Which of the following statements correctly reflect India’s recent (2024) economic diplomacy and domestic investment facilitation reforms?
1. The India–Uzbekistan BIT allows unconditional access to international arbitration without exhausting local remedies.
2. The National Infrastructure Readiness Index (NIRI) solely ranks Smart Cities and excludes private investment indicators.

Correct option is D

The correct answer is (d) Neither 1 nor 2 is correct.
• The India–Uzbekistan BIT requires exhaustion of local remedies before arbitration.
• NIRI evaluates infrastructure preparedness across states, including private investment indicators, not only Smart Cities.
Information Booster:
• India revised its Model BIT in 2016 to protect regulatory space.
• NIRI is aligned with investment facilitation reforms.
• Focus is on logistics, energy, urban and social infrastructure.
Additional Knowledge:
• BITs are key instruments of economic diplomacy.
• NITI Aayog plays a major role in infrastructure indexing.