Team News Riveting
New Delhi, February 12
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of France, Emmanuel Macron jointly addressed the 14th India-France CEOs Forum today in Paris.
The forum brought together CEOs from a diverse group of companies from both sides, focusing on sectors such as defence, aerospace, critical and emerging technologies, infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, life-sciences, wellness and lifestyle, and food and hospitality.
Prime Minister in his address noted the expanding India-France business and economic collaboration and the impetus it has provided to the strategic partnership between the two countries. He highlighted India’s attractiveness as a favored global investment destination, based on its stable polity and predictable policy ecosystem. Talking of the reforms announced in the recent budget, PM noted that the insurance sector was now open for 100 per cent FDI and civil nuclear energy sector for private participation with focus on SMR and AMR technologies; customs rate structure was rationalized; and simplified income tax code was being brought in to enhance Ease of Living. Referring to the government’s commitment to continue ushering in reforms, he noted that a high-level committee for regulatory reforms had been constituted to establish trust based economic governance. In the same spirit, more than 40,000 compliances had been rationalized in the last few years.
Prime Minister invited French companies to look at the immense opportunities offered by the India growth story, in the defense, energy, highway, civil aviation, space, healthcare, fintech and sustainable development sectors. Underlining global appreciation and interest in India’s skills, talent and innovation and in its newly launched AI, Semiconductor, Quantum, Critical Minerals and Hydrogen missions, he called upon French enterprises to partner India for mutual growth and prosperity. He outlined the importance of active engagement in these sectors, reaffirming the commitment of both nations to fostering innovation, investment, and technology-driven partnerships. Full remarks of Prime Minister may be seen here
External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, alongside the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Jean-Noël Barrot, and the Minister of the Economy, Finance, and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty of France, Eric Lombard also addressed the Forum.
5. CEOs from both sides who attended the meeting were:
Indian Side:
| Company Name(Sector) | Name and Designation | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jubiliant Foodsworks/Jubiliant Life Sciences, Food and Beverage | Hari Bhartia, Co-Chairman and Director |
| 2. | CII | Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General |
| 3. | Titagarh Rail Systems Limited (TRSL), Railways and Infrastructure | Umesh Chowdhary, Vice Chairman and Managing Director |
| 4. | Bharat Light & Power Private Limited, (Renewable Energy) | Tejpreet Chopra, President & CEO |
| 5. | P Mafatlal Group, Textiles and Industrial Products | Vishad Mafatlal, Chairman |
| 6. | boat, Consumer Electronics (Wearables) | Aman Gupta, Co-Founder |
| 7. | Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DICCI), Business Advocacy and Inclusion | Milind Kamble, Founder/Chairman |
| 8. | Skyroot Aerospace, Aerospace & Space and Technology | Pawan Kumar Chandana,Co-Founder |
| 9. | Agnikul, Aerospace & Space and Technology | Srinath Ravichandran, Co-Founder & CEO |
| 10. | Tata Advanced Systems Ltd, Aerospace and Defense | Sukaran Singh, Managing Director |
| 11 | UPL Group, Agrochemical and Agribusiness | Vikram Shroff, Vice Chairman and Co-CEO |
| 12. | Sula Vineyards, Food and Beverage | Rajeev Samant, CEO |
| 13. | Dynamatic Technologies Ltd, Aerospace & Defence, and Engineering | Udayant Malhoutra, CEO & Managing Director |
| 14. | Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE), Engineering and Consulting | Amit Sharma, Managing Director & CEO |
| 15. | Nykaa, Cosmetics and consumer goods | Falguni Nayyar,CEO |
French Side:
| Company Name(Sector) | Name and Designation | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Air Bus, Aerospace & Defence | Guillaume Faury, CEO |
| 2. | Air Liquide, Chemicals, Health care, Engineering | François Jackow, CEO & a member of the Board of Directors of the Air Liquide Group |
| 3. | BlaBlaCar, Transport, Services | Nicolas Brusson, CEO & Co-Founder |
| 4 | Capgemini Group, Information Technology, Engineering | Aiman Ezzat, CEO |
| 5 | Danone, Food & Beverages | Antoine de SAINT-AFFRIQUE, CEO |
| 6 | EDF, Energy, Power | Luc Rémont, Chairman &CEO |
| 7 | Egis Group, Architecture Construction Engineering | Laurent Germain,CEO |
| 8. | Engie Group, Energy, Renewable Energy | Catherine MacGregor, CEO & Board Member of ENGIE. |
| 9 | L’Oréal, Cosmetics & Consumer Goods | Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO & Member of Board of Directors |
| 10 | Mistral AI, Artificial Intelligence | Arthur Mensch, CEO & Co-Founder |
| 11 | Naval Group, Defence, Shipbuilding, Engineering | Pierre Eric Pommellet, Chairman & CEO |
| 12. | Pernod Ricard, Alcohol Beverages, FMCG | Alexandre Ricard, Chairman & CEO |
| 13 | Safran, Aerospace & Defence | Olivier Andriès, CEO |
| 14. | Servier, Pharmaceuticals, Health care | Olivier Laureau, President & CEO |
| 15 | Total Energies SE, Energy | PATRICK Pouyanné, Chairman & CEO |
| 16 | Vicat, Construction | Guy Sidos, Chairman & CEO |
