India's commitment to reform being taken seriously by foreign investors: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said India's commitment to reform is being taken seriously by foreign investors, which is evident from the good inflow of FDI even during the time of COVID-19.

Between April-July, the Foreign Direct investment (FDI) into India stood at USD 20 billion.

India's commitment to reform is taken seriously by investors abroad and they take India to be a very desirable destination, otherwise we wouldn't be seeing good amount of FDI coming even during the pandemic time when India, as many of our critics would say, had the strictest lockdown, Sitharaman said.

Releasing the state rankings based on the implementation of State Business Reform Action Plan 2019, Sitharaman said Aatmanirbhar Bharat would help India build on its strengths and become self-reliant.

Aatmanirbhar Bharat will lead to greater export competitiveness, better pricing and quality of exports, which show the Indian skill of making things to perfection, she said.

Sitharaman said Aatmanirbhar Bharat is not for making India inward-looking, but to build on its strengths, one of the ways in which the country can become more competitive.

In the states' ease of doing business rankings released on Saturday, Andhra Pradesh retained the top position followed by UP and Telangana at the second and third spots, respectively.