NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to banish India's reputation as a tough place to do business Monday, telling U.S. President Barack Obama and American CEOs that he would ease off on taxes and encourage innovation.
As he promised a more "competitive" tax regime, Modi also pledged to address concerns about intellectual property that have long irked potential investors in Asia's third-largest economy.
Obama, who is in the middle of a three-day visit to India, hailed the new change in tone at the top of India Inc but said there were still "too many obstacles" for businesses wanting to break into the vast market.
Under the previous left-leaning Congress government, investors frequently complained about a hostile business climate in India, frustrated by bureaucracy and corruption. In the last World Bank rankings on the ease of doing business rankings, India placed 142nd out of 189 countries.
But the U.S. president said there should be no illusions about the scale of the task ahead, adding that their economic relationship "is defined by so much untapped potential".
"We have to keep working to make it easier to do business in both of our countries," said Obama.
"There are still too many barriers, hoops to jump through.
"We hear this consistently from business leaders such as you," Obama added, speaking alongside Modi.
"We have got to do better."
Speaking last week, the U.S. ambassador to New Delhi said bilateral trade was now running at around 100 billion dollars a year -- five times the level of a decade ago.
But Ambassador Richard Verma also said there was potential for the levels of bilateral trade to grow by another five times.
Before becoming prime minister, Modi spent more than a decade as chief minister of the thriving coastal state of Gujarat which won a reputation under his stewardship as India's most investor-friendly place.
"Everything we wish to do involves enterprise and investments, but even more -- innovation and imagination," said Modi.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2015
