India needs 10K big companies and 10 champion states : Amitabh Kant

NEW DELHI : India needs to create 10,000 large companies to achieve the size and scale of manufacturing necessary to meet its growth ambitions, Amitabh Kant, India’s Group of Twenty (G20) Sherpa, said on Thursday. He added that the country should aspire to 10 per cent growth driven by the manufacturing sector.

Speaking at the Business Standard Manthan Event, Kant said that over the next five years, India should aim for 10 champion states to grow at a rate exceeding 10 per cent. This growth can drive India’s economy to expand by 9-10 per cent for the next three and a half decades, akin to the growth trajectories of South Korea, China, Taiwan, and Singapore.

“We need to empower states to lead transformation. We require 10-11 champion states… What the Centre has initiated, the states must now follow… Reforms are essential. They must dismantle rules and regulations from the Socialist era,” Kant expressed.

The former NITI Aayog chief executive officer stressed the importance of nurturing large companies with backward and forward integration with the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector to generate employment.

“India has too few large companies. It has an abundance of MSMEs. There’s no crime in growing big.”

Simultaneously, Kant advocated for India to become the world’s largest startup hub, challenging Silicon Valley. He suggested allowing private capital, including investments from Indian pension funds, insurance companies, and family businesses not yet involved in the startup ecosystem.

“The government must take the lead in ensuring Life Insurance Corporation of India invests in startups,” Kant urged.

Kant highlighted the necessity for Indian companies to integrate into the global value chain, underscoring the potential gains from the export market.

“Export markets offer five times the value. The minute you view the world as your market, you target not just India’s 1.4 billion people but the 5 billion transitioning from poverty to the middle class,” Kant explained.

Source : Business Standard