FM in US: Sitharaman meets CEOs of Accenture, Deloitte, FedEx  

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met CEOs of companies like Accenture, Deloitte, FedEx and Mastercard in Washington DC today. They discussed a range of issues including setting up R&D centres in India, upskilling talent, training and digitisation of small businesses, climate action and financial inclusion.

During her meeting with the Finance Minister, Chair and CEO of the multinational IT company Accenture Julie Sweet backed the Government of India’s proactive and transparent approach.

Sweet furthermore noted that the company is increasing its presence in more Tier-2 cities in India and is also focusing on upskilling talent to prepare for emerging opportunities, according to Finance Ministry’s Twitter handle. The Accenture boss also informed Sitharaman that 47 per cent of their workforce in India comprises women.

“I was not surprised that the minister is very committed to helping businesses in India and we get to meet with her regularly through our association with NASSCOM and it’s just a sign of how much India really works to make sure they are listening to the business community and helping us as we continue to invest,” Sweet said after her meeting with the Finance Minister.

She added, “We’re very fortunate to have great talent of an amazing group of people of 300,000 in India and we truly appreciate the government’s focus on making India [a] great place to do business.”

The Union Minister also met the CEO of Deloitte Punit Renjen and discussed issues like expanding Deloitte’s operations to smaller cities in India like Coimbatore and Bhubaneswar. Renjen also said that “Deloitte has developed tools to improve the access of rural poor to health facilities and also commited for Climate action in India.”

“I think India is a very attractive destination, I’ve said this many times, I believe this to be India’s century,” Renjen said after his meeting with the Finance Minister.

During his meeting with the Finance Minister, FedEx’s president and CEO-elect Raj Subramaniam mentioned that he has significant expansion plans, including in skilling. FedEx is also looking at R&D centres in India. He also backed the Government of India’s commitment on integrated development via the PM Gati Shakti Master Plan.

“Logistics is a very important consideration especially as Make in India and Manufacturing in India is [the] strategy for the market and logistics plays a very important role. I’m looking forward to being in India soon. We have great opportunities for FedEx to grow in India and also set up centres in India to support their entire enterprise. I was very thrilled to meet with the Finance Minister today,” Subramaniam said post his meeting with Sitharaman.

Sitharaman also met the CEO of Mastercard Miebach Micheal, who told the Finance Minister that Mastercard has set up huge data centres in India and is focused on training and digitisation of small businesses.

Sitharaman talked about the Government’s commitment to digital financial inclusion with focus on women and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) through world-class and indigenously developed technology solutions.

She also talked about using lessons from India’s financial inclusion programmes to develop global solutions.

Sitharaman is on an official visit to attend the Spring Meetings at the World Bank, the G20 Finance Ministers meeting and the Central bank Governor Meeting (FMCBG). Once these meetings conclude in Washington, Sitharaman will go to San Francisco on April 24 and will engage with business leaders there. She will also interact with the students and faculty at Stanford University. She will depart for India on April 27.