India’s nascent EV industry offers investment opportunities to Japanese companies

An Indian delegation led by the Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met Hiroshige Seko, Minister for Trade Economy and Industry (METI), business leaders of Japan and addressed a gathering of about 250 participants at the India Investment Seminar organised by Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in Tokyo on April 15.

At the India Investment seminar, Hiroyuki Ishige, chairman and CEO, JETRO spoke of the enormous interest of Japanese companies to diversify beyond the automotive sector. The Indian ambassador to Japan, Sujan R Chinoy, mentioned that the  Commerce and Industry Minister's visit would further strengthen India existing strategic relationship with Japan.

Ms Sitharaman in her keynote address acknowledged the experience and contribution of Japanese companies in India. The minister talked about investment opportunities available in India with the goal to increase contribution of manufacturing sector to 25 percent of GDP by 2025. She also spoke of the various reforms and initiatives like National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) for enhancing infrastructure financing, Digital India program to connect 250,000 villages with optical fibre and Jan Dhan Mission.

Ramesh Abhishek , Secretary DIPP in a panel discussion on 'Make in India', threw light on the massive investment potential of India. By 2025, India will be the world's youngest nation with average age of 29 years and have a GDP of US$ 20 trillion in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms. The 'Make in India' program is driving the change in mindset to cater to this huge potential. He gave examples of Business reform action plan (BRAC) on which states are being ranked on Ease of Doing Business (EODB) and upgradation of Intellectual Property Regime. Among the topics that came up for discussion that that electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy and medical devices are the sectors of the future providing diversification opportunities to Japanese investors.

Mr. Shaurya Doval, Director India Foundation, stressed that the Government has increasingly turned business friendly in India and considers businesses as equal partners in India's growth. Mr. N.K. Singh, former Member of Parliament, concluded the panel echoing the positive sentiment on investing in India.

During the bilateral meeting with the METI Minister, issues inter alia including progress on Japanese industrial townships, bilateral trade, diversification of investment sectors and resolution of difficulties faced by Indian pharmaceutical and IT companies in Japan were discussed.

The commerce minister also met leading Japanese companies in the automotive, healthcare, Internet and energy sectors and discussed opportunities and their plans for India.

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