India-France partnership to drive innovation-led growth: Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the India-France Strategic Partnership is uniquely positioned to drive the next phase of sustainable, resilient and innovation-led growth, as she invited French businesses to deepen investments in India's rapidly expanding economy.
Addressing the India-France Business Roundtable in Paris, attended by leading businesses and institutions from both countries, Sitharaman outlined the opportunities arising from India's economic transformation amid a rapidly evolving global landscape shaped by technological advances, supply chain diversification, the energy transition and geopolitical developments.
Inviting French businesses and investors to partner in India's Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, Sitharaman stressed the need to further strengthen the India-France Strategic Partnership to achieve shared prosperity for both nations.Sitharaman said India and France are trusted partners in shaping the global artificial intelligence ecosystem, creating fresh opportunities for collaboration in trusted AI, digital public infrastructure and next-generation technologies.Highlighting the growing economic engagement between the two countries, she noted that bilateral trade has doubled over the past decade and appreciated the presence of nearly 1,000 French companies operating across India.
The Finance Minister also highlighted India's emergence as one of the world's leading digital economies, powered by Digital Public Infrastructure such as Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, ONDC and India Stack, which together account for nearly half of the world's real-time digital payments, according to a Finance Ministry post on X.
Emphasising India's clean energy ambitions, Sitharaman said the country's target of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, along with the National Green Hydrogen Mission and Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, offers significant investment opportunities in renewable energy, green hydrogen, battery storage, offshore wind and smart grid technologies.She also showcased the growing role of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), noting that it has emerged as a leading global financial hub with over 1,200 registered entities as of June 2026, banking assets worth $111 billion, cumulative banking transactions of $176 billion, and expanding opportunities in banking, fund management, aircraft and ship leasing, Global Capability Centres, reinsurance and sustainable finance.Calling for stronger collaboration in healthcare and life sciences, Sitharaman said investors could leverage the complementary strengths of India and France in pharmaceuticals, vaccines, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), clinical research, precision medicine and digital health to build resilient healthcare value chains.Sitharaman also highlighted the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) as a key platform for long-term investors, pointing to its upcoming $3.5 billion Infrastructure Fund II and $1 billion Private Markets Fund II, which are expected to provide investment opportunities across infrastructure, digital infrastructure, green hydrogen, energy transition and other high-growth sectors.

(Business Correspondent)