She spent nearly three decades at Intel, working across continents, and her stint stands her in good stead in her current job as MD & CEO of Invest India, the national investment promotion and facilitation agency. “I have noticed that investors genuinely value and trust this unique blend of private sector expertise and government credibility, allowing us to serve as a conduit between the private sector and the government. This has proven highly effective in persuading companies to include India in their investment plans—even those that initially hadn’t considered us,” says Nivruti Rai, who took up the role in July 2023. According to her, in the past 12-14 months, the value of the India story has been recognised by investors globally. “Investors are increasingly recognising India’s distinctive combination of stability, agility, and growth potential as a compelling investment proposition,” she says. Invest India has seen multiple instances where investors have altered their plans specifically to invest in India based on their confidence in its manufacturing capabilities, talent pool, and government support, and not merely in response to geopolitical shifts, Rai says. In her quest for facilitating FDI, she has identified electronics system design and manufacturing (ESDM), EV/auto, capital goods, green energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and critical minerals, textiles, and food processing as the growth drivers.