Narender Modi (PM of India)

Environment Minister echoes PM's 'red carpet' promise for investors

"We have already laid down a process which is creditable; we have made processes which are transparent and, therefore, it will be a red carpet treatment for any investment, domestic or otherwise, and a one stop window for all," Javadekar said.    The remarks came when Javadekar was asked what assurance can he, as the minister for environment and forests, which is considered to be a 'roadblock' ministry, give to the investors in the wake of the prime minister's promises to Japanese investors.    Hardselling India as a manufacturing destination, Modi on Tuesday invited Japanese investors to invest in the country, saying the era of "red tape" has been replaced by that of "red carpet" for ease of doing business.    At a press conference on the initiatives taken by his ministry in the first 100 days of the NDA government, Javadekar said, "The ministry was known as one of speedbreakers, roadblocks and return to licence raj; that impression has been removed."    Taking a dig at alleged corruption in the ministry under the previous UPA regime, he said, "there is no taxation now" and policy-based decisions are taken to ensure transparency in clearances.    "We have made it clear there will be a simpler, cleaner, speedier and transparent (online) mechanism in the ministry. We are taking decisions based on policies. Therefore, there is no discrimination... We don't know who owns the project, who the man is. The issue is, 'what is the merit of the case, what is the merit of the project'... we are deciding on that basis," he said.