September 29: At a time when the government has initiated the process of amending laws to attract foreign investment, concerned stakeholders from the private sector have been demanding implementation of the policy reforms.

The private sector stakeholders claim that the government cannot achieve anything just by policy-level reforms unless it changes its mentality of suppressing the private sector.

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies is collecting suggestions for amending the laws related to industrial promotion and investment.

The private sector has started sending feedbacks to the government on investment-related laws that are obsolete and impractical.

Economic analyst Jagdish Prasad Agrawal says the initiatives of both the government and the parliament to form committees to study this issue is a clear indication that the government realizes problems existing in the current laws. Agrawal argues that although the government claims investment-friendly laws in the country, its initiative to amend the laws indicates otherwise.

“It is a positive step to start the process of amending the laws to remove the obstacles in investment. However, there are doubts if the government will address the issue by considering the composition of the present committees formed to address the issue,” said Agrawal, who is also the chairman of Nimbus Group.

The government considers investment as the main tool for uplifting the economy, says Agrawal, adding that the authorities decided to amend the laws after they failed to attract investment.

The laws will be amended based on the recommendation of a report prepared by a sub-committee headed by a joint secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies. The sub-committee is expected to prepare its report within one and a half months.