Policy, AI and growth themes set tone at Day 1 of BS Manthan 2026

Union ministers, industry leaders and market experts gathered at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Tuesday for the opening day of Business Standard Manthan 2026, where discussions centred on trade, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, manufacturing and long-term growth as India positions itself for the decades ahead.

 

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari headlined the first day of the summit, which brought together policymakers and corporate leaders to debate what it will take to make India future-ready. The third edition of Business Standard’s annual forum featured keynote sessions, fireside chats and panel discussions spanning markets, agriculture, technology and sustainability.

 

Trade outlook amid global tariff uncertainty

 

Addressing recent global developments after the US Supreme Court revoked tariffs imposed under emergency powers and subsequent announcements by US President Donald Trump on a 15 per cent global import tariff, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India would resume trade discussions with Washington once there was greater clarity.

 

“We will resume trade talks with the US as soon as there is more clarity on the situation,” Goyal said at the summit.

 

Speaking on the theme Making India Future Ready, he said industrial policy must be anchored in quality and sustainability. “Industrial policy will always rest on two pillars — high quality and sustainability. You cannot become a global player without quality in goods, services and technology, and without respecting sustainability and environmental impact,” he said.

 

Infrastructure, fuels and tech on the road to 2047

 

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari outlined a long-term blueprint for India’s infrastructure and mobility ecosystem, linking faster highways, alternative fuels and technological adoption to economic transformation.

 

Speaking during a fireside chat titled Making India Future Ready: On Road to 2047, Gadkari said India’s future would depend on faster road construction, lower logistics costs, cheaper electric vehicles, hydrogen priced at $1 per kg, seamless tolling and improved road safety. He argued that scale, speed of execution and technology integration would determine whether the country could achieve its economic ambitions by 2047.

 

On artificial intelligence, he said the technology was already being deployed in highway construction and monitoring. “Innovation, entrepreneurship, science, technology, research — we call all of this knowledge. And conversion of knowledge into wealth is the future,” he said.

 

AI cycle and market returns under scrutiny

 

Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, said the artificial intelligence-driven rally in global markets could face greater scrutiny this year as investors begin to question returns on heavy spending by large technology firms.

 

Speaking on the role of AI and its impact on markets, Wood said the AI investment cycle began around three years ago, when Microsoft invested in OpenAI in 2023 and hyperscalers responded to competitive pressures. He said the market had begun to question whether these firms would generate adequate returns as their models shifted from asset-light to asset-heavy.

 

“In my view, this is the year when the US stock market would start to question whether these hyperscalers are going to get any return on their investment,” he said, noting that the four largest hyperscalers had projected around $620 billion in AI capital expenditure this year. That spending, he said, had fuelled a rally in AI-related stocks, particularly in South Korea and Taiwan.

 

Productivity focus for a demographic decade

 

NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Suman Bery said India’s demographic trajectory over the next 25 years would require a sharper focus on productivity as the working-age population expands.

 

Speaking during a session titled A path towards a modern India, Bery said improving labour productivity would be critical to sustaining growth. Drawing on global examples, he said the idea of a dedicated productivity-focused institutional framework could be worth considering.

 

“Australia has something called a Productivity Commission, and the thought has gone through my mind that maybe we should rebrand it as a productivity commission,” he said, adding that the remark was not a formal proposal but an idea worth reflecting on.

 

Consumer-first strategies reshape FMCG playbook

 

Sanjiv Puri, chairman and managing director of ITC, said fast-moving consumer goods companies must remain consumer-centric and adapt continuously to shifting preferences and channels.

 

Speaking in a fireside chat titled Reimagining FMCG for a Future-Ready India, Puri said companies needed to be omnichannel and agile in product development. “We must be where the consumer is and serve what the consumer needs. That means being omnichannel and continuously refreshing and revitalising our portfolio,” he said.

 

He pointed to ITC’s strategy of scaling core brands while building new growth avenues through acquisitions such as Yoga Bar, 24 Mantra, Prasuma and Mother Sparsh.

 

No proposal to revive repealed farm laws

 

Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said there was no proposal at present to reintroduce the farm laws that were repealed earlier.

 

Speaking during a discussion on New realities of the farm sector, Chouhan outlined a roadmap focused on farmer welfare through structural reforms and targeted interventions. He said the government’s priority remained strengthening the agricultural ecosystem rather than revisiting repealed legislation.

 

PLI seen as catalyst for EV export opportunity

 

Tarun Mehta, co-founder and chief executive officer of Ather Energy, said the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme could unlock a major export opportunity for India’s electric two-wheeler industry if implemented with parity for startups.

 

Speaking on Day 1 of the summit, Mehta said the global electric two-wheeler market represented a roughly $100 billion opportunity. “PLI is an amazing policy. If delivered properly, it can unlock massive exports of electric two-wheelers from India,” he said.

 

He added that India already accounted for 7–8 per cent of global two-wheeler revenue and could leverage its manufacturing base to expand exports further.

 

Electronics manufacturing at an inflection point

 

Atul Lall, managing director and chief executive officer of Dixon Technologies, said India’s electronics manufacturing sector had reached an inflection point, with the next phase requiring deeper value addition and stronger intellectual property ownership.

 

Speaking during a fireside chat titled Industry 5.0: Scaling up India’s factories, Lall said the country must move beyond assembly to specialised talent development, AI adoption and design-led manufacturing. “Every crisis creates an opportunity. That’s how Dixon was born,” he said, recounting the company’s early years when electronics manufacturing services were not widely established in India.

 

Growth, inclusion and sustainability for 2047

 

Professor S Mahendra Dev, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, outlined a three-pronged vision for India’s development as it moves towards becoming a developed economy by 2047.

 

Speaking on the theme Reforms Agenda, he said growth, inclusion and sustainability would shape the country’s long-term trajectory. Raising per capita income, he said, would require stronger exports, technological advancement, productivity gains and investment in human capital.

 

He also stressed the need to improve female labour force participation. “Female participation rates are about 35 per cent in India. The world average is 50 per cent, so we have to reach that level,” he said, adding that digitalisation and artificial intelligence could support productivity and growth.

 

Focus shifts to finance, energy and digital regulation on Day 2

 

The summit will continue on Wednesday with Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union New and Renewable Energy and Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi scheduled to speak, as discussions turn to economic policy and geopolitical uncertainty.

 

Competition Commission of India Chairperson Ravneet Kaur will address Data and Dominance in a Digital First India, while ReNew Power chief executive Suman Sinha will speak on India’s energy transition in a session titled From coal to cells. The event is set to conclude with filmmaker Shekhar Kapur’s session on Cinema in the age of AI.