India, US sign pact to facilitate $4-bn investment
India and the US on Monday signed an investment incentive agreement, which will supersede an earlier agreement and enable the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to continue with its investments in this country.
The DFC, a development finance agency of the US government, is currently considering investment proposals worth $4 billion for India, according to a finance ministry statement. The DFC or their predecessor agencies are active in India since 1974 and have so far provided investment support worth $5.8 billion, of which $2.9 billion is still outstanding.
The DFC offers assistance in sectors such as covid-19 vaccine manufacturing, healthcare financing, renewable energy, SME financing, financial inclusion and infrastructure, among others.
The agreement, signed in Tokyo by foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra and DFC chief executive Scott Nathan, will supersede its earlier avatar–the Investment Incentive Agreement–which was signed in 1997. The new agreement has been signed to keep pace with the additional investment support programmes, offered by the DFC, such as debt, equity investment, and investment guaranty, among others.