Govt will fix pain points: Nirmala Sitharaman

Washington: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday assured investors that the government will address any possible pain points to encourage investments in the country.

Addressing a roundtable on 'Investing in India's Digital Revolution' in San Francisco, the minister encouraged constant engagement with investors to understand and address their concerns. The Finance Minister said she was open to receive suggestions, understand pain points and offer necessary redressal wherever possible.

"FM Smt. @nsitharaman said that in order to promote a robust #StartUp ecosystem in India, @DPIITGoI has set up a very proactive #StartUp cell and encouraged those interested in Indian #StartUps to engage with @DPIITGoI." a tweet from the Finance Ministry said. During the meeting, investors from Silicon Valley also expressed that India's potential in producing Unicorn companies is immense.

"FM said that India, in pursuit of #digitization, has announced introduction of #DigitalCurrency by 2023. She also elucidated that #FinancialInclusion #FI will not be the sole purpose of this as India is already marching ahead to greater #FI, achieved through #JAM trinity," another tweet said.

Earlier in the day, the Finance Minister held lively interaction with a group of students studying at Stanford University covering a variety of topics. She was accompanied by India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit S Sandhu and Chief Economic Advisor V Ananth Nageswaran. Sitharaman also participated in a roundtable discussion with Women CXOs representing various fields including fintech, health, education, IT, among others.

The meeting focussed on the ways through which they could continue to contribute to India's growth story. "FM highlighted various Govt initiatives that are focussed on women-led development, such as schemes for #SHGs and #DirectBenefitTransfer that have especially benefited rural women, and others such as #MudraYojana that have empowered women entrepreneurs," a separate tweet said. Quoting examples of strong, empowered and inspiring women from ancient Indian scriptures, the minister said, today's women are also no less and have the potential to innovate and reach new heights in their journey through their own technological and digital stewardship. The Finance Minister had a meeting with Gen. James Mattis, former US Secretary of Defense, and currently Davies Family Distinguished Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University and discussed matters of mutual interest between India and the US. She also had a meeting with Perumal Gandhi co-founder Perfect Day, a Silicon Valley-based synbio/biotech StartUp. It has developed technology to make milk proteins by leveraging microbial fermentation, rather than using animal source.

"Mr Perumal Gandhi discussed Perfect Day's growth plan with the FM and sought to #invest in India to accelerate Perfect Day's scale up journey and join in the #MakeInIndia campaign," another tweet said.