Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is on a visit to France, met Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of Corporate and Institutional Banking BNP Paribas Group Yann Gérardin in Paris today. Mr. Gérardin said that global funds have shown interest in India as a credible investment destination and complimented India’s strength in Digital Public Infrastructure DPI. Ms Sitharaman informed him that Government had announced a Committee on Banking sector in its march towards Viksit Bharat 2047.  The Union Finance Minister sought his thoughts and suggestions for the Committee and informed him that India is positioning its banking sector globally, with special focus on delivery of DPI and Account Aggregators systems.

 

Ms Sitharaman also met President of Flying Whales Sébastien Bougon today. Mr. Bougon informed about Flying Wheels’ sustainable PPP projects globally and shared details about the multitude of application use cases that the company serves. Mr. Bougon mentioned that Flying Whales contributes to the expansion of economic development in landlocked areas and reduces the environmental impact of cargo transport and conveyed that Flying Whales was looking to set up the entire ecosystem related to its manufacturing with India as a key base. 

 

Ms Sitharaman welcomed the interest shown by Flying Whales for setting up an ecosystem in India. She informed Mr. Bougon about the opportunities in India for a company like Flying Whale and encouraged him to engage with the vibrant start-up ecosystem operating in this space. She also spoke about Indian Financial Services Centre Authority at GIFT City and the framework for ship and air-vehicle leasing and Maintenance, Repair, and Operations MRO which can be leveraged by the company.