Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted the significance of the India-France Strategic Partnership in fostering sustainable, resilient, and innovation-driven growth. Speaking at an India-France Business Roundtable in Paris, she emphasized the evolving global economy influenced by technology, supply chain diversity, energy shifts, and geopolitical dynamics.
Sitharaman urged French businesses to collaborate with India towards Viksit Bharat 2047, stressing the importance of enhancing the strategic partnership for mutual prosperity. She acknowledged India and France as key allies in shaping the global AI landscape, fostering opportunities in trusted AI, digital infrastructure, and advanced technologies.
The Finance Minister commended the robust bilateral economic ties between India and France, noting a twofold increase in trade over the past decade. She lauded the presence of around 1,000 French companies operating in India, underscoring the nations’ strong economic engagement.
Highlighting India’s digital prowess, Sitharaman mentioned the country’s leading role in the digital economy, driven by initiatives like Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, ONDC, and India Stack, facilitating a significant share of global real-time digital payments. She also outlined India’s ambitious clean energy goals, offering substantial investment prospects in renewable energy, green hydrogen, battery storage, offshore wind, and smart grids.
The Finance Minister drew attention to the International Financial Services Centre Authority’s growth as a prominent global financial hub, with over 1,200 registered entities by June 2026 and expanding opportunities in various financial sectors. She encouraged deeper collaboration in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology, leveraging strengths in life sciences, vaccines, APIs, clinical research, precision medicine, and digital health to fortify healthcare value chains.
Sitharaman highlighted the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund’s investment opportunities through the Infrastructure Fund II and Private Markets Fund II, supporting sectors like infrastructure, digital infrastructure, green hydrogen, and energy transition.
