Invest India wins UN Investment Promotion Award

Invest India wins UN Investment Promotion Award

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Economy; Investment

In news

• The United Nations (UNCTAD) has declared Invest India- the National Investment Promotion Agency of India- as a winner of the 2020 United Nations Investment Promotion Award.

Key takeaways

• The award recognizes and celebrates the outstanding achievements and best practices of Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) across the globe.
• This United Nations Investment Promotion Award is the most coveted award for Investment Promotion Agencies.
• UNCTAD is a central agency that monitors performance of IPAs and identifies global best practices. 
• Germany, South Korea and Singapore have been some of the past winners of the award.

Important value addition

Invest India

• It is the national investment promotion and facilitation agency
• Set up in: 2009
• It is a non-profit venture 
• Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Focus: Sector-specific investor targeting and development of new partnerships to enable sustainable investments in India. 
• It also partners with substantial investment promotion agencies and multilateral organizations. 
• It actively works with several Indian states to build capacity and bring in global best practices in investment targeting, promotion and facilitation areas.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 

• It was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body.
• It deals with trade, investment, and development issues. 
• Goal: Maximize the trade, investment and development opportunities of developing countries and assist them in their efforts to integrate into the world economy on an equitable basis. 
• Established by: United Nations General Assembly in 1964 
• It reports to the UN General Assembly and United Nations Economic and Social Council.
• Primary objective: To formulate policies relating to all aspects of development including trade, aid, transport, finance and technology. 
• The permanent secretariat is in Geneva, Switzerland