Union Minister Piyush Goyal discusses scaling up retail investment with Nippon Life India AMC CEO Sundeep Sikka

New Delhi: Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Monday held a meeting with Sundeep Sikka, MD and CEO of Nippon Life India Asset Management Ltd, and discussed measures to deepen retail investment and strengthen India's asset management ecosystem.

Goyal said the meeting also focused on exploring avenues to attract greater global capital into Indian markets.

"Held a meeting with Mr. @SundeepSikka, MD & CEO of Nippon Life India Asset Management Ltd. Discussed opportunities to scale up & deepen retail investment, strengthen the asset management ecosystem, and explore avenues for attracting greater global capital into Indian markets," he posted on X.

Earlier on Monday, Goyal also held a meeting with the Check Point Software CEO, Nadav Zafrir and discussed the company's growing engagement in India, including its AI-driven security to protect our digital public infrastructure.

"Held a productive meeting with Mr. Nadav Zafrir, CEO @CheckPointSW, and discussed the company's growing engagement in India, including its R&D expansion and harnessing AI-driven security to protect our digital public infrastructure. We also explored advancing cooperation in cybersecurity, digital trust and AI-led innovation, while building a resilient digital ecosystem to support India's technology-driven growth," the Union Minister posted on X.

Piyush Goyal participated in the third Meeting of the Apex Monitoring Authority of the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT), chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

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He called for faster and outcome-oriented implementation of Industrial Corridor projects, with greater focus on timely investment and operationalisation.

Goyal stated that BHAVYA and future industrial developments should be aligned with PM GatiShakti and planned through an integrated area-development approach.

He called for focused investor outreach and stronger marketing of industrial nodes, including leveraging opportunities arising from India's Free Trade Agreements and exploring country- and sector-specific industrial enclaves.

The Minister emphasised the need to match investor requirements with suitable locations and develop ready-to-use industrial ecosystems with plug-and-play infrastructure, flatted factories, worker housing and supporting economic and social infrastructure. Such an approach, he said, would facilitate faster investment and commencement of operations.

The National Industrial Corridor Development Programme now covers 20 approved projects across 13 States and 7 Industrial Corridors.

Four industrial smart cities - Dholera, Shendra-Bidkin, Greater Noida and Vikram Udyogpuri - have entered the production stage.

So far, 469 plots covering approximately 5,348 acres have been allotted, with an estimated investment potential of around Rs 2.21 lakh crore and employment potential of approximately 1.29 lakh persons. 134 units are already in production, while another 95 units are under construction.