New Delhi: Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman met UK insurance giant Prudential PLC’s chair Shriti Vadera in London on Tuesday and discussed investments in India, the Finance Ministry said.
The Finance Minister apprised Vadera of the opportunities in India’s maiden International Financial Services Centre at Gujarat’s GIFT City and encouraged Prudential to explore deeper engagement with the ecosystem there, including in areas such a global reinsurance services as well as considering GIFT City services for global fund management for investing in India, the Ministry said.
The Union Finance Minister mentioned the growth in the insurance sector in India owing to the reforms in FDI policy, and emphasised on the need to focus on reinsurance and third party insurance in addition to health insurance and other products.
Vadera informed the Finance Minister about Prudential ‘s upcoming venture in the health insurance space in India and spoke about engaging more with GIFTCity for exploring investment and fund management opportunities in India.
Finance Minister Sitharaman also underlined the potential areas for collaboration between the UK and India, especially in the domain of business and investments, and also including private equity and venture capital investments, asset management and financial services and insurance.
Besides, the interaction included discussions around the recent budget announcements, including those related to supporting the expansion of India’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs), the statement added.
GCCs played a key role in driving India’s office market, accounting for 44 per cent of total demand, with 12.4 mn square feet transacted. Bengaluru dominated, contributing nearly 8 mn square feet, or 65 per cent of all GCC transactions in Q1 2025.
GCCs also leased 22.5 million square feet in 2024, accounting for 31 per cent of total leasing volumes, according to the latest office market assessment by real estate consultancy Knight Frank India.
Among cities, Bengaluru recorded the highest total GCC leasing at 9.33 mn square feet, 66 per cent of which (6.18 mn square feet) came from large deals – marking a 191 per cent surge in absorption. Hyderabad followed, with GCC transactions totalling 5.06 mn square feet, of which 67 per cent (3.41 mn square feet) were in the large office space category. Chennai with 89, and NCR with 53 deals also saw good uptake by GCCs in 2024.
(IANS)
