What is needed to make India a $10-trillion economy? Ajay Piramal, Falguni Nayar, SN Subrahmanyan & Rohit Jawa explore the possibilities in a panel discussion

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

digital revolution that’s overshadowed many global markets, rapid urbanisation, growth of the premium consumer segment, and an increasingly robust regulatory framework, India seems poised to achieve its target of becoming a $10-trillion economy.

Broad-based recovery, higher private capex, loans to tier II and tier III areas, better capitalisation of investments and a massive push on education and upskilling are critical components of this growth trajectory. Piramal Group chairman Ajay Piramal, Larsen & Toubro managing director SN Subrahmanyan, Nykaa founder Falguni Nayar and Hindustan Unilever managing director Rohit Jawa talked about what it will take for India to achieve its targets in a discussion moderated by Arijit Barman. Edited excerpts:

In the last one year, the retail sector has seen a decline in value and volume growth in rural and lower income markets. Is this year’s recovery because of a lower base or is consumption demand returning?

ROHIT JAWA: I am actually very optimistic and charged by what I have seen. I see an absolutely path-breaking revolution in digital or soft infrastructure and a massive transformation in hard infrastructure: boats, bridges, roads, airports. And that means that the productive capacity of the economy is being unleashed.

On consumption, every segment of ours is about a fourth or fifth of neighbouring countries like China and Indonesia. So, you can see inflection curves and all categories will go through an S curve. It’s unlikely to be a smooth straight path. I think we must