Services sector should not fear foreign competition: Modi

New Delhi, April 23:  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India should not fear opening up the services sector to foreign players as it is strong enough to compete globally.

Making a case for opening up sectors including legal, finance and entertainment, Modi said India needs to come out of the "psychology of fear".

"Why should we need to go outside the country for global arbitration? We shouldn't think that if foreign lawyers come here, they will take away our jobs," Modi said speaking at the inauguration of the three days Global Exhibition on Services (GES) on Thursday.

The GES, jointly organised by the Commerce Ministry and CII, is a platform to showcase India's strength in the services sector.

With 63 countries participating, it gives opportunities for extensive business networking, joint ventures, exchange of ideas, brand visibility and exploration of newer revenue models.

Speaking at the inauguration, Sunil Bharti Mittal from the Bharti Group pointed out that India needs to focus on imparting skills as skilled people form just 2 per cent of its population compared to 96 per cent in South Korea, over 80 per cent in Japan and 78 per cent in Germany.

He said India could grab a giant's share of the 500 million global jobs that will be created in the next few years and leaders should negotiate bilateral

Mittal said work was on to ensure India had a world-class broadband network so that internet could be accessed by all at the earliest.

According to Pratap C Reddy from Apollo, the launch of visa-on-arrival and e-visa facilities for a number of countries will make a significant impact on the inflow of foreigners wanting to avail of medical services in India.