Nilesh Shah, Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company, has stressed the importance of entrepreneurship in driving India’s economic growth while discussing the opportunities and challenges for the nation.
Shah shared examples of Indian companies excelling globally, including a Bengaluru-based firm that secured an order from Toyota to manufacture engine spare parts. “It always made engines within the group. And the first time they went outside, instead of a German, Japanese, or American company, they chose an Indian company,” he said, praising the company’s quality and capabilities.
Highlighting grassroots innovation, Shah mentioned, “Seven kids in a local engineering college raised 60 lakh rupees to make a prototype of a rocket engine. They made a 4,500 Newton thrust engine.”
Shah said that while India has made strides in improving ease of doing business, there remains significant room for progress. He criticised outdated laws, saying, “There is a law that says if you are running a factory and you are running a canteen, you have to maintain your canteen worker’s health record, and if not, you go behind bars for three years.”
The strengths
He attributed India’s growing global appeal to improvements in infrastructure, financing, and manufacturing capabilities.
Capital is available in both equity and debt markets. Credit is available as our banks are well-capitalized. The government has created infrastructure which is almost double of what we had in 2014 in 2024. So you have all the ingredients coming together.Nilesh Shah, MD, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company
Shah expressed optimism about foreign companies setting up bases in India, citing examples like Apple and Suzuki. “Suzuki came to India when our car market was very small and then remained here through all the ups and downs. But today, they make about 2 million cars. They are planning to build up to 4 million cars,” he said.He emphasised the need for India to market itself to global investors by showcasing its strengths: “We have to go and market it to the outside world—the large domestic market. Your IPRs remain protected. You get access to a large domestic market, you can use Indian labor and Indian talent for exporting and become part of global supply chain management.”
“As long as we support our entrepreneurs through ease of doing business, the rest of the things will fall in place,” he said
