'About 98 per cent of Indian economy is open'

New Delhi, Jun 6: Inviting foreign investors to seize big growth opportunity in the Indian economy, Minister of State for Industry Ashwani Kumar said nearly 98 per cent of the country's economy is now open to FDI through the automatic route.

Urging the US companies to invest in promising growth sectors such as infrastructure, both physical and social, at a function in New York yesterday, he said, ''At least one-third of the estimated 0 billion required to be invested in the infrastructure sector alone could come by way of FDI and foreign institutional investment.'' During an interactive session with the leading international bankers and private equity fund managers, he briefed them on the state of the Indian economy, and the potential it provides for leading investors.

Reiterating commitment of the Indian government to continue the reform process, the minister, while highlighting phenomenal growth witnessed across various sectors, outlined major policy initiatives such as the recently-announced policy on petroleum, chemicals and petrochemicals investment regions.

''The resilience of India's democratic institutions has contributed to the economic growth of the country consistent with equality and freedom of its people,'' he said.

Qualitative distinction of India's success story was defined by the state's commitment to proactively intervene with a view to impacting positively on the living standards of the poor, he added.

UNI