Japan’s ₹7 Lakh Crore India Investment Target May Be Achieved Early: Goyal

Japanese companies could invest the targeted 10 trillion yen (around ₹7 lakh crore) in India within the next three to four years, significantly ahead of the 10-year timeline originally set in 2025, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday.

Goyal said Japanese firms have already invested around ₹1 lakh crore under the latest commitment, indicating a faster pace of capital deployment than initially anticipated. Japan had earlier set a target of investing 5 trillion yen in India over a decade, but that goal was achieved within five years.

The minister also highlighted India’s ambition to deepen Japanese corporate participation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target of doubling the number of Japanese companies in India to 3,000, from around 1,500 currently.

Goyal said Japanese investments should expand across manufacturing, services, financial services, insurance and pension funds, while India should leverage Japan’s advanced technologies and industrial capabilities.

Addressing the India-Japan Startup Roundtable in Tokyo, Goyal proposed a Deep Tech Capital Corridor to mobilise patient capital for early-stage research, deep-tech innovation and commercialisation. He also called for a two-way innovation bridge linking universities, incubators, R&D institutions, laboratories and testing facilities in both countries.

Other proposals included closer manufacturing and technology integration and joint startup pitching platforms connecting Indian founders with Japanese corporations, venture funds and strategic investors.

India’s Japan Pitching Series has already connected 65 Indian startups with about 100 Japanese companies, facilitating more than 30 business tie-ups, Ambassador Nagma Mohamed Mallick said.

Goyal also highlighted India’s $1 billion second Fund of Funds for deep-tech startups. The earlier $1.5 billion fund has catalysed investments worth about $10 billion.

India now has 2.5 lakh startups, up from 510 a decade ago, including more than 130 unicorns, strengthening its position as the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem.