'Only strong IPR regime can incentivize cos to invest in India'

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SME Times News Bureau | 19 May, 2015
Swiss Economic Affairs Minister, Johann Schneider Ammann has expressed concern over India's IPR regime, stating that without an assurance of a strong IP law, companies would not have the incentive to innovate and invest in India.

Speaking at a business interaction with Indian industry representatives, organized by FICCI in New Delhi recently, Ammann said, "Access to quality medication to the poor was among the main challenges faced by India. IPR, he said, plays an important role in the development of life-saving drugs and additional efforts were needed from the Indian government to remove the difficulties faced by pharma companies in testing and marketing facilities. This is the first visit of a high ranking minister from Switzerland after the Modi Government assumed office a year ago.

It may also be noted that the negotiations between the European Free Trade Association and India over a free trade agreement are stuck due to IPR issues but the Swiss government is hopeful that talks could soon resume. During his three-day visit to India, Mr. Amman will discuss ways to deepen bilateral economic cooperation and remove the irritants in the way of a free trade agreement. Switzerland is a major foreign investor in India and has invested about USD 2.70 billion in diverse fields during April 2000-March 2014 period.

Ammann said he would visit Bangalore on May 16 to officially launch the CTI Market Entry Camps, an initiative of the Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) run by Swissnex India, aimed at encouraging Swiss start-ups to enter the Indian market.

In her welcome remarks, Dr. Jyotsna Suri, President, FICCI, said that increasingly Indian companies are exploring and selecting Switzerland as their operational and business base. Outside the EU, Switzerland is positioned amongst India's top 5 trading partners in the world and India is one of Switzerland's main partners in Asia. Most promisingly, the ongoing economic slowdown being witnessed by European economies has not dented the healthy trade trends.

She said that Swiss investments into India underlined the confidence reposed by Swiss investors in India's growth story. "Our business collaborations have been growing robustly. The existence of close to 200 Swiss companies in India and the presence of many leading Indian companies in Switzerland, speak for itself."

Switzerland is a technologically advanced and mature industrial economy. With its mastery in balancing economic prosperity with environmental sustainability, it emerges as an ideal partner for India in its quest for developing environmental technology. Swiss approach of cooperation between government, business and private industry is a model that would be very useful for India.

Swiss technologies for treating waste water, waste collection, preventing harmful emissions, urban water management could be beneficial to India's developmental needs, Dr Suri said.

The FICCI chief underlined the importance and role played by tourism and hospitality in bringing the much needed awareness and business understanding amongst the people of the two countries. "A lot has been done. But I am sure given the potential, the possibilities are limitless for us to collectively work towards unshackling the hitherto unrealized sectoral potential," she added.

Atul Chaturvedi, Joint Secretary, DIPP, Government of India, enumerated the opportunities for Swiss companies in India under the 'Make in India' initiative. The present government, he said, was engaged in improving the environment for doing business in India, creating a robust manufacturing sector, had opened up and liberalized FDI in key sectors and was intent on creating a new mindset where the government is seen as a partner.

Sidharth Birla, Immediate Past President, FICCI & Chairman Xpro India Ltd., pointed out that the Indian economy was more open than it was a decade ago and the economic thinking was what value a foreign company could derive from India.

He said India needed to pull people out of agriculture into infrastructure building and manufacturing. There were investment opportunities in transfer of technology and financial services, he added.

Birla said that India was a great believer in free trade. India wants free trade but that should be on an equal, reciprocal basis. He emphasized that India's IPR regime was strong; more robust than China's. The country was very particular about IP, but was also clear that it should not benefit only one side. The meeting was also addressed by Mr. Rakesh Bakshi, Chairman, FICCI Task Force on Wind Energy & CMD, RRB Energy Ltd.and several leading Swiss CEOs.