There is great excitement about India globally and the country stands at a crucial juncture, ready to catapult into a $35-trillion economy in the next 24 years, marking an era of unprecedented growth, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said. “We are at the cusp of our nation’s history that will catapult India into a high-growth economy,” Goyal said at the ET NOW Leaders of Tomorrow Awards on Friday.
Emphasising India’s stature as a large and trusted economy, Goyal commended the global interest in investing, citing a meeting with a US investment house planning to double their $13-billion investment. Swarup Bose of Celcius Logistics Solutions was awarded Entrepreneur of The Year, Mohammad Hamza of Engineering & Environmental Solutions was recognised as Young Entrepreneur of The Year and Jayashree Nair of BDH Industries as Women Entrepreneur of The Year.
During a fireside chat V Vaidyanathan, MD & CEO, IDFC FIRST Bank, said that the optimistic MSME outlook stems from collective efforts of the government, the Reserve Bank of India, and banks, coupled with robust asset quality, digitisation, and ongoing infrastructure investments, empowering micro-entrepreneurs in India.
“With digital connectivity, including Aadhaar and Bharat’s optic network, India has achieved a remarkable feat, formalising the economy, notably for MSMEs. Over 100 million merchants now deal digitally through QR codes, facilitating trade and enabling micro-businesses,” he said. Marico chairman Harsh Mariwala and Salesforce chairperson and CEO Arundhati Bhattacharya were among the jury members.
