The key policy reforms undertaken by the Government are expected to catapult India as the global industrial and economic power in 10 years.

Prashant Jain, former CIO, HDFC AMC, said it would not be an exaggeration to suffice that given the favourable demographics, key policy reforms that have been undertaken in India and bandwidth to accelerate manufacturing and service delivery capabilities, the country is all set to become a global industrial and economic power over the next 10 years.

The Indian economy is extremely well placed and resilient to global volatilities due to the policy reform measures taken in the last few years, he said at the Morningstar Investment Conference.

There has been a significant improvement in business in India with the work-from-home concept gaining mainstream acceptance during the Covid phase. The reforms undertaken have unlocked opportunities for India on the back of our demographic dividend which is one of the best in the world, he said.

Long-serving fund manager

One of the world’s longest-serving fund managers, Jain was responsible for overseeing assets under management of over ₹4-lakh crore as the CIO of the HDFC Asset Management Company and directly managed about ₹1-lakh crore under four predominantly equity schemes.

A B-Tech from IIT Kanpur and management graduate from IIM Bangalore, Jain started his career at SBI Mutual Fund in 1993 before moving to Zurich Asset Management, which was acquired by HDFC Mutual Fund in June 2003. He quit HDFC AMC in July and is all set to start his own Alternative Investment Fund.

Global concerns

Europe is in the throes of surging inflation and struggling with weak demographics, while the US is grappling with dwindling labour productivity. “Going forward, I foresee a strong professional workforce in India having not just strong software competencies, but also the requisite soft skills needed to face a global competitive ecosystem,” he added.

At the same time, India should gear up its resources, both human and material, to scale up manufacturing efficiencies on par with China. In the post-Covid world, the world has realised the importance of decoupling supply chains which were concentrated in China, said Jain.

The world is eager to accept and implement the China plus one model. The Indian government is very supportive of encouraging manufacturing through various initiatives. The continuing energy crisis in Europe, which is likely to be exacerbated going further, will make manufacturing a challenging affair in the continent, he added.

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