FM Sitharaman in Chicago: ‘Build for the world from India’
The Union Finance Minister undertook a six-day visit to the United States covering Chicago, Asheville (North Carolina), and New York, aimed at attracting investment and strengthening economic engagement
At a business roundtable with investors and CEOs in Chicago, the pitch centred on the theme "Manufacture in India — for India and for the world," positioning India as both a large domestic market and a globally competitive manufacturing base
The visit included a stop at the University of Chicago's Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, focused on technology commercialisation and startup ecosystem linkages
The delegation was scheduled to lead India's representation at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Asheville, held under the United States' G20 presidency, before concluding with an investor roundtable in New York
Sector-specific engagements included discussions with multinational companies on expanding India-based manufacturing, sourcing, and export operations
GIFT City and the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA)
The Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gandhinagar hosts India's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). Its activities are regulated by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), a unified financial regulator established under the IFSCA Act, 2019, operational since April 2020, consolidating powers over banking, capital markets, insurance, and pension funds within the IFSC that were earlier split among the RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, and PFRDA.
Key Details
- Statutory basis: IFSCA Act, 2019; authority operational from April 27, 2020
- IFSCA is a single unified regulator for the IFSC, unlike the multi-regulator structure (RBI/SEBI/IRDAI/PFRDA) that governs the rest of India's financial sector
- GIFT City had over 1,000 registered entities as of mid-2026, spanning banking, fund management, reinsurance, aircraft/ship leasing, and sustainable finance
- GIFT City is cited by the government as part of India's pitch to global investors as a gateway for cross-border financial services
GIFT City and its unified-regulator model featured in the investment proposition made to global investors in Chicago, illustrating India's institutional reforms in financial services as part of the broader "build for the world from India" pitch.
G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting and the G20 Troika
The G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meetings are a core track of the G20 process, running in parallel to the leaders' summit track, where finance ministers and central bank chiefs coordinate on macroeconomic, financial-sector, and fiscal issues. The G20 presidency rotates annually among member states; continuity is maintained through a "troika" of the current, previous, and next presidency-holders.
Key Details
- The G20 presidency for 2026 is held by the United States, following South Africa (2025) and Brazil (2024); the troika for 2026 comprises the United States, South Africa, and the United Kingdom (2027 presidency)
- The G20 has 19 countries, the European Union, and the African Union (admitted as a permanent member in 2023, during India's G20 presidency) as members
- India held the G20 presidency in 2022-23, hosting the New Delhi Leaders' Summit (September 2023)
- The Asheville FMCBG meeting under the US presidency is a working-level track feeding into the eventual G20 Leaders' Summit
The Finance Minister's attendance at the Asheville meeting is India's routine participation in the FMCBG track as a G20 member, distinct from and preparatory to the leaders'-level summit later in the US presidency year.
FDI Policy and the "Manufacture in India, for the World" Framing
India's manufacturing sector is open to 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) under the automatic route, meaning no prior government approval is required for most manufacturing investment (subject to sectoral exceptions such as defence manufacturing, capped lower, and additional government-route scrutiny for investors from land-bordering countries). This liberal FDI regime underpins government pitches to attract manufacturing investment aimed at both domestic consumption and export markets.
Key Details
- Manufacturing sector: 100% FDI permitted under the automatic route (no prior government approval)
- Defence manufacturing: capped at 74% automatic route; beyond that requires government approval
- Investments from entities beneficially owned in land-bordering countries require government-route approval regardless of sector (Press Note 3 of 2020 framework), with narrow 2026 amendments allowing small automatic portfolio stakes
- The government's National Manufacturing Mission (launched FY2025-26) separately targets 25% manufacturing share of GDP by 2035 and expanded merchandise exports
The Chicago pitch to reposition India as a manufacturing-and-export base (not merely a market to sell into) is a direct extension of this liberalised FDI framework, aimed at translating policy openness into actual investment commitments from global companies.
Bilateral Economic Dialogues as Instruments of Economic Diplomacy
Beyond multilateral forums like the G20, India uses structured bilateral economic and financial dialogues to deepen investment and trade ties with individual partner countries. These dialogues typically operate at the finance-minister or senior-official level and are distinct from political/strategic dialogues (such as 2+2 dialogues, which involve foreign and defence ministers).
Key Details
- Economic/financial dialogues are typically institutionalised, recurring mechanisms (e.g., India-US Economic and Financial Partnership, India-Canada Economic and Financial Dialogue) distinct from one-off visits
- Such dialogues are generally led by finance ministries and cover trade, investment facilitation, taxation, and financial-sector cooperation — as opposed to 2+2 dialogues, which cover strategic and defence matters
- They complement multilateral tracks like the G20 FMCBG by allowing deeper, country-specific follow-up on investment commitments
The Chicago and New York investor roundtables function as an extension of India's bilateral economic diplomacy toolkit, using direct outreach to prospective private investors alongside the multilateral G20 engagement in Asheville.
- Visit duration: six days, covering Chicago, Asheville (North Carolina), and New York
- G20 FMCBG meeting: Asheville, North Carolina, under the United States' 2026 G20 presidency
- G20 2026 troika: United States (2026), South Africa (2025), United Kingdom (2027)
- GIFT City / IFSCA: unified regulator since April 2020, 1,000+ registered entities as of mid-2026
- FDI in manufacturing: 100% permitted under the automatic route; defence manufacturing capped at 74% automatic
- National Manufacturing Mission target: 25% manufacturing share of GDP by 2035
- India held the G20 presidency in 2022-23, hosting the New Delhi Leaders' Summit (September 2023)