Planning and partnerships are key to investing in India

THE Modi government in India has just completed its first two years in office. Its inaugural term has been characterised by the introduction of a slew of economic reforms, broad-basing of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy and an emphasis on improving the ease of doing business in India. Make in India and Skill India are two of the government's most important planks.

In the first half of last year, India emerged as the top FDI destination globally, ahead of China and the United States. Singapore, as one of India's largest Asean trading partners, is now the top foreign investor in India, with its FDI into India far exceeding the UK and the US.

Until recently, Singapore was pipped on India FDI by another island nation, Mauritius. Over the last six months, the trend has changed with Singapore taking the lead. Singapore and Mauritius have long had similarly favourable tax treaties with India. More importantly though, Singapore, which has had a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with India since 2005, has also been a gateway for Indian companies to access international equity and debt markets, with nine of India's banks operating in the country.