In the current rapidly evolving landscape, generative AI's technological advancements and geopolitical uncertainties have significant implications for the economy and growth. Amidst these challenges, India is mandated to drive innovation and secure sustainable growth.
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Driving growth with Economy and Growth trends
- CII National Export Competitive Forum
- ET Now Global Business Summit
- Union Budget 2026-27
- India’s Manufacturing Transformation
- Resilience in global uncertainty
- India’s Strategic Edge
- AI skilling and capability building will determine India’s competitive edge
- ET NOW BFSI Leadership Summit 2025
- The Economic Times Vision Conclave on Viksit Bharat
- KPMG India seminar for Japanese clients
- Nation Building Is A Responsibility
- Earth Summit
Preetam Singh
Associate Partner, G&PS-Economic Growth
KPMG in India
India's trade and allied ecosystem is a t a pivotal moment, and the launch of the Export Promotion Mission makes it even more important to ensure that MSMEs and exporters can benefit from the government’s strategic interventions. Access to reliable, affordable, and risk protected SME finance remains central to advancing India’s Viksit Bharat vision.
Across the export value chain, businesses continue to face challenges in securing timely capital for working capital needs, technology upgrades, stronger supply chains, sustainability efforts, and global expansion. As India moves toward its one trillion dollar export ambition, the financial system becomes a key driver of competitiveness. Banks, financial institutions, and multilateral agencies play a vital role through trade finance, long term project funding, credit enhancement, risk mitigation, and blended finance solutions. Newer tools such as export credit, guarantees, insurance, green and transition finance, and digital trade finance platforms are expanding access to capital across sectors.
Recent policy and Budget measures that strengthen MSME credit, promote exports, deepen infrastructure financing, and encourage sustainability linked lending are energising this ecosystem.
- Yezdi Nagporewalla
- Anish De
- Atul Gupta
- Nilachal Mishra
- Abhishek Verma
This is a very critical moment for India’s energy journey. As we move firmly on track to becoming the world’s third-largest economy, that growth is energy-hungry. Today, we are at around 500 gigawatts of installed capacity. By 2047, estimates suggest we could be looking at a grid of nearly 2,000 gigawatts. That is an extraordinary expansion, driven significantly by renewables, especially solar.
But renewables come with intermittency challenges. If we are to power an industrial-scale economy of the size we envision, we need reliable baseload generation. At the same time, the planet is warming, and the global call for decarbonisation grows stronger. Irrespective of geopolitical shifts, low-carbon or zero-carbon energy sources are not optional. They are essential.
Nuclear energy, once sidelined in global conversations, has returned to centre stage. In India, given the scale of our ambitions, it has become a key focus. We are currently at about 9 gigawatts of nuclear capacity, and over the next two decades we aim to scale this more than tenfold to 100 gigawatts. That requires not just ambition, but evolution in technology, supply chains, talent, land acquisition, and commercial frameworks.
A landmark legislation has opened the door to greater private sector participation, which the government recognises as necessary to achieve this scale. At the same time, India consumes nearly 20 percent of the world’s data but has only about 2.5 percent of global data centre capacity. The recent Union Budget’s thrust on data centres underscores the importance of data sovereignty, security, and building a resilient domestic ecosystem. All of this adds further pressure on our energy systems.
There are real questions we must address—on pricing and tariffs, on supply chains, on commercial mechanisms, and on trust. Even as nuclear returns to serious consideration, public confidence must be earned, especially when building at this magnitude. If we are to move beyond 2.5 gigawatts per annum and eventually exceed 5 gigawatts per annum post-2032, it demands coordinated action across government, industry, and society. The scale of the challenge is immense, but so is the opportunity.
- Ambiguity is the new operating environment for CEOs. Navigating fluid global dynamics has become a core leadership capability.
- Resilience is now a strategic differentiator. Organisations that can anticipate, absorb and adapt to shocks will define the next decade.
- Trust is emerging as an economic currency. In a world of rapid digitalisation, trust-driven ecosystems will outperform those built purely on scale or efficiency.
- Innovation must move from the periphery to the core. It can no longer be experimental—it has to be embedded, continuous and enterprise-wide.
- Talent strategies need a reset. Leaders must enable teams to thrive amid constant change, not just manage it.
- Business disruption cycles are compressing. With new and unfamiliar risks emerging, risk intelligence and forward visibility are critical.
- AI represents a generational shift. Its true potential will be realised only when it becomes more human-centric, ethical and responsible.
- Digital and data sovereignty are gaining prominence. Yet, India is uniquely positioned to leverage this moment and accelerate its journey toward Viksit Bharat.
Nilachal Mishra
Partner and Head, Government & Public Services (G&PS), National Leader - Government and Infrastructure
KPMG in India
The forward-looking measures signal robust momentum for India's economy. Here are few key takeaways from my perspective that shall fuel economic growth:
- A budget to further boost manufacturing led economic growth with special emphasis on sports goods, white goods and electronic components manufacturing scheme shall position India as a global hub for strategic sectors.
- The Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 will supercharge innovation and resilience, enabling scale-up in high-potential ventures especially in deep-tech innovation.
India has made real progress in raising manufacturing as a share of GDP, but our next leap depends on:
- building strength in component manufacturing,
- connecting last mile infrastructure, and
- easing financing pressures on exporters.
This is the moment for India to rethink what it will take to become a true global manufacturing hub and act with clarity and speed.
In times of global uncertainity, resilience becomes a true competitive advantage. As I reflect on the recent 5th Directors Meet in Mumbai, it’s clear that India is navigating global volatility with a steady hand and a long-term view. While our markets may have trailed some global indices during last year’s AI-driven surge, the underlying story is far more strategic.
When foreign capital redirected toward the global AI momentum, India's domestic investors demonstrated remarkable conviction, providing the stability our markets needed. Coupled with forward-looking reforms - from the new data protection framework to progressive labour code updates - India continues to strengthen its economic architecture for the future.
We are operating in a global landscape defined by persistent uncertainty - geopolitical realignments, climate pressures, technological disruption and shifting capital flows. Within this environment, nations that can adapt, execute, and inspire confidence will shape the future. India is actively re-shaping its opportunities within this uncertainty - not reacting to it but leveraging it. By expanding market access, deepening regional and minilateral partnerships, and building agile trade frameworks, India is scaling manufacturing, accelerating frontier technologies and strengthening global supply-chain integration.
Training millions in AI and creating equitable access will be key to ensuring India remains competitive in the global digital economy. Even as India becomes one of the most consequential battlegrounds for AI investments globally, the success of billion-dollar commitments will hinge on the country’s ability to scale talent, build capabilities across sectors and ensure that the benefits of AI are broadly distributed.
- Sanjay Doshi
- Rohan Rao
NBFCs have consistently stepped in where traditional banking hesitated — from financing used vehicles in the 1990s to housing and MSMEs today - and that willingness to serve emerging segments has made them indispensable to India’s growth story. With MSMEs now at the heart of economic expansion, the outlook for NBFC-led credit remains positive and structurally strong.
We are witnessing a fundamental shift where domestic family offices and Indian investors are increasingly driving the growth of private capital. With larger fund sizes and deeper institutional participation, the real question now is not whether domestic capital can lead India’s growth story, but how quickly we can build the scale and confidence to make it the primary engine of long-term economic development.
- Nilachal Mishra
- Vivek Agarwal
Nilachal Mishra
Partner and Head, Government & Public Services (G&PS), National Leader - Government and Infrastructure
KPMG in India
A developed India by 2047 will be shaped by states that place people at the centre of their development agenda. Uttar Pradesh is demonstrating this through its long-term approach and the emphasis on shared progress. Inclusive growth is not just an outcome but the driver of the state’s 2047 vision. UP’s ambition is intentional and reflects the wider responsibility it carries, and its progress contributes directly to India’s broader journey towards Viksit Bharat.
Vivek Agarwal
Partner and Head - Public Infrastucture, Lead - Industrial and Infrastructure Development Advisory, Government and Public Services
KPMG in India
Uttar Pradesh’s push for future-ready infrastructure in transport, energy, and connectivity is directly aligned with its ambition of becoming a USD1 trillion economy by 2030. With the largest road network of over 8,400 kms, it's rapidly expanding its connectivity. It's also a power surplus state with focus on balancing the coal fleet modernisation with renewable energy generation.
With an aspiration to increase its share from 9% to 15% of national GDP, the state is well positioned to build a resilient, diversified, and globally competitive economy. The state is also actively working towards bridging the disparity across its many regions to be more inclusive and push broad based developments.
Japan and India have forged a relationship defined by mutual respect, forward looking ambition and a shared belief in the power of innovation. Japanese companies have contributed significantly to India’s growth, shaping industries, elevating quality standards and strengthening our global competitiveness. Our ambition is to expand this momentum by fostering deeper cooperation, creating new avenues for investment and technology exchange, and further strengthening the economic corridor between our two nations. By working collectively, we can unlock meaningful opportunities that support enduring growth and mutual prosperity.
Leaders are increasingly being judged by the impact they create on people, society, and the planet. We’ve seen many examples of this in India. Business leaders are driving large-scale skilling initiatives to prepare India’s youth for the future, investing in renewable energy to advance our net-zero ambitions, and creating platforms to support world-class art and cultural experiences.
Sidharth Ravishankar
Partner, C&O-FS
KPMG in India
Rural Finance & Credit Acceleration
Access to timely and well-priced credit is critical to propel the rural economy. Despite lender availability, structural challenges to borrower data, simplified processes, and last-mile delivery are limiting granular credit growth. With strong policy intent, alternative data points (household score, image-based patterns, satellite information), and digital infrastructure, we are well poised to make transformative changes to boost rural credit and consequentially accelerate the rural growth engine.
