R. Mukundan, President of the Confederation of Indian Industry, said that geopolitical tensions and trade disruptions are pressuring India's economic growth [1].
These challenges arrive as India attempts to maintain its momentum as a global economic hub. If the country cannot mitigate demand-side challenges and weakening private investment, it risks falling short of its long-term development goals [2].
Speaking in April 2024, Mukundan, who also serves as the Managing Director and CEO of Tata Chemicals, said that while the growth story remains resilient, challenges are mounting from global trade disruptions and geopolitical tensions [1]. He said that the nation must focus on demand, trade, and geopolitics to sustain its current trajectory [3].
Economic projections for the 2024-25 period vary among sources. Some reports project a GDP growth rate between 6.8 and 7 percent [4], while other interviews cited a projection of 6.5 percent [3].
Mukundan said that deep structural reforms are necessary to maintain competitiveness. He specifically identified power, land, logistics, and infrastructure as the critical areas requiring reform to achieve the vision of a "Viksit Bharat" by 2047 [5].
The CII leader said that these reforms are essential to counter the effects of a volatile global environment. Without these changes, he said, India may struggle to overcome the headwinds created by international instability and shifting trade patterns [2].
“India’s growth story remains resilient, but challenges are mounting from global trade disruptions and geopolitical tensions.”
The warnings from the CII suggest that India's internal growth drivers may not be sufficient to offset external shocks. By emphasizing 'factor reforms' like land and power, Mukundan is signaling that the government must move beyond surface-level incentives and address the fundamental bottlenecks that discourage private investment and hinder industrial scaling.
