India is safe for investment: Manmohan Singh

London, Oct 10 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today assured the business community in Britain that his government have removed most barriers to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India in the manufacturing sector to attract higher FDI inflows, particularly in the infrastructure sector.

Addressing the UK-India Investment Summit along with British Prime Minister Tony Blair here this evening, Dr Singh said his government would like to see a further liberalisation of trade in services, including financial and legal services.

''I am aware that there is great interest in Britain in our financial sector.'' He told the captians of industry that India adheres to all international codes and regulations pertaining to safety and protection of investment and intellectual property.

''India also have in place excellent standards for data protection,'' he noted.

He said investment in India was safe and profitable, adding India offered tremendous opportuinities in manufacturing, particularly in automobile and auto components, pharmaceuticals and food processing and invited small and medium enterprises from Britain to invest in India.

Many global corporations have made India their research base.

Inward investment in Research and Development is increasing. The educational and research institutions of the UK have been significant suppliers of technology to Indian firms and institutions, Dr Singh added.

''The recently-launched UK-India Education and Research initiatives have the potential to vastly increase collaboration between the educational institutions of the two countries and to facilitate exchange of students.'' Indian government would like to see a further liberalisation of trade in services, including financial and insurance sectors, with a higher capital base and more diverse products. It will generate the necessary long-term funds for investing in a debt market and make available resources for investment needs of the country particularly in the vital infrastructure sector, Dr Singh said.

''I am confident that we will in the long run be able to forge a meaningful consensus and take reforms of the financial sector forward,'' the PM added.

Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath and about 100 industrialists both from India and Britain attended the Summit.

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