Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, has urged the automobile industry to increase private investment. Stating that the work requirement among young people is soaring, he said private investment is key to capitalising our demographic dividend.
“There is a good supply of labour. The need for jobs for young people, our demographic dividend, is high. Externally, too, conditions are working in our favour. It’s time to seize the day. I would argue that the most important thing the industry can do at this critical juncture is to increase private investment. Private capital investment is the key to capitalising on this opportunity. It’s a key driver of growth, jobs, and demand. After the economic reforms of the 1990s, it rose from around 10 per cent to around 27 per cent of GDP. However, from 2011-12 onwards, private investment as a percentage of GDP has been falling to a worrisome level. We need to remedy that situation,” said Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra, in the company’s annual report.
“The problem is not one of resources — rather, it is one of mindset. Particularly after Covid, Indian companies have become increasingly risk averse, sticking to the tried and true, rather than blazing new trails. To some extent, this is understandable.
But when opportunity beckons, when private industry can make a significant difference, it is time to set aside our fear of failure and take a leap of faith and self-belief,” he said.
The company saw volumes increase by 18.1 per cent in total automotive volume in FY24, with a 20.4 per cent market share in SUVs and a 41.6 per cent market share in farm equipment. The automaker has also announced an investment of ₹37,000 crore across all its segments.
“We have already announced an investment of ₹37,000 crores across our auto, farm and services businesses (excluding Tech Mahindra) in F25, F26 and F27. These investments will, to a large extent, go towards building capacity, with a pipeline of 26 new models/ facelifts in the next 5 years. Mahindra Finance’s loan book crossed the threshold of one lakh crores, increasing by 24 per cent over the previous year. The valuation of our Growth Gems increased over 4x in the last four years. The contribution of our services businesses (Mahindra Finance, Tech Mahindra and growth gems) to M&M’s net cash generation was almost seven thousand crores over the F22-F24 period,” added Mahindra.