Deepak Bagla resigns as managing director and CEO of Invest India

Deepak Bagla, managing director and chief executive officer of Invest India, the government’s nodal investment promotion and facilitation body, has resigned from his post, commerce ministry sources confirmed.

Bagla has cited “personal reasons” for stepping down from the post. “He has been there for a long time. He wanted to leave on personal grounds,” said a commerce ministry official.

Bagla was at the helm of Invest India since 2015. Earlier, he had stints at World Bank, Citibank, and private equity firm 3i Group.

Invest India was formed in 2009 under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Currently 51 per cent shareholding of Invest India is with industry bodies (17 per cent each with Ficci, CII, and Nasscom), and the remaining 49 per cent with the central and 19 state governments.

Invest India acts as a facilitation arm for the government for two of its key initiatives “Make in India” and “Start-up India”. Invest India provides complete end-to-end facilitation support to companies looking at investing in India by working closely with relevant stakeholders in the government, industry associations, private companies, and Indian embassies abroad.

Bagla had a professional career of over three decades, with the World Bank, Citibank, and Private Equity having responsibilities across Europe, Africa, and Asia. He is a member of several high-level government committees, including fintech and innovation.

Bagla is the president of the Geneva-based World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies with a membership of 105 countries. He is also a special invitee of the Prime Minister’s Science Technology & Innovation Advisory Council.

He has a bachelor’s degree with Honors in Economics from St Stephens College, New Delhi, and a dual Masters in International Diplomacy and International Trade and Finance from The School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington DC.