Govt creates 'Japan Plus' to fast track Japanese investments

To fast-track investments from Japan into India, the Centre on Thursday announced the establishment of ‘Japan Plus’, a team to facilitate investments from Japan, as promised during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit there last month.

Japan Plus, operationalised on October 8 and managed by four Indian and two Japanese officials, will work as a special management team comprising members from the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) under the commerce and industry ministry and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

During his visit to Japan from August 30 to September 2, Modi was able to garner an investment commitment of $35 billion. He had also vowed to create a channel to obtain investments from Japan without any hurdle.

“An outcome of the recently concluded visit of the Prime Minister of India to Japan, the mandate of the ‘Japan Plus’ team runs through the entire spectrum of investment promotion – research, outreach, promotion, facilitation and aftercare,” the commerce ministry said in a release.

The team will support the Indian government in initiating, attracting, facilitating, fast-tracking and “handholding” Japanese investments across sectors, the release noted.

“The team will also be responsible for providing updated information on investment opportunities across sectors, in specific projects and in industrial corridors in particular,” it added.

According to the release, the team will identify prospective Japanese companies, including small and medium enterprises, and facilitate their investments in India.

The government has also constituted a Core Group chaired by the Cabinet secretary on India-Japan Investment Promotion Partnership.

This group will comprise the Railway Board chairman, foreign secretary and secretaries of DIPP, economic affairs, expenditure, financial services, revenue, commerce, urban development, electronics and information technology.

This group will coordinate and closely monitor the process to ensure that investments from Japan, as envisaged in India-Japan Investment Promotion Partnership, are facilitated in various sectors and opportunities of investment and technology transfer are fully exploited.

The commitment by Japan to invest $35 billion or 3.5 trillion YEN is for infrastructure sector over five years.

This will include ongoing projects such as the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor or the Chennai-Bangalore Economic Corridor.

Apart from public and private investments, this amount would include Japanese Overseas Development Assistance at a concessional rate.

On Thursday, India and Japan also inked the bilateral advance pricing agreement, which is expected to bring clarity on taxation issues between both authorities.

Image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shake hands before their talks at the state guest house in Tokyo.

Photograph: Toru Hanai/Reuters