India will pursue policies aimed at allowing more overseas companies into the country, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said, easing investor concerns about opposition to the investment plans by government allies.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s 2 1/2-year-old ruling coalition faces resistance from its Communist partners in relaxing rules to permit more overseas investments, which the nation needs to accelerate economic growth and cut poverty.
The four Communist parties that support Singh’s United Progressive Alliance have blocked plans to increase foreign ownership of insurers and give overseas investors greater voting rights in local non-state lenders such as HDFC Bank Ltd. That’s scuttled plans to make headway in easing foreign investment rules in other areas such as mining and retail.
"In the past 10 years, we’ve had four governments, five prime ministers but only one direction in economic policy," Nath told the India Economic Summit organized by the World Economic Forum in New Delhi Monday. "Reforms are here to stay."
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