Visit of Valérie Pécresse to India

Ms Valérie Pécresse, President of the Île-de-France Region, is visiting India from 4th - 11th January 2024 in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru to promote the Île-de-France Region, its leading economic and financial ecosystems, and its Centres of Research Excellence. Ms Pécresse will be accompanied by three vice presidents of the Region and one Special Delegate, six cutting-edge French startups and representatives from the Region’s leading Grandes Ecoles: HEC, AiVancity and ESSEC.

The objectives of this trip are manifold: to give a new impetus to decentralised cooperation between the Île-de-France Region and Indian states, to support exports and enhance the economic attractiveness of the Region in order to attract not only Indian head offices and research and development centres, but also more Indian tourists. Discussions will focus on the key themes of research and innovation, cultural exchanges and tourism, and institutional partnerships.

Ms Pécresse will discuss with Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce and Industry, ways to develop trade ties between the Île-de-France Region and India, focusing on increasing the presence of Indian companies in the Region. Ms Pécresse as President of the Île-de-France Region will facilitate exchanges between startups from the Ile-de-France delegation and Indian tech unicorns, thereby highlighting the economic attractiveness of the Region. Several corporate meetings will reinforce this commitment to multilateral cooperation.

In Delhi, Ms Pécresse and her delegation will visit the 5G research and development centre of the Tata Consulting Services group, Asia’s first and the world’s fourth largest digital services centre and will visit DLF recent realisations in Gurgaon. She will also meet the two famous fashion designers of India who were members of the Paris Haute couture week, Gaurav Gupta and Rahul Mishra.

On Monday, 8th January, Ms Pécresse will hold a press conference on tourism and economic development in Mumbai. She will visit Capgemini’s global R&D centre for a tour of specialized laboratories on health and medtech, energy, and artificial intelligence. She will meet several banking groups to promote Paris as a financial hub for international businesses following Brexit and the Chairman of Tata Sons.

A cultural event will take place in Mumbai at Yash Raj Films studio, in the presence of key producers from the world’s leading film industry.

In Bengaluru, Ms Pécresse will pay a call on the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka, Shri Siddaramaiah and hold discussions on promoting cooperation between the Île-de-France Region and the State of Karnataka. She will also visit the International Institute of Information Technology to promote university cooperation and sign a university agreement with AiVancity on training in the ethics of Artificial Intelligence, student exchanges, and the joint development of digital applications to enhance the experience of tourists, particularly Indian tourists, during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Her trip to Bengaluru will include meetings with several Indian startups and unicorns at the Nasscom Center of Excellence.

In 2023, Ms Pécresse visited the Indian stand at the last edition of VivaTech in France to explore ground-breaking innovations, a startup ecosystem with over 100 unicorns present at the show, and a programme showcasing Indian private and public players. Ms Pécresse’s visit to India underscores the need to forge strategic ties between the Île-de-France Region and India across the full spectrum of issues relating to deeptech and the sectors of the future.

List of French Startups

1. Wattpark- Wattpark specializes in the development and manufacture of EV charging stations that can be shared, reserved and monetized, with a complete Made In France ecosystem.

2. Fosina - FOSINA is a French start-up specializing in the use of optical fibre as a distributed sensor of temperature, strain and vibration, with a team boasting over 35 years’ experience in the field.

3. Quartz Alliance - Pioneer in Quartz manufacturing, including design and components, feasibility study, prototype, machining of components in quartz, ceramic or technical glass and complex geometric pieces. Their clients are present in industries like semi-conductor, fiber optic, aeronautics and space, petrochemical, nuclear, research and education, automotive, medical.

4. Easy Metric - Easy Metric, a French leader in high precision carbon-based measurement and calibration. Easy-METRIC offers a wide range of dimensional gages, accessories, and calibration solution for every industry.

5. Thomson - Thomson Computing a leading French brand has recently made a significant entry into the Indian consumer electronics market and has lanched an extensive lineup of laptops and tablets in collaboration with their Indian subsidiary, Metavisio Computing India Pvt Ltd. Additionally, Thomson Computing has formed a strategic partnership with Saharsa Electronics Solutions Limited for manufacturing under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) 2.0 program, contributing to the ’Make in India’ initiative. The company is officially registered as an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) on the Government of India’s GEM E-Portal.

6. Sirius - Sirius Space is at the forefront of innovative reusable launchers, securing support from notable entities such as France Public Investment Bank (Bpifrance), France Space Agency (CNES), and other institutional partners. Their groundbreaking work includes the development of a reusable micro-launcher for small, high-performance satellites. The Sirius-1 launcher, currently in testing, aims to orbit payloads of up to 175 kg, underscoring their dedication to advancing space technology.