In his last visit to India, Jeff Bezos famously announced that the 21st century belonged to India. While it could have been pure PR, there is much merit to Bezos’ claim. India’s bullish spree has inspired a positive business sentiment across the world. Despite Covid-19, Moody’s projected that India’s GDP will grow at 12% in 2021. According to the latest United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) report on global FDI inflows, India attracted $57 billion worth of FDI, the highest ever. On its part, GoI is doing well to signal intent. Despite a bureaucratic system, the loud and clear message is that India is open for business. Nirmala Sitharaman’s 2021 budget signaled led daring as GoI pledged liberal spending. The promised infrastructure spend over the next five years alone amounts to $1.8 trillion, 70% of India’s GDP. Add to that the immediate spending in healthcare as the anti-Covid vaccination drive rollout continues. GoI debt-to-GDP ratio already stands at 90%, and the rate at which welfare and business spending is projected, this will only rise. The quest for a larger GDP is bringing with it the familiar trappings of mammoth debt, and despite its best intentions, GoI continues to fall short of money. Every government’s best answer to a debt trap has been privatisation. The private sector is hailed as a panacea for India’s cash problems. But the immediate monetisation of assets only momentarily satiates India’s welfare aspirations before the government is looking for its next cash cow. Moreover, the Indian private sector is infamous for reneging on its loans, most of which have been liberally bestowed by government banks. Private debt already stands at 55% and growing. Look at it whichever way you like, India is just not aatmanirbhar enough. It is imperative that India turns to global private money to resolve its debt woes. Estimates indicate there is about $30 trillion available for investments at negative or low interest rates globally. Out of this in 2020, India was only able to extract $57 billion. China, despite the immense diplomatic isolation and hostility it faced, topped the global FDI rankings with $163 billion. India’s economists need to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to get a lion’s share of global investment. True, India is open for business. But by how much? India continues to languish in the middle of the global ‘ease of doing business’ rankings. Despite being one of the largest open markets in the world, it is not home to any of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies. Global companies prefer remote control operations from Singapore, Dubai or even China. Indians are missing out on new job opportunities, and the chance to be trained by expatriates and investors who have pioneered new industries but chose to leave India before they had a chance to contribute to the Indian business ecosystem. To retain them, India needs to create a holistic environment that promotes ‘ease of business’ as well as ‘ease of living’. A welcome step in this regard will be to bring in reforms in personal taxation of foreign investors and expatriates coming to India. Foreign citizens need time to tend to their projects that requires them to stay in India for longer durations. During this period, while they can continue to be taxed on all income generated within India, their global income should not be taxed. Such a policy will promote ease of living for foreign citizens. Similar policies have been adopted by China, Singapore and some other nations. And they have reaped the rewards. Tax reforms for foreigners are not about concessions, but adopting a different mindset towards global investment. If India has to become a global economic leader, it must play by the rules of the world.The writer is founder director, Foreign Investors India Forum