French firms invited to invest in India's AI, clean-energy sectors
What's the story
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has invited French businesses and investors to explore the vast opportunities India offers in artificial intelligence (AI), clean energy, healthcare, digital infrastructure, and financial services. The invitation was extended at the India-France Business Roundtable in Paris on Thursday. Sitharaman emphasized that the strong India-France partnership can drive sustainable growth through innovation.
Strategic alliance
India-France strategic partnership can drive innovation-led growth
The Finance Minister stressed that the India-France Strategic Partnership is uniquely positioned to drive the next phase of sustainable, resilient, and innovation-led growth. She said both countries are trusted partners in shaping the global AI ecosystem, which opens new avenues for collaboration in trusted AI, digital infrastructure, and next-generation technologies.
Digital progress
Digital economy and resilient healthcare value chains
Sitharaman highlighted India's position as a leading digital economy, driven by its Digital Public Infrastructure such as Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, ONDC, and India Stack. She also invited investors to explore deeper collaborations in healthcare by leveraging both countries' strengths in life sciences, vaccines, APIs, clinical research, precision medicine, and digital health. This could help build resilient healthcare value chains.
Green shift
Clean energy transition and global financial hub
Sitharaman also spoke about India's ambitious clean energy transition, including its target of 500GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. She said this is creating "substantial opportunities for investment in renewable energy, green hydrogen, battery storage, offshore wind and smart grids." The Finance Minister also highlighted the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) as a leading global financial hub with over 1,200 registered entities as of June 2026.
Investment prospects
NIIF as a long-term investment opportunity
Sitharaman also highlighted the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), which provides long-term investment opportunities through its upcoming $3.5 billion Infrastructure Fund II and $1 billion Private Markets Fund II. These funds focus on infrastructure, digital infrastructure, green hydrogen, energy transition, among other high-growth sectors. The Finance Minister invited French businesses to partner with India in its journey toward Viksit Bharat 2047.