PM Narendra Modi Engages Global Investors Ahead of Bharat Innovates Summit in France

Paris, 13 May 2024 – The city’s iconic boulevards buzzed a little more with business talk when Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived for a series of closed‑door meetings with senior investors from the United States, Europe, Japan and the Gulf. The purpose was clear: to shine a spotlight on India’s next wave of innovation and to set the stage for the Bharat Innovates summit scheduled for early June in Lyon.

Modi’s itinerary was packed, but the heart of the visit was a round‑table at the French Ministry of Economy where about thirty heads of venture capital firms, sovereign wealth funds and multinational corporations gathered. Over coffee and croissants, the Prime Minister outlined why India’s tech‑driven ecosystem is ripe for fresh capital. “Our startups are solving real problems – from clean‑energy storage to agri‑tech that feeds a billion people,” he said, punctuating the speech with a few anecdotes of recent breakthroughs.

The conversations quickly moved from rhetoric to numbers. Investors asked for clarity on policy incentives, especially the recently expanded Production‑Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes in electronics, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing. Modi reassured them that the government would streamline approvals, protect intellectual property, and deepen the “Make in India” push with new tax breaks for foreign partners.

One of the most animated exchanges involved a Japanese conglomerate keen on co‑developing hydrogen‑fuel technologies with Indian firms. The Japanese delegation highlighted their own roadmap to decarbonise by 2050, while India offered its vast market and a growing talent pool. Both sides left the table with a memorandum of understanding that will be formally unveiled at the summit.

European investors, on the other hand, leaned heavily on the digital health and fintech sectors. A leading UK‑based venture fund expressed interest in a batch of Indian health‑tech startups that had just secured seed funding in Hyderabad. “We see a huge unmet need in affordable diagnostics, and Indian entrepreneurs are already delivering innovative solutions,” the fund’s partner noted.

Beyond the numbers, the meetings carried a tone of partnership rather than patronage. Modi repeatedly emphasized “co‑creation” – a reminder that India wants to be an equal player in global value chains, not just a low‑cost manufacturing hub. This sentiment resonated with Gulf sovereign wealth funds, which are looking to diversify into technology and green energy assets.

All the dialogue, however, converged on one upcoming event: Bharat Innovates. Slated to bring together more than 2,000 delegates from 80 countries, the summit will showcase Indian start‑ups, research institutions and policy makers under the theme “Innovate, Scale, Impact.” The Paris meetings were essentially a pre‑show, a chance for investors to get a first‑hand feel of the opportunities before the official launch.

As the day wound down, Modi left Paris with a tentative pipeline of investments worth several billion dollars, ranging from venture capital infusions in AI‑driven agritech to large‑scale renewable‑energy projects in Gujarat. Whether those numbers materialise will depend on follow‑up negotiations, but the enthusiasm on both sides was unmistakable.

Back in New Delhi, officials say the Paris stop is part of a broader diplomatic push to place India at the centre of the global innovation map. With the Bharat Innovates summit just weeks away, the world will be watching to see if the promises made over espresso translate into concrete partnerships that can accelerate India’s economic transformation.