PM Modi meets leading CEOs in France, discusses plans for India

During a visit to France, the Prime Minister held a series of meetings with senior executives of leading French corporations, focusing on deepening investmen...

What Happened

During a visit to France, the Prime Minister held a series of meetings with senior executives of leading French corporations, focusing on deepening investment and cooperation in sectors spanning shipping and logistics, railways, construction, and artificial intelligence.
Among the business leaders who met the Prime Minister were the chairman and CEO of CMA CGM Group, the co-founder and CEO of Mistral AI, the CEO of Alstom, and the chairman and CEO of Saint-Gobain.
Discussions covered the expansion of French corporate presence in India and potential collaborations in emerging technology sectors, including AI, where India is positioning itself as a global investment destination.
The Prime Minister also addressed the VivaTech 2026 conference in Paris, outlining India's artificial intelligence vision and inviting global technology companies to invest in India's digital infrastructure.
The visit underscored the strategic depth of the India-France bilateral relationship, operating under the Horizon 2047 roadmap which charts cooperation across defence, civil nuclear energy, space, digital technology, and cultural ties through 2047.
India highlighted its digital payments leadership — including UPI now being accepted at major French tourist sites including the Eiffel Tower and Paris airports — as an example of India's technology-driven growth story.

Static Topic Bridges

India-France Horizon 2047 Partnership

The Horizon 2047 roadmap was adopted in 2023 to serve as the strategic blueprint for India-France bilateral relations until 2047 — the year marking 100 years of India's independence, a century of diplomatic ties, and 50 years of the Indo-French strategic partnership. The document covers cooperation across three pillars: Partnership for Security and Sovereignty; Partnership for the Planet; and Partnership for the People. In February 2026, bilateral ties were further elevated to a "Special Global Strategic Partnership" when the French President visited India for the AI Impact Summit in Mumbai.

Horizon 2047: Strategic roadmap adopted in 2023 covering 2023–2047
Three pillars: Security and Sovereignty; Planet; People
Principal cooperation areas: defence, civil nuclear energy, space, AI/digital, climate, education
Elevation to "Special Global Strategic Partnership": February 2026 (AI Impact Summit, Mumbai)
Strategic partnership first established: 1998
50th anniversary of strategic partnership: 2048 (target year)

Connection to this news: The Prime Minister's CEO meetings in France operate within the Horizon 2047 framework; sectors discussed — shipping, railways, AI, construction — map directly to the economic and digital dimensions of the partnership.

India-France Bilateral Defence and Military Exercises

France is one of India's most important strategic defence partners. The bilateral relationship encompasses joint military exercises across all three services, as well as major defence procurement programmes. India has purchased Rafale fighter jets from Dassault Aviation under a government-to-government deal (36 aircraft for the Air Force; additional naval Rafales). Submarine and frigate cooperation (Project 75 — Scorpene submarines) also marks the depth of defence ties.

Joint military exercises:
SHAKTI: bilateral army infantry exercise
VARUNA: bilateral naval exercise (since 2001)
GARUDA: bilateral air force exercise
INDRA: India-France (and India-Russia) army exercise
Rafale deal: 36 aircraft (signed 2016); naval Rafale variant also procured
Scorpene submarines (Project 75): 6 submarines; Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders with technology from Naval Group (France)
Indo-French relationship includes collaboration on counter-terrorism and maritime security

Connection to this news: The defence and strategic dimensions provide the bedrock on which the commercial and technology discussions with French CEOs are layered; the Alstom and CMA CGM engagements on railways and shipping complement the existing security-centred partnership.

Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant

The Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant (JNPP) in Maharashtra is a proposed civil nuclear project representing the largest planned nuclear power project in the world by installed capacity. It envisions six European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) to be supplied by EDF (Electricité de France), with NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd) as the Indian counterpart. With a planned total capacity of 9,900 MW, JNPP would be a cornerstone of India's civil nuclear programme.

Location: Jaitapur, Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra
Technology: EPR (European Pressurised Reactor) — Generation III+ design
Supplier: EDF (France); Indian partner: NPCIL
Planned capacity: 6 × 1,650 MW = 9,900 MW total
Legal basis: India-France Civil Nuclear Agreement (2008); India-IAEA safeguards agreement
Status: Under negotiation for commercial and contractual terms
India's civil nuclear programme also covered by the India-US 123 Agreement (2008)

Connection to this news: Civil nuclear cooperation, including the Jaitapur project, is one of the longest-standing and most strategically significant elements of the India-France partnership. It provides context for why the France bilateral relationship goes beyond commerce to encompass sovereign technology transfer.

Key French Companies Engaged with India

CMA CGM Group is the world's third-largest container shipping company, headquartered in Marseille. India's ambition to develop major port and logistics infrastructure (Sagarmala Programme; PM Gati Shakti) makes CMA CGM a natural partner for India's maritime logistics expansion.

Alstom is a French multinational specialising in rail transport — trains, signalling systems, and turnkey rail solutions. It has a long-standing presence in India's metro and mainline railway sector, supplying coaches and propulsion systems.

Mistral AI is a French artificial intelligence company (founded 2023) known for its open-weight large language models. India's National AI Mission (IndiaAI Mission) and emerging AI ecosystem make it a relevant partner for AI capacity building.

Saint-Gobain is a French multinational specialising in construction materials, glass, and high-performance materials. India is among its largest markets globally.

PM Gati Shakti: National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity (launched 2021)
IndiaAI Mission: approved 2024, Rs 10,371 crore outlay, focuses on AI compute, datasets, and applications
Sagarmala Programme: port-led development; nodal ministry — Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways

Connection to this news: The sectoral alignment of the CEO meetings — shipping (CMA CGM), railways (Alstom), AI (Mistral), construction (Saint-Gobain) — maps directly onto India's major national infrastructure and technology programmes.

Key Facts & Data

French CEOs met: CMA CGM (Rodolphe Saadé), Mistral AI (Arthur Mensch), Alstom (Martin Sion), Saint-Gobain (Benoit Bazin), among others
Key sectors discussed: shipping and logistics, railways, construction, artificial intelligence
Forum attended: VivaTech 2026 (Paris technology conference)
India-France bilateral ties: elevated to "Special Global Strategic Partnership" in February 2026
Horizon 2047 roadmap: three pillars — Security and Sovereignty, Planet, People
Military exercises: VARUNA (Navy), GARUDA (Air Force), SHAKTI (Army), INDRA (Army)
Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant: 6 EPR reactors, 9,900 MW total; EDF + NPCIL
UPI now accepted at Eiffel Tower and Paris airports
India's digital payments: handles ~50% of world's real-time digital transactions via UPI
India-France strategic partnership: established 1998; 50th anniversary target: 2048