Singur not to impact India image as investment destination:Ministe

New Delhi, Oct 8 (UNI) Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath today said Tatas decision to relocate their Nano car project from Singur in West Bengal to Gujarat will not affect the country's image as an attractive investment destination in the global market.

"This is one-off (setback)... it will not affect India's image," he said at a media conference in reply to a question. It(Singur) only means that state governments have to be more cautious about land deals while inviting idustrial investments because land acquisition lies in a state's realm, he added.

However, he said healthy inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI), particularly in the manufacturing sector, is a robust sign of global confidence in India being an attractive destination for investement.

Of the 14.6 billion dollars FDI received in the current fiscal till August-end, as much as 5 billion dollars was received by manufacturing sector. This, Mr Kamal Nath, said is 302 per cent more than 1.2 billion dollars received in the corresponding period of April-August 2007.

On lifting ban on exports of wheat and corn, set to expire on October 15, he said it will depend on overall food situation in the country and will be taken keeping in mind the interests of both the farmers and the consumers.

He declined to make any commitment on industry demand to reimpose duty on imports of edible oils and steel.

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