 "Union Minister Piyush Goyal")
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said there are huge opportunities for French investors in India in areas such as manufacturing and infrastructure.
The minister is here on an official visit to hold meetings with his French counterpart and top CEOs.
"Huge delta of opportunities are there in India," he said while addressing the India France Business Summit here.
He said the Indian economy is expected to reach about USD 35 trillion in the next 25 years from the current level of about USD 3.5 trillion.
According to the minister, young population, presence of huge talent pool and digital connectivity offer opportunities for investors.
"We are one the largest consumers of goods and services. Exports of goods and services are growing by over 50 per cent and we hope to continue this growth trajectory. We hope to see our exports of goods and services to triple from USD 765 billion to USD 2 trillion by 2030," he added.
Goyal invited French businesses to become part of India's exports growth.
The minister held a meeting with Olivier Becht, Minister delegate of Foreign Trade, Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, Government of France. Both co-chaired the India-France Business Summit.
Goyal is accompanied by a delegation of top 16 Indian CEOs.
There are hundreds of French businesses in India in different sectors such as defence, ITES, consulting, engineering services, and heavy industry.
France is the 11th largest foreign investor in India, with a cumulative FDI of USD 10.5 billion between April 2000 and December 2022. It accounted for about 1.7 per cent of the total FDI of USD 625.3 billion that India has received during the period.
India-France bilateral trade stood at USD 12.42 billion in 2021-22. During April-January 2022-23, India's exports to France stood at USD 6.5 billion while imports aggregated at USD 4.36 billion. The trade gap is in favour of India.
The French minister too invited Indian companies to invest in France in sectors such as aerospace and pharmaceuticals.
He said that French companies operating in India are participating in Make in India initiative and smart cities.
"We want to ensure business friendly environment for companies and attract more Indian companies in strategic sectors," Becht said, adding France is one of the key foreign investments destination in Europe.
