New Delhi, April 15 (IANS): Acknowledging the contribution being made by Japanese companies in India, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday urged them to avail of the opportunities on offer as India shapes to increae the share of manufacturing in its GDP to 25 per cent in the coming years.

"India wants to increase the contribution of manufacturing sector to GDP to 25 per cent," a Commerce Ministry statement quoting Sitharaman said here. Manufacturing currently contributes in the range of 15-16 per cent to India's GDP.

She was addressing a gathering at the India Investment Seminar in Tokyo organized by Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). Sitharaman is on an official visit to Japan leading a delegation and she met her Japanese counterpart Hiroshige Seko and business leaders of Japan at the Tokyo conference on Friday.

According to the statement, Sitharaman also spoke of various initiatives like the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund for infrastructure financing, the Digital India program to connect 250,000 villages with optical fiber and the Jan Dhan scheme.

Both countries discussed ways of increasing bilateral trade and investments at the meeting between Sithraman and Seko, the statement added.

Japan is the third largest foreign investor in India, with a cumulative investment $25.2 billion made between the 2000-2016 period.