How Prime Minister Modi’s International Visits Going to Help Indian Entrepreneurs and Businesses?

Currently there is no immediate evidence supporting the gains made from the visits made by PM Modi. However, the indications are clear. What PM Modi is trying to achieve is something even bigger and for the long term. The trend suggests that Modi is trying to build a spectacular brand India.

The government’s programs like in the form of ‘Make in India’, the enhanced share of the exports, the lobby achieved in terms of the United States H1B visas, the defence contracts obtained for the home-grown private players are some of the positives gained from the visits.

So far the Prime Minister of India has visited as much as 57 countries. In just about three years time he has achieved this spectacular feat. Now, this week, he went to Europe. So the Indian entrepreneurs and businesspeople are keen to know the benefits that they are going to achieve from his visits.

It is good news for India as PM Modi’s visits have drawn the attention of the international companies. Many companies have already shown interest in expanding their base in the Indian subcontinent. Connecting well with the ‘Make in India’ program, various multinational companies are looking forward to expand their domain in the Indian soil.

The international visits are certainly helping India to build a brand, like never before. Now with the backing of the government policies, the Indian entrepreneurs are getting the stage to showcase their skills and ideas in an international platform. In this way they are being able to find more foreign investors.

Carrying Forward the Legacy

The practice of visiting foreign lands on official tours is nothing new. It is something India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru also did. However, PM Modi is continuing the same practice with much greater flair.

According to Shantanu Gupta, the founder and CEO of Yuva Foundation, “These visits are aimed on what is required by the country”. Gupta stresses on the fact that all the earlier prime ministerial visits were mostly focused on the governmental issues but now the new PM also concentrates on the development of the private industry.

Gupta continued by saying, “Modi has visited the most flamboyant business tycoons like the heads of Facebook and also that of Twitter along with other companies such as Uber and Tesla.  These kinds of meetings impart a positive impact to both parties. It also gives a feeling that India is now ready to call and host companies like these in their own land”

Making of the Brand India

Gupta further adds, “Modi is focused on the brand India. He motivates the venture capitalists to fund the businesses in India. In this way the Indian business owners and start-up ventures are getting motivated.

Another entrepreneur, who does not wish to be named, said that there are lots of positive gains from these visits. He says, “Once we engage with businesses abroad, the PMO engages in a nice and decent follow-up session. So, we cannot say that it is just a foreign tour. It is more of an engagement program which no other prime minister has ever done for this country. This is something amazing.”

As a result of these tours many trade forums have come into existence. The Indo-Japanese Trade Forum is one. There are also other trade forums along with many more friendship societies which have suddenly become hyper active. “Everything has turned positive in the last three years. They are now eager like never before to participate and share ideas,” he adds.

Gupta adds, “Modi is a CEO PM. He is like the head of a company. This is the era where a politician needs to think like a businessperson. And Modi is the one who has this connect. His inclination towards digitization is something special”.

So, far Modi has visited as many as 57 countries and he recently came back from a tour of Sri Lanka. Some of his important foreign visits include nations like United States, along with several Asian and European countries. Bringing business in India is his top priority.

‘Make in India’ Gets International Applause

The ‘Make in India’ initiative has gathered much attention from countries which are looking forward to expand their markets in India. Samsung was one of the first renowned brands that supported the “Make in India” campaign.

The fact remains that in the last two years there has been an increase in MNCs that have invested and started manufacturing in India. Industries such as electronic gadgets and metro rail coaches have flourished in the recent years, thanks to PM Modi’s foreign visits. For instance, the General Motors, the manufacturer and the seller of Chevrolet confirmed last week that they are going to continue manufacturing from India. The export figures of Hyundai Motors have also experienced exponential growth in the last two years. As a result of these manufacturing units, in the Indian soil, the employment levels are also shooting up.

Apart from the automotive industry, India is also experiencing a large number of contracts in the defence ministry. This essentially indicates that the Indian manufacturers will get a chance to collaborate with the foreign investors and work to achieve something larger. This kind of joint ventures supported by Indian businesses is certainly good for the economy.

Many speakers in the ‘Make in India’ session held on February, in the city of Bangalore, stated that India is ready to play a role in global defence industry, in the near future. As the manufacturing industry would boom, small and medium scale businesses with huge human capital will benefit from the same. According to Baba Kalyani, the chairman of the company Bharat Forge, this ‘Make in India’ program is already relishing its returns. He said, “Within the next few years, India is likely to manufacturer four to five times than it used to, before Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to the power’.

Approval has also arrived from the United Kingdom where their Minister of Defence Procurement, has recognized India as the perfect partner in this venture of defence as well as aerospace manufacturing industry.

The buzz is such that Indian giants in the form of Reliance and Tata have already established its defence manufacturing units and regional governments, like that of the state of Karnataka, have set up an SEZ for aerospace manufacturing.

The New CEO PM

According to industry observers, PM Modi is unlike most of his predecessors his foreign meetings are well-planned and much more focused than before. The only comparison can be made with that of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, whose charming personality brought about a much needed change in the country.

Modi’s focus on the digitization by including all the Indian start-ups has helped him gain much adulation from foreign companies. The goodwill has crossed borders and reached the foreign territories as well. Apple along with their Taiwanese partner has setup a manufacturing unit in the city of Bangalore. An Apple executive said, “We only came here because of the “Make in India” initiative.”

Tackling the Visa Issues

Since Donald Trump became president, there have been three bills passed aimed at the reform of the H1B visa regulations. One of the most threatening changes proposed by the bills is that the minimum salaries of H1B visa holders’ needs to be doubled. This move is likely to affect all the Indian IT companies, who have thousands of employees working in the United States.

This visa allows companies to send Indian IT professionals to the United States to serve the clients in their (clients’) location. Under current scenario, as much as 85,000 similar visas are being issued. This is done by the US Citizenship and the Immigration Services by means of a lottery. A majority of the Indian Software companies relish a larger share of the H1B visa applications by means of flooding the consulates with thousands of applicants, thereby hoping for the best that the lottery system will play to their advantage.

It is after Modi’s visit to the United States that Nasscom has got involved with the senate representatives. Nasscom paid as much as US $150000 in the first quarter of the current year, in order to enable the Indian Software companies to precede with their immigration policies.

According to R. Chandrashekhar, the president of Nasscom the H1B visa has now become a political agenda. He said, “There is a wide gap existing between the facts and the misconceptions regarding the contribution of the Indian IT firms in the United States economy and the creation of jobs”.

The Indian commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman has also said, “The issues related to visas have been sorted out. It is the lottery system which the Trump administration now wants to correct. But the number of applications and visas will not change. It will not come down”. She stated this indicating how the Indian government has mitigated the visa issue quite diligently.

Now the Prime Minister is set for a four nation Europe visit including France, Spain, Germany and Russia. He has already let the nation know about the agenda of his meetings which include enhancement of trade and commerce, modernising the transport system, fighting terrorism and digitization. Before departing for this important tour PM Modi said, “The focus of this tour will be on establishing a digital economy, the railways, the trade and commerce, the urban infrastructure, the means to fight terrorism and the renewable energy policies”.

All of these stated agendas are likely to boost the Indian domestic business front and help the entrepreneurs of the country.