India, govt open for business round the clock, says Smriti Irani

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday said India is open for business round the clock and so is the Indian government, as she invited global businesses to tap the huge potential available in the country.

Addressing a breakfast session organised by industry chamber CII and consultancy giant Deloitte here on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023, the minister said, "We believe in working in partnership with the industry and every other stakeholder."

The minister for women and child development also said that India runs the largest healthcare system in the world in the form of Ayushman Bharat that covers 100 million families.

It provides healthcare facilities across geographic boundaries and though it was not designed as a gendered programme, it has ended up benefitting a vast majority of women, she added.

Irani further said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also launched a programme that would ensure every district in the country gets a hospital.

On skilling needs, she said the government has ensured that each sector has got a skill council that is led by an industry captain, while the government has also set up the first ever skills ministry.

She also said when the world talks about the requirement for reskilling hundreds of millions of people, India is capable of reaching that target alone.

Explaining the Indian way, she said India engaged with the world for building its own indigenous Covid vaccines but it was not done with a commercial intention but with compassion.

"We also offer business opportunities to the entire world also in the form of nutraceuticals," she added.