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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Engages Investors in Silicon Valley; Confident for India to stay on-course as the fastest growing large economy over the next few years
Apr 26, 2022

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), co-hosted an exclusive roundtable for business leaders and investors with the Hon’ble Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Government of India, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in Palo Alto today.  The roundtable was attended by senior executives, private sector business leaders, venture capitalists, institutional investors, and representatives of pension and endowment funds, representing combined assets under management of over USD $1 trillion.

Moderated by Ambassador (ret.) Atul Keshap, President, USIBC, this executive gathering was also joined by Dr. V Ananth Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor, Government of India; His Excellency Shri Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Ambassador of India to the United States; Shri Rajat Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India; and Mr. Nilesh Shah, Chairman, CII National Committee on Financial Markets and Group President and Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Co Ltd., and Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Council, who supported the roundtable.

The roundtable highlighted India’s emergence from the pandemic as one of the world’s fastest growing major economies and outlined Government of India’s efforts to support growth by a process of sustained reforms across sectors, increased capital expenditure especially in infrastructure, and measures to boost FDI.

“With a growth forecast of almost 8% in FY 2023, India is likely to remain the world’s fastest growing major economy over the next few years, driven by the continued expansion of its technology and start-up ecosystems. In this context, U.S.-India collaboration in financial services and emerging technologies will support increased investment and innovation, and fintech represents a unique opportunity for sustainable and inclusive growth.” She invited leading investors present in the room to become part of the India growth story.

Ambassador Atul Keshap noted that “today’s excellent roundtable in Silicon Valley with Minister Sitharaman reflected her and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious vision for robust growth of a more inclusive and prosperous U.S.-India partnership.  Our discussion reinforced that innovation around fintech will be a critical, catalytic opportunity to reach $500 billion in annual trade between the U.S. and India. Global leaders in these fields from USIBC and CII member companies shared an ambitious vision for how fintech can power a free and prosperous Indo-Pacific.  I stand in strong support of what business leaders, VC’s, and institutional investors are doing to make that vision possible.”

Shri Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Ambassador of India to the US remarked, "There is a fintech revolution happening in India. As a country that runs the largest financial inclusion programme in the world, to the country that has highest fintech adoption rate globally to the highest number of real time online transactions globally, India has a lot to offer to the world. The financial sector in India has recently seen PM guided and FM led reforms. We hope that the US venture capitalists, endowment funds and asset management companies look at India to start their new journey or scale up existing operations and partner and grow."

According to Mr. Nilesh Shah, “As a hotbed of innovation with a vibrant start-up ecosystem, India is full of opportunities for investors. India is home to one of the fastest-growing Fintech markets in the world, with transaction values estimated to grow at a CAGR of 20% to reach $138 billion by 2023. Under Finance Minister Sitharaman’s leadership, India has continued its accelerated growth despite the external shocks of COVID-19 and global conflicts, and the roundtable attendees looking to invest in India’s expanding Fintech market hold high expectations for its continued success.”

Among the businesses and funds that attended the roundtable included Blackstone, Brevet Capital, Citi, Nova Credit, Western Digital, Palo Alto Networks, The Regents of the University of California, Lightspeed House Ventures, Insight Partners, Morgan Stanley, Powerhouse Ventures, Blume Ventures, Bow Capital, Nasdaq and others.

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