INDIAN textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran yesterday urged European companies to invest more in his country as he insisted in Paris that India was a more lucrative destination than China.
“Come, come, come and make money,’ Maran told textile industry executives, adding: ‘Come to India, produce in India, sell in India, make money in India.’
Maran, who visited Switzerland, Italy and Turkey before arriving in France, said India was a safer bet for investors than China.
“We want to ensure that India has good quality products, that copyright is protected, so that investors prefer India to China or other countries,” he told reporters.
“We want to ensure that more investment comes to India, not to take your business,” he said.
India’s textile industry made an estimated $62bn (£38.8bn) in sales in 2008-2009, with 35 per cent of them in exports.
More than 30 per cent of exports go to European Union countries and another 20 per cent to the US.
The Indian textiles minister forecast a fourfold increase in exports in the next 25 years, from $22bn (£13.7bn) to $90bn (£56.3bn).
Maran’s delegation will visit Germany, the last stop of its tour, after its trip in France.
