India is your next strategic hub, Goyal tells Swiss firms.
New Delhi: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has urged Swiss companies to boost investments in India, which he said was a burgeoning hub for manufacturing, talent, and innovation, his ministry said on Tuesday.
Goyal, currently on a five-day official visit to Switzerland and Sweden aimed at bolstering economic and trade ties with the key European partners, chaired high-level roundtables with Swiss executives across critical sectors, including biotech, health, defence, precision engineering, and emerging technologies.
According to the statement, Goyal's discussions centered on forging stronger synergies between Indian and Swiss enterprises.
A particular emphasis was on facilitating innovation, technology transfer, and sustainable manufacturing practices, the statement added.
Goyal also invited Swiss companies to expand their footprint in India, underscoring the benefits of tapping into the country's rapidly growing consumer base and skilled workforce.
The visit, scheduled from June 9 to 13, is also expected to advance negotiations on the long-anticipated India-EFTA (European Free Trade Association) trade agreement.
Beyond trade, Goyal's agenda includes exploring new avenues for investment in high-value sectors such as precision engineering, pharmaceuticals, and sustainable technologies, signalling India's ambition to attract sophisticated Swiss expertise and capital.
"Goyal assured the leadership of India's unwavering commitment to fostering a conducive business environment through transparent regulatory processes, a robust intellectual property regime, and pro-investment policy frameworks," the statement said.
"He encouraged Swiss businesses to explore India not just as a market, but as a strategic hub for manufacturing, talent, and innovation," it added.
Goyal is slated to hold sector-specific meetings with global CEOs and senior officials from industries including life sciences and high-tech manufacturing apart from meeting Swiss federal councillor Guy Parmelin, Swiss companies, and Indian industry representatives to push forward discussions on the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (Tepa).
Goyal's visit comes at a time when India is seeking to push forward stalled trade negotiations with several partners, including those under EFTA, amid a broader geopolitical push to deepen ties with Western democracies and reduce China-dependency in global supply chains.
Switzerland, which has a major share of EFTA's total trade with India, is seen as a key player in finalizing a balanced and forward-looking Tepa deal. EFTA comprises Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
"The Minister (Goyal) called on Swiss businesses to leverage the dedicated EFTA Desk at Invest India for handholding and facilitation support. He reiterated India's willingness to work towards regulatory harmonization and mutual recognition agreements, highlighting India's proactive stance on building reciprocal bridges to encourage Swiss and Indian investment," the statement said.
"Swiss industry leaders across a diverse range of sectors—including biotechnology, precision manufacturing, healthcare, automation, defence, cybersecurity, and advanced materials—expressed strong confidence in India's trajectory as a global economic powerhouse and an innovation-led growth destination," it added.
"Several firms indicated an active interest in forming joint ventures, scaling operations, and localizing production to serve both Indian and international markets," the statement said.
"From cutting-edge cancer therapies and cell sciences to industrial automation, fibre optics, space technologies, and digital security, Swiss companies underscored their alignment with India's developmental priorities and sectoral growth plans," it added.
After concluding engagements in Switzerland, Goyal will travel to Sweden, where he will co-chair the 21st session of the Indo-Swedish Joint Commission for Economic, Industrial and Scientific Cooperation (JCEISC) alongside Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Benjamin Dous.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
29 minutes ago
- India Today
Crippled by Op Sindoor strikes, Pak eyeing Germany for air defence upgrades
Rattled by the devastating impact of BrahMos missile strikes during India's Operation Sindoor, Pakistan is now exploring the procurement of a new air defence system to counter future to sources, Islamabad is actively considering the purchase of the IRIS-T SLM air defence system from Germany in a bid to strengthen its aerial shield against India's supersonic cruise missiles, particularly the move comes after Pakistan's existing Chinese-origin air defence systems, including the HQ-9 and HQ-16, failed to detect or intercept Indian missile attacks during the operation. In contrast, the IRIS-T SLM system has demonstrated significant effectiveness in recent combat situations. In Ukraine, where several units were redirected from Egypt due to the ongoing war, the German-made system has reportedly shot down over 60 aerial targets since its deployment last it was said to have successfully intercepted Russian Oniks missiles, which are similar in profile to India's by Diehl Defence, the IRIS-T SLM is known for its modular and compact architecture. Each unit, estimated to cost around USD 200 million, includes radar, an operations centre, and launchers, all mounted on a 20-foot interest in the system highlights its urgent push to rebuild and upgrade its air defence network, particularly after key air bases were damaged by Indian missiles during Operation grappling with a severe economic crisis, Pakistan has raised its defence budget by 18 per cent this year while simultaneously scrapping domestic development projects valued at 1,000 billion Pakistani the past month, the country has secured financial assistance totalling USD 1.8 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to address its fiscal Germany's Diehl Defence, the maker of the IRIS-T SLM, is also involved in a major Indian defence initiative. The company is collaborating with Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems on Project 75I, a Rs 70,000 crore programme to build six submarines for the Indian Indian-German collaboration also includes the development of the Interactive Defence and Attack System (IDAS), which will be integrated into the India's Reliance Defence has announced a partnership to manufacture Vulcano 155mm precision-guided artillery shells domestically. The initiative is expected to generate revenues of approximately Rs 10,000 crore, with over 50 per cent of the components to be produced indigenously.
India.com
33 minutes ago
- India.com
India Won Operation Sindoor – But What Does The Army Want Next, And Who Poses The Greatest Threat?
New Delhi: India crushed Pakistan's assault during Operation Sindoor. But after the dust settled, something more alarming came into view. China was not sitting on the sidelines. It was pulling strings from behind the curtain. Indian radars picked up Chinese-made jets in Pakistani skies. Chinese missiles were used to target Indian bases. Beijing was deeply involved. That means India was not fighting just Pakistan. India was up against two enemies at once. Military officers have sounded the alarm. They want India's defence budget raised to 2.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Right now, the defence allocation stands at just 1.9%. A huge portion of that money goes into salaries and pensions. Only a quarter of it helps modernise the military. This cannot continue. Not when two hostile neighbours are preparing for something bigger. China has been pumping weapons into Pakistan. In the May 7-10 clashes, Pakistan deployed Chinese J-10 jets and HQ-9 missile systems. Beijing has promised to send more – stealth fighters, long-range air defence weapons and new-generation drones. China is flooding Pakistan with cutting-edge military tools. Pakistan's economy is in crisis. But even then, Islamabad raised its defence budget by 20%. It cut development. It ignored debt. It focused on weapons. India must respond, believe experts, arguing that it is time for total self-reliance in defence production. India must build fighter jets, drones, loitering munitions and missiles on its own. The private sector must step in. Half-measures will not do. Half-prepared armies lose wars. India's Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) project has started moving. But it must move faster. Tejas took decades. The same mistake cannot happen again. The Indian Air Force is short on fighter squadrons. It has just 30. The target is 42.5. Drones are the new face of war. Swarm drones. FPV kamikaze drones. Loitering drones. India needs all of these, and it needs them in bulk. No country will come to India's rescue in a full-scale war. India must stand on its own. During Operation Sindoor, India used Russian S-400s, Israeli Barak-8s and its own Akash missiles. These systems intercepted and neautralised many Pakistani drone and missile attacks. But more layers are needed. DRDO must now accelerate two things – short-range air defence systems and long-range strike missiles like Project Kusha. Military reform is also crucial. India has a huge army. It must cut unnecessary spending. It must remove red tape from weapons procurement. And it must create joint theatre commands that allow the Army, Navy and Air Force to fight as one. A senior military commander put it bluntly. India is now staring at a superpower that is feeding a hostile neighbour. Pakistan may fire the bullets. But China is loading the gun. India cannot look away anymore. The next battle may not wait for long.
Time of India
38 minutes ago
- Time of India
Financial sector regulators to work on universal KYC
Financial sector regulators, led by the RBI, are developing a universal KYC framework with the CKYCR to streamline verification processes. Nirmala Sitharaman urged regulators to ensure seamless KYC experiences for citizens and expedite refunds of unclaimed amounts through district-level camps. The FSDC also discussed strengthening cybersecurity and implementing budget announcements related to KYC simplification for NRIs, PIOs, and OCIs. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads New Delhi: Financial sector regulators, including the Reserve Bank of India , will look at a universal know your customer (KYC) framework and develop systems with the Central Know Your Customer Registry (CKYCR) to promote the inter-usability of records and avoid multiple minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) in Mumbai on Tuesday urged the financial sector regulators to take proactive steps to ensure that citizens have a seamless experience with the KYC processes across the financial a statement, the finance ministry said the FSDC also considered strengthening the cyber resilience framework of the Indian financial sector through a financial sector-specific cybersecurity FSDC also discussed issues relating to formulating a strategy for implementing the past decisions and the budget announcements, which included prescribing common KYC norms, simplification and digitalisation of the KYC process, including digital onboarding for non-resident Indians (NRIs), PIOs and OCIs in the Indian securities FSDC has representation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and officials from the finance and corporate affairs urged the regulators and departments to expedite the process of refund to rightful owners of unclaimed amounts by holding special district-level also emphasised that interest of common citizens be kept in mind and therefore expeditiously refund the claims of the rightful claimants, the statement unclaimed amounts comprise deposits in banks, unclaimed shares and dividends managed by IEPFA and unclaimed insurance and pension funds with Irdai and PFRDA, drive is to be conducted in coordination with RBI, Sebi, MCA, PFRDA and Irdai along with banks, pension agencies and insurance finance ministry statement noted that the FSDC also deliberated on the emerging trends from the domestic and global macro-financial situation and stressed the need to be vigilant."The council recognised the need for proactive efforts to mitigate potential risks to financial stability while adopting adequate safeguards for the financial system's resilience," it said.
