Strategic Focus on Manufacturing, Investment and AI Crucial for India's 2047 Vision

During his address to the 13th SBI Banking & Economics Conclave in Mumbai, chief economic adviser V. Ananth Nagaswaran outlined the three pillars that must support India’s march toward a developed status by 2047: a revitalised manufacturing sector, a surge in foreign direct investment, and a skilled AI workforce. He placed India’s development path against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tension, the strategic re‑orientation of supply chains, climate‑related risks and a strong manufacturing challenge from China. Both public and private players, he said, must shed conventional mind‑sets and adopt innovative operational models. A resilient, balanced economy will require the concurrent strengthening of manufacturing and services, not a zero‑sum choice. The country’s goods‑trade deficit remains close to 3.5‑4 % of GDP once oil and gold are excluded, highlighting the need for deeper domestic production. Self‑reliance should extend beyond import substitution to building export‑competitiveness. To pull in global capital, India must tighten policy frameworks at central and state levels, ensuring tax certainty, regulatory simplicity, investor protection and a ready talent pool. Nagaswaran also urged the development of strategic reserves for essential items and the local manufacturing of small yet crucial components that could become supply‑chain choke points. He cautioned that merely erecting large plants does not guarantee economic durability; policymakers and industry must map weak links in supply chains and devise ready‑to‑act mitigation plans to avoid production setbacks.