Sunil Bajaj - Group Director - CAD, ABG | Former Director - Essar Group

India’s $5 trillion economy ambition has been around for several years. What has changed is the timeline and, more importantly, the economic environment in which India now has to achieve it. The latest projections put India on track to reach the $5 trillion mark around FY2028-29, with the delay from earlier expectations reflecting factors including rupee depreciation and changes in the global economic environment. I don’t think the interesting question anymore is whether India can cross a particular dollar figure. The more important question is what kind of economy India builds on the way there. India’s latest official numbers provide a strong starting point. Real GDP is estimated to have grown 7.7% in FY2025-26, with nominal GDP reaching approximately ₹346.36 lakh crore. The IMF currently projects real growth of 6.4% for 2026, even against a global environment marked by geopolitical tensions and higher energy risks. Those are encouraging numbers. But sustaining that growth over severa...

India’s manufacturing story is entering a more demanding phase. The latest manufacturing PMI has fallen to its weakest level in nearly five years, pointing to softer demand and slower hiring across factories. It is an important signal, particularly after several years in which manufacturing has been one of the central pillars of India’s economic ambitions. But one monthly indicator should not be mistaken for the entire picture. Official industrial production data remains considerably stronger. Manufacturing output grew 7.8% year-on-year in June 2026, while overall industrial production grew 7.3%. Nineteen of 23 manufacturing industry groups recorded growth during the month. So, is India’s manufacturing momentum weakening? Perhaps at the margin. But the more important question is whether this is a temporary moderation in activity or the beginning of a more structural challenge. India has already built considerable manufacturing momentum Over the past few years, India’s manufacturing amb...

  The race toward renewable energy has never been more urgent. As climate change challenges grow, businesses and industries must act quickly to reduce their carbon footprints and adopt cleaner energy solutions. Leading the charge in India is Aditya Birla Group’s renewables arm, Aditya Birla Renewables . From humble beginnings, it has rapidly transformed into a clean energy powerhouse. With innovative thinking, a clear vision for the future, and bold steps, Aditya Birla Renewables is not only changing India’s green energy landscape but is also poised to be at the forefront of the worldwide shift toward a low-carbon economy. Green Beginnings: The Early Leadership by Aditya Birla Renewables Aditya Birla Renewables was founded in 2011, just as India launched its Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Mission , a transformative initiative that would shape the future of renewable energy in the country. From the very start, the company was one of the pioneers in this journey, helping launch India’s green...

It has transcended the realms of being an imperative but rather a necessity in saving a world facing an immediate climatic crisis. Solar and wind energy have reached maturity but only face one big challenge in its current stage: decarbonization for industries and sectors that could not be powered by electricity. Here is where green hydrogen fits into the new revolutionary paradigm for thinking about energy. What is Green Hydrogen? Green hydrogen is a clean fuel obtained by electrolysis, where electricity generated from renewable sources, such as wind, solar, or hydropower splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. Conventional hydrogen comes from natural gas and creates carbon emissions; on the other hand, green hydrogen creates no harmful emissions in the production process. The most exciting thing about green hydrogen is that it can be used in almost anything. It can be used to fuel vehicles, power industries that require high temperatures or energy density—industries that electricity al...

  For years, global supply chains were built around a fairly simple assumption: efficiency would outweigh almost everything else. If we take manufacturing to a faster, cheaper, and scalable pace, production would naturally be concentrated in a few geographic locations. This would have been very effective in the past. However, I believe 2026 marks a subtle yet important turning point. Based on the results of several studies on international trade and foreign investment, multinational corporations continue to expand their geographic exposure in manufacturing production, rather than concentrating too heavily on a single geographic location. It is interesting to note that China continues to contribute around 30% to total world manufacturing production, yet many major organizations are beginning to doubt the risks associated with it. That shift is changing the tone of global boardroom conversations The question is no longer just, “Where can we produce most efficiently?” Increasingly, it...

Not very long ago, energy was discussed largely in operational terms. Businesses worried about procurement costs. Governments worried about supply continuity. Beyond that, energy rarely entered mainstream economic thinking unless prices spiked dramatically. That is no longer the case. The importance of energy in the economy in 2026 is more extensive than we can think. According to the statistics by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and IEA, India depends upon 85-88% of the imported crude oil for its requirement. In the past, such numbers would probably sound like any ordinary statistic. However, with all the uncertainties prevailing in the world, their significance becomes even greater now. The old assumption was that global energy markets, despite periodic shocks, would eventually stabilise around commercial logic. What we are seeing now is something more complicated. Oil flows are increasingly influenced by strategic alignments, sanctions, production discipline from OPEC+, cu...

  The cement sector is one of the significant contributors toward the global carbon emission level in the world. It contributes to around 8% of total greenhouse emissions across the world. The urgency to combat climate change forces industries, particularly cement, to reduce their environmental footprint. Decarbonizing the cement sector is one of the critical steps toward achieving global climate goals, which involves all-inclusive measures incorporating innovative technologies, sustainable practices, and regulatory frameworks. We also discuss the emerging trends and green technologies that lead to the decarbonization of the cement industry, giving special importance to UltraTech Cement’s sustainability initiatives in this blog. The Challenge of Decarbonizing the Cement Industry Cement production is one of the most energy-intensive processes simply because the temperatures needed to break down limestone into clinker are so high and releases an enormous amount of carbon dioxide as a...