New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has invited French companies and investors to partner with India in achieving its Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, highlighting investment opportunities across clean energy, healthcare, digital infrastructure and financial services.
Speaking at the India-France Business Roundtable in Paris on Thursday, Sitharaman said strengthening the India-France Strategic Partnership would help both countries achieve shared prosperity amid a rapidly evolving global economy.
She encouraged French companies to explore partnerships in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and healthcare by leveraging the complementary strengths of both countries in life sciences, vaccines, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), clinical research, precision medicine and digital health.
According to the Indian Finance Ministry, the minister also highlighted India's clean energy transition, including the country's target of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel power capacity by 2030, the National Green Hydrogen Mission and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes.
She said these initiatives present significant investment opportunities in renewable energy, green hydrogen, battery storage, offshore wind and smart grid technologies.
Promoting India's financial ecosystem, Sitharaman said the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has emerged as a major global financial hub, with more than 1,200 registered entities as of June 2026, banking assets worth USD 111 billion and cumulative banking transactions of USD 176 billion.
She said investment opportunities continue to expand across banking, fund management, aircraft and ship leasing, Global Capability Centres (GCCs), reinsurance and sustainable finance.
The finance minister also highlighted the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), noting that its proposed USD 3.5 billion Infrastructure Fund II and USD 1 billion Private Markets Fund II offer long-term investment opportunities in infrastructure, digital infrastructure, green hydrogen, energy transition and other high-growth sectors.
Sitharaman said bilateral trade between India and France has doubled over the past decade and that changing global economic conditions, driven by technological advances, supply chain diversification, the energy transition and geopolitical developments, create fresh opportunities for deeper economic cooperation.
She also said India and France are well positioned to strengthen collaboration in trusted artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and next-generation technologies.
Highlighting India's digital transformation, Sitharaman said the country's digital economy—powered by platforms such as Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, ONDC and India Stack—accounts for nearly half of the world's real-time digital payment transactions.
Around 1,000 French companies currently operate in India.
During the roundtable, representatives from leading French financial institutions highlighted their existing investments in India and welcomed the Indian government's economic reforms over the past decade, including measures to improve the ease of doing business and reduce regulatory compliance.
They also offered suggestions to deepen long-term investment and financial cooperation between India and France.