aggregate $15.3 billion investment in their US operations and created 91,000 jobs in the US, “which by any measure is a substantial contribution to the American economy,” Singh wrote.

The US isn’t just a favoured destination for the time being; it is likely to remain attractive for Indian investors for years, he wrote citing the survey, he said.

“These substantial investments are also a testament to the trust and openness that India and the US enjoy both at the people-to-people and government-to-government levels,” Singh said.

Noting that India, according to Select USA, is now the fourth-fastest growing source of foreign direct investment into the US, he said, “the significant and growing contributions of Indian investments in the US remain a vital component of the bilateral relationship.”

American firms have long been major investors in India, but efforts by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make economic growth a hallmark of his administration have accelerated US investment there, he said.

India has been lowering barriers to investment and encouraging business expansion, Singh said noting the Indian government has over the past year raised limits on foreign investment in sectors such as insurance, medical devices, railways and defence.

“This will no doubt provide myriad opportunities for US companies to increase their presence in India and will strengthen Indian companies so that they can enlarge their footprint in the US,” he wrote.

 (Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)