Invest India wins UN award for excellence in promoting investments in sustainable development

Invest India, the country's investment promotion body, has won the UN Award for excellence in promoting investments in sustainable development.

The award was presented by Armenian President Armen Sarkissian to Deepak Bagla, the CEO of Invest India, on Monday at the World Investment Forum, Geneva.

The event is being attended by more than 6000 participants, including more than 10 heads of state, and ministers from 50 countries.

Agencies from Bahrain, Lesotho and South Africa have also won top honours during the function.

The awards, organised by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), honour investment promotion agencies (IPAs) and their governments for their achievements, but also showcase best practices in attracting investment into Sustainable Development Goals-related projects that can inspire investment promotion practitioners in developing and developed countries.

Invest India received the award for excellence in servicing and supporting a major global wind turbines company in the establishment of a blade manufacturing plant in India while committing to train local staff and produce 1 gigawatt of renewable energy, according to an official statement.

Implementation of the project is expected to reduce India's wind energy cost significantly, the judges said.

"A proud day for us! Invest India awarded as WINNER of the 2018 United Nations Award for excellence in promoting investments in sustainable development at the World Investment Forum Geneva," the agency tweeted.

As the national investment promotion and facilitation agency, Invest India focuses on sector-specific investor targeting and development of new partnerships to enable sustainable investments in India.

In addition to a core team that focuses on sustainable investments, Invest India also partners with substantial investment promotion agencies and multilateral organisations. Invest India also actively works with several Indian states to build capacity as well as bring in global best practices in investment targeting, promotion and facilitation areas.

Invest India is set up as a non-profit venture under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.