Centre and states to sign investment agreement

Views of states have been sought on it

 To facilitate ease of doing business for foreign investors, the government is preparing to sign a model Centre-State Investment Agreement for effective implementation of bilateral investment treaties in spite of some federal bodies having political differences with the Centre.

Bilateral investment treaties protect investments made by an investor of one country into another by regulating the host nation’s treatment of the investment.  Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had brought out this proposal in his Budget for 2016-17, saying the proposal would ensure fulfilment of the obligations of the state government under these treaties.

States, which opt to sign these agreements, will be seen as more attractive destinations by foreign investors, he had said. A proposal has been prepared on the issue and has been circulated to the ministries concerned. Views of states have also been sought on the issue, a government official said.

He said that the proposal aims at solving problems that foreign investors may have with a particular state. Signing of the agreement will ensure states stick to the commitment. The Centre will, however, not force any state to sign this agreement.

“The signing of the agreement will help even in the case of political non-alignment between the Centre and the states,” the official said.