India's growth story enters a new phase of resilience, opportunity: KV Kamath

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 17 : India has emerged from economic stress and global disruptions with renewed strength, setting the stage for sustained long-term growth, Chairman, Jio Financial Services, KV Kamath said, crediting the Indian industry for rapidly repairing balance sheets and rebuilding confidence after the COVID-19 pandemic shock.

Speaking at a leadership forum, titled 'Holistic Leadership for an Inclusive World' organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Wednesday, Kamath described the period after 2020 as a decisive inflection point.

Corporate India, he said, responded to workforce shortages and operational disruption by improving efficiency and automation, which translated directly into stronger profitability.

"If anybody does an analysis of pre-Covid profitability and post-Covid... you will see Indian balance sheets come out much stronger," Kamath said, noting that companies also repaid debt, enabling banks to clean up non-performing assets..

The speed of recovery surprised even policymakers. Kamath recalled chairing a Reserve Bank of India committee that had estimated Rs 8-9 lakh crore of corporate debt would need restructuring.

"Instead of Rs 8.5-9.0 lakh crores coming up for restructuring, all that came up was Rs 45,000 crore," he said, calling it proof that Indian industry "reinvented" itself under a year after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Addressing concerns over capital availability, Kamath dismissed them. Drawing parallels with India's telecom revolution and renewable energy adoption, he said constraints have often disappeared through leapfrogging.

"Everywhere people used to say we are late to the party... and within a couple of years, that constraint was no longer a constraint," he said.

Kamath underscored infrastructure as both a necessity and a growth driver, arguing that investment decisions should be evaluated by their economic multiplier.

"Every single act of investment is accretive to GDP growth," he said, pointing to highways, logistics networks and urban renewal as catalysts for competitiveness and agricultural diversification.

Digital public infrastructure, he added, has become India's most visible differentiator.

Platforms such as Jan Dhan, UPI and digital payments have enabled financial inclusion at scale, he said, citing how millions now transact, save and invest digitally, often for the first time

Looking ahead to India's Independence centenary in 2047, Kamath said physical infrastructure and intellectual property-led growth would act as twin engines for the economy.

With entrepreneurship rising and capabilities expanding, he struck an optimistic note. "There was never a better time to have been born an Indian," he said, adding that discipline and skills development would be key to realising the vision of a developed India by 2047.

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