Mumbai, Aug. 28 -- Piyush Goyal led India's largest-ever business delegation to Japan and urged Japanese firms to double their presence in India by 2030, seeking expanded investments across semiconductors, clean energy and resilient supply chains. He pitched an investment target of Rs 600 billion (bn) over 10 years to boost manufacturing and technology collaborations. The delegation comprised more than 200 representatives from sectors including manufacturing, semiconductors, clean energy, steel, automotive, financial services, healthcare and start-ups.
He addressed a roundtable with Keidanren, Japan's apex business federation representing more than 1,500 leading companies, and outlined opportunities arising from India's expanding economy and improving ease of doing business. Goyal described the partnership as extending beyond traditional trade to encompass economic security, defence, technology and people-to-people exchanges, while emphasising supply-chain resilience. The minister encouraged Japanese investors to explore opportunities in areas such as capital goods, machinery and advanced manufacturing.
Semiconductor investment was a central theme and meetings were held with executives from Tokyo Electron and MinebeaMitsumi, with one senior executive overseeing the company's semiconductor plant project in India. A meeting with the secretary general of Japan's National Security Secretariat highlighted the strategic dimension of economic cooperation. A roundtable with about 70 businesses focused on strengthening links between Japanese firms and India's tier-two and tier-three supplier ecosystem and identifying industrial collaboration and technology partnership opportunities for micro, small and medium enterprises.
The four-day visit from 24 to 27 August covered Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka and aimed to strengthen trade and investment ties under the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership. The delegation had been constituted jointly by India's leading industry associations in coordination with the commerce ministry, with nominations from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. The minister invited deeper integration with India's manufacturing ecosystem, promoted participation in the country's 20 smart cities and highlighted opportunities arising from technological transformation and greater integration with global value chains.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.