India Eyes $250bn Investment From EFTA Bloc, Bilateral Investment Treaty Talks on the Table

India is looking at a total of $250bn committed investments from the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) bloc, said Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday, addressing the India-EFTA Prosperity Summit Business Meet. The four-nation bloc is also seeking a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with India to give its companies regulatory certainty for investments made under the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), which took effect on October 1.

Under TEPA, New Delhi has received a commitment of $100bn foreign direct investment (FDI) from Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland over the next 15 years. The pact was signed on March 10 last year.

Speaking at the event, Goyal informed that Helene Budliger Artieda, Swiss State Secretary for Economic Affairs, has promised India an additional  $150bn once New Delhi finalise the data exclusivity in our IP (intellectual property) laws.

Data exclusivity protects the technical data generated by innovator companies to prove the usefulness of their products. In the pharmaceutical sector, drug companies generate data through expensive global clinical trials to prove the efficacy and safety of their new medicine.

By gaining exclusive rights over this data, innovator companies can prevent their competitors from obtaining a marketing licence for low-cost versions during the tenure of this exclusivity. The four-nation EFTA bloc had sought data exclusivity in the trade agreement negotiations with India.,

"Somehow there was a lack of trust for decades between these European countries and India. I'm happy to share with you that we have built that trust by having a very robust IP chapter in EFTA, the TEPA with EFTA, in the free trade agreement with the United Kingdom," Goyal told reporters.

He added that Switzerland and the UK were always considered the most difficult countries to work in IP and the laws around it.

The minister underlined the wide-ranging opportunities opened by the agreement in diverse areas, including life sciences, clean energy, precision engineering and food processing, technology, artificial intelligence, accountancy and nursing, education, audio-visual services, culture, tourism and recreation, and geothermal energy.

“We would like, with this massive principle of investment, to have a Bilateral Investment Treaty in place,” Artieda said. Goyal further added that the discussion for a BIT is underway with the Finance Ministry.

Together India and the EFTA States represent a combined gross domestic product of about $5.4trn, providing the scale for deeper integration. Inviting businesses from EFTA nations, Goyal assured them of India’s open, transparent and investor-friendly environment, with 100% FDI allowed in almost all sectors of interest.

[With inputs from PTI]