India and Oman in January reviewed the entire spectrum of their relationship and vowed to regain momentum in trade and investment linkages once normalcy returns after Covid 19. During the first high-level visit from Oman since the pandemic, India also assured assistance to Oman in its requirement for Covid vaccines.

The Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Ministry has announced a Rs. 50,000 crore investment plan for the revival of four fertiliser factories and the setting up of a plastics park in Mangaluru with Rs. 40 crore funding from the Centre. Another plastics park will be set up at Gorakpur in Uttar Pradesh.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust at Navi Mumbai, one of the 12 major ports in the country, plans to attract Rs 4,000 crore investments from public and private players for its special economic zone (SEZ), as per a draft proposal. JNPT hopes to generate about 72,600 direct job opportunities from this.

France will invest €500 million ($609.5 million) in boosting innovation in the space industry in an attempt to battle growing US and Asian competition, President Emmanuel Macron has said, adding that the two-year investment plan “will cover innovations related to carrier rockets, speed up our projects and allow us to go faster in global competition.

Private equity investment in Indian retail real estate assets is expected to pick up in 2021 with global funds like GIC, Blackstone, Warburg-Runwal, and Lakeshore showing interest. As per ANAROCK Research, 2019 saw total PE investments of about $968 million in retail real estate, before a Covid-induced slowdown.

The region surrounding the upcoming Noida International Airport has received investments worth Rs. 7,617 crore in the ongoing fiscal year. Among the investors are some Fortune 500 firms who have backed the region despite the Covid-19 pandemic. From April to December, 911 plots were allotted to companies along the 165-km Yamuna Expressway.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has recognised the importance of Hyderabad Pharma City project for India’s pharmaceutical sector and has accorded it the status of National Investment and Manufacturing Zone, a Telangana minister has pointed out to the Centre in a letter asking for Rs. 870 crore this fiscal in special funds.

Investments of Rs. 90,000 crore have been proposed in Gujarat, including a Rs. 40,000 crore investment by ArcelorMittal for the expansion of its facility. Essar Steel has proposed investing Rs. 35,000 crore near Surat, while Vedanta Group will invest Rs. 10,000 crore to set up the world’s largest zinc smelter plant.

The African nation of Angola has invited Indian companies to invest in diamond mining and processing. Angola is the third largest producer of diamonds in Africa, though it has only explored 40 per cent of the diamond-rich territory in the country, and has had difficulty in attracting foreign investment.