India eyes $250B investment from Efta amid tariff woes

India is set to unlock a massive wave of foreign investments from Europe's four-nation Efta bloc — Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein — worth up to $250 billion over the next 15 years, under a landmark trade pact that went into effect last week.

- Issac John

The Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Navi Mumbai, India. The pact, the first of its kind for India to include a concrete investment pledge, is expected to generate one million direct jobs while boosting India's exports to the advanced European bloc across key sectors.

(REUTERS FILE)

The Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (Tepa), operational from October 1, marks a milestone in India’s economic diplomacy with Europe, blending market access with a firm commitment for $100 billion in FDI inflows, which Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal believes could scale up by another $150 billion as confidence deepens.

At the Prosperity Summit in New Delhi celebrating the Tepa’s entry into force, Goyal described the agreement as a “trusted partnership between friends” and a “beacon of stability and certainty” in a volatile global trade environment.

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) pact, the first of its kind for India to include a concrete investment pledge, is expected to generate one million direct jobs while boosting India’s exports to the advanced European bloc across key sectors such as engineering, pharmaceuticals, clean energy, food processing, and digital services.