India and the United States can strengthen their long-standing economic collaboration to enable partnership and investments in several key sectors such as semiconductors, nuclear power generation, pharmaceuticals, and quantum computing, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.
Speaking at Stanford University in California, US, the finance minister said there had been a threefold increase in new trade restrictions since 2019, and both advanced and emerging economies are striving to protect domestic production and jobs.
“At first glance, these developments appear formidable, and yet they are full of possibilities. New opportunities for deeper participation present themselves,” Sitharaman said.
She said that global trade and investment landscapes are being reimagined to bring about better balance between externally led growth and domestic growth.
“When you have stability in government, consistency in policy, predictability in tax regime, investments—then growth can be planned and executed, even with this kind of global uncertainty,” the finance minister added.
The finance minister is on an official visit to the United States and Peru from April 20 to 30, 2025, during which she will attend the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund–World Bank, take part in G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meetings, besides holding bilateral meetings with many countries and organisations.
Sitharaman highlighted that the United States has been foundational to India’s startup growth journey, not just as a large investor in India but also by helping to create the Global Capability Centre landscape here.
Manufacturing is a force multiplier
The finance minister highlighted the importance of manufacturing as a force multiplier for services sector growth, and not so much the other way around. “In the post-COVID world, manufacturing enhances national security. Also in India, too, as we strengthen our foundations for long-term growth, manufacturing emerges as a key engine for transformation,” Sitharaman said.
She said scaling up manufacturing is essential to absorb a youthful workforce, reduce core dependencies, and build competitive global supply chains, while stressing that the government wants to increase the share of manufacturing in jobs from 12 per cent to 23 per cent through a focus on sunrise sectors.
Sitharaman also said that over the past decade, the government has placed significant thrust on infrastructure development to create a strong foundation for manufacturing-led growth by bolstering investor confidence.
“This has been enabled by a more than fourfold increase in the Union government’s capital expenditure between 2017–18 and the 2025–26 Budget,” she said.
She said that over the next two decades, sustaining India’s growth momentum calls for a fresh approach grounded in bold reforms, stronger domestic capacities, renewed institutional partnerships, and adaptive strategies suited for the evolving global landscape.
The last two Union Budgets have laid the groundwork for this transformation, with a clear multi-sectoral policy agenda.
“Our next focus is reducing regulatory frictions, digitising approvals, and integrating micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) into the global value chain,” the finance minister said.
The finance minister, during her address, also said that Viksit Bharat will be shaped not only by the government but by the collective effort of every citizen.
