Vani Rao: “India, with its growing economic, is the ideal partner for Italian businesses”
This article was originally published in Italian in Panorama on 3rd Apr 2025.
Please note that this is a courtesy translation of the Italian language article originally published in the Panorama Magazine Issue at: https://www.panorama.it/attualita/esteri/vani-rao-lindia-con-la-sua-economia-in-crescita-e-partner-ideale-per-le-imprese-italiane
The Elephant is on the run: the Indian economy is now unstoppable and is recording exponentially growing numbers. We discussed this with Ambassador Vani Rao, an outstanding diplomat who has been at the helm of the Indian diplomatic mission in Italy for a year, and who granted us this exclusive interview.
With a diplomatic career spanning over thirty years, Ambassador Vani Rao began her academic journey with a Bachelors degree in Humanities and Masters Degree in Political Science from the Hyderabad Central University in Southern India and later earned a Second Masters in Environmental Studies at San Jose State University in California. A strong desire to serve the nation and India’s aspirations to play a proactive role in multilateral and global platforms inspired her to pursue a career in diplomacy.
After joining the Foreign Service in 1994, her first assignments abroad took her to the Indian Embassies in Mexico City and Stockholm, followed by positions in Israel and as Ambassador to Finland and Estonia. She has also worked in several desks in Delhi, representing her country in relations with the West, ASEAN countries, and the Indian Diaspora.
To date, her career has been intense, diverse, and rich. Before coming to Italy, she served as Director General dealing with Indian’s relations with the USA and Canada. Today, in addition to being Ambassador to Italy, she also covers the Republic of San Marino and is a permanent representative to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Let’s now delve into the details of the interview with the Ambassador, focusing on the relations between the two countries and the vision for the future.
Over the years, India and Italy have built strong ties across various sectors. In your view, what are the key areas for deepening this collaboration in the future?
India-Italy relations are on a positive trajectory. We have a strategic partnership, since 2023. Last year, the two Governments agreed on a 5-year Roadmap from 2025-2029 to increase cooperation in some priority areas. As a consequence, you will see an increase and regularity of political dialogue at the Ministerial level to update each other and to align as much as possible. We agreed to increase trade and investment across sectors by facilitating co-production, investments and joint ventures between respective companies and SMEs. Both governments also agreed to strengthen joint R&D, innovation linkages and facilitate migration and mobility.
This also thanks to policies and initiatives brought up by the Indian government that may positively impact the business relations between the two countries.
The Indian Government is committed to economic reforms and liberalisation to ease entry of foreign companies to India and welcome foreign direct investment. We are expanding manufacturing industry in India. Our Production Linked Incentive scheme for companies which manufacture in India in specific sectors has been very impactful. For e.g. Apple is manufacturing iPhone 16 in India for global exports. Most importantly, our Government has a vision to make India a developed nation with a US$ 30 trillion economy in 2047, the centenary of our independence. Therefore, we have an ambitious roadmap and huge public investments for strengthening our infrastructure, transportation, healthcare, education, services, agriculture and many other sectors. There is clarity of vision and a continuity of economic policies for the next 22 years to ensure stable economic growth and development.
In the coming days, the Italy-India Business Forum will be held in Delhi. How do you think this meeting could contribute to strengthening the commitments to build an even closer bilateral relationship between the two countries?
The upcoming India-Italy Business Forum in Delhi this month is a timely platform and opportunity for implementing the “Joint Strategic Action Plan for 2025-2029” which Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Meloni launched in November 2024. The Business forum co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Mr. Piyush Goyal will bring together the two Governments, business facilitation agencies and companies from both countries. They will focus on 04 priority areas such as aerospace and defence; clean energy transition; Industry 4.0 and new technologies; and infrastructure, transport and connectivity. It is our expectation that business collaborations will gain momentum after the forum. At the same time, Minister of University and Research Ms. Anna Maria Bernini is traveling to India with some of Heads of Research Centers and Rectors of some universities. Their interactions with Indian counterparts would also kick start higher education collaborations as well as R&D linkages between respective institutions.
What outcomes are anticipated from this meeting in terms of fostering deeper collaboration and mutual economic growth between the two nations?
India’s is one of the fast-growing economies with 6.2% rate of economic growth, and an enormous pool of young STEM talent (operating in sectors of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). India is a good match for the Italian economy and companies which excel in technologies, and have niche capabilities in agriculture, industrial design, machinery, transport, logistics etc. By combining our respective strengths both our economies and companies can become more competitive and produce high quality goods at a competitive cost, for the Indian market and for global exports. We hope that the Forum will enable strategic, long-term business collaborations and investments in both countries.
India is experiencing rapid economic growth and has a vast market, while Italy is well known for its innovation in design, fashion, and engineering. How can Indian businesses leverage Italy's expertise to enhance their operations, and in turn, how can Italian companies tap into the opportunities presented by India's expanding market?
The Indian economy is growing rapidly. It is now the fourth largest in the world and will soon become the third largest. A growing middle class and a young population is a unique demography resulting in increasing domestic consumption. Our people aspire for a better standard of living. India is therefore a very large market. For example, in the fashion sector, there is a long tradition of Italian companies sourcing components from India or utilising the skills of Indian skilled artisans for embroidery. Italian fashion and luxury brands are welcome to increase sourcing and manufacture components or items in India which would make them cost competitive. The Indian consumer is known to be very price conscious while seeking quality. Therefore, Italian companies can be competitive in pricing, through local manufacturing. Similarly, India’s youth are a workforce especially for engineering and the tech domains. India is an ideal location for production of high-tech goods, equipment services, R&D activities etc. Several global multinational companies have set-up R&D centres in India. Since India is aspiring to increase exports in the next 20 years, several incentives are available for export-oriented companies. Our strategic location in the Indo-Pacific makes India an ideal location for exports to both Africa, South East Asia and the Pacific region.
India and Italy both boast rich cultural heritages. What initiatives are being undertaken to enhance cultural ties and exchanges between the two nations, particularly in the fields of fashion, art, cinema and education so as to encourage more Italian students to study in India and explore its diverse opportunities?
India and Italy are ancient civilizations which have a rich heritage, architecture, art and literature. Like Italians, people in India are proud of their heritage and culture, although there is more diversity in India. Indian films are gaining global recognition and popularity. Apart from Bollywood, the Hindi film industry, India’s regional film industry is growing in many Indian languages. Recently in February we organised with ANICA, an Indian Film Festival in Rome, with a range of contemporary films with Italian subtitles. Many film lovers were able to enjoy the diverse selection. We are also arranging special screenings of films, across Italy - Milan, Matera, Cassino, Napoli, Caserta, Bressanone, Bari etc. In Florence an Indian Film Festival has been held every year for more than two decades. We are also considering participation in the Venice Art Biennale in 2026, to showcase India’s vibrant and diverse schools and genres of art. We are organizing the International Day of Yoga, every year in June in locations across Italy. We promote Hindi and Sanskrit languages and Ayurveda the traditional system of holistic healthcare. Most importantly, we want to increase awareness about modern India, which is transforming rapidly and playing an important role in the Indo-pacific and in global issues. We welcome Italian students who want to study in India. We have excellent higher education institutes of Technology (IITs), Business Management Schools; and scientific research centers. Italian universities can start student exchange programmes in which Italian students can do one semester in India.
While India is making significant strides in environmental innovation and sustainable development, how can the country leverage Italy's expertise in sustainability to address global challenges such as climate change and further promote long-term environmental sustainability?
While discussing sustainability, it is important to remember that India is a developing country. We are aspiring to be a developed nation – through rapid economic growth, industrialisation and inclusive development. Therefore energy security is a top priority for India. At the same time, India is committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070. We are targeting a 45 % decrease in emission intensity of our GDP and reduction of non-fossil fuel power generation by half by 2030. Renewable energy is contributing more than 42% of our installed energy source, making India the world's third-largest producer of renewable energy. We are planning 500 GW renewable energy capacity by 2030 which result in 80% of power capacity additions from renewable sources. In this clean energy transition we are pursuing comprehensive policy reforms. Biofuels, green hydrogen, Electric vehicles (EVs) are receiving priority in our domestic efforts and our bilateral / multilateral partnerships. A National Green Hydrogen Mission has been announced.
India has adopted many financial mechanisms such as green financing, feed-in tariffs, tax incentives, subsidies, sovereign green bonds, and renewable energy certificates to encourage adoption of sustainable energy sources. As the transportation and logistics sector make a significant contribution to CO2 emissions, we have increased electrifying transport systems. Sustainable transportation financing is underway through collaborative efforts of the government, financial institutions, international partners, and the private sector.
Looking ahead, what do you consider to be the most promising areas for future India-Italy partnerships, particularly in sectors such as technology, renewable energy, manufacturing, and education?
The most obvious areas for Italian companies are sectors in India where there is growth, domestic demand and large public and private investments. I will highlight some. Firstly, infrastructure and transportation as India is rapidly building airports, ports, highways, railways with huge investments by government and private sector. Objective is to provide faster movement of people and cargo within India and for better connectivity with global markets. Italian companies can bid for tenders, in partnership with Indian companies, join our system integrators and build industrial and technology collaborations. Secondly, shipbuilding and logistics: India has a large coastline 7500 km- it is giving priority to domestic manufacturing of ships; repairs and recycling. Port management is an area where we invite foreign companies to share their know-how. In logistics- Italian companies have expertise which is very valuable. As India positions itself as a manufacturing powerhouse, and integrate with global supply chains, our government is giving special incentives to foreign companies in these sectors. Furthermore, agri tech and processing as India’s agriculture sector is the backbone of our economy, contributing less than 25% of our GDP. We want to increase agricultural productivity; build farm to market linkages; and strengthen agri food processing. Italian companies which have done so well in these areas are invited to set-up operations in India for mutually beneficial tie-ups and even manufacture agritech equipment or machinery locally to make it more price competitive for our buyers and exports to Africa and elsewhere. Lastly, defence and aerospace: this is a key pillar of our strategic partnership with Italy. India is diversifying its defence procurements and giving priority to co-production and technology collaboration in the defence domain. Our PSUs and private sector are well qualified to work together with Italian counterparts for defence industrial partnerships. India has a good reputation in the aerospace domain with proven capabilities in launching home grown Missions to the Moon and satellites for several foreign countries. Indo-Italian collaborations in space launches and space exploration has potential to grow. ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, the Italian Space Agency) of Italy and India’s Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are in contact. Indian startups and small and medium enterprises have done very well in both defence and aerospace, there is opportunity for innovation tie ups too.
Curated by: Avv. Carlo Diego D'Andrea, Managing Partner of D'Andrea & Partners Legal Counsel, Vice President of the National Chamber of Commerce of the European Union in China (EUCCC).
