India’s legacy businesses are embracing change to move forward

India is celebrating its 76th Independence Day at a time when the world is engulfed by economic and geopolitical uncertainties that have sparked an oil price frenzy, unsettling the global economy.

“The path to economic recovery remains highly uncertain and vulnerable as India wriggles its way through uncertainties,” warns Rumki Majumdar, an economist at Deloitte India.

But, India is still in a better position to deal with the situation backed by strong domestic demand that puts the country on the path of one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

“We believe the risks are not strong enough to deny India an economic rebound, given the potential for domestic demand,” says Majumdar.

Deloitte expects India to grow at 7.1–7.6 per cent in the financial year 2022–23 and 6–6.7 per cent in the financial year 2023–24.

“This will ensure that India reigns as the world’s fastest-growing economy over the next few years, driving world growth even as several major economies brace themselves for a slowdown or possibly a recession,” she adds.

Economic liberalisation

While India today is writing an inspiring growth story, the foundation for which was made in the 1990s when the country chose to adopt a path of economic liberalisation. Ever since, its home-grown conglomerates – a backbone of the Indian economy today – have played a major role in establishing the country on the world stage as a formidable player.

“India’s growth story is remarkable,” says Nadir Godrej, Chairman and Managing Director, Godrej Industries Limited.

The head of the Rs153-billion (Dh7 billion) business empire recalls the private sector was highly constrained by the Licence Raj. “We had to wait for the liberalisation of the early 1990s to spread our wings.”

Godrej shares how initially they had to enter into joint ventures with multinationals in order to learn. “But gradually our self-confidence increased and we could soon soar. We gradually bought out our partners as well.”

Today, he points out that both developing and developed countries are suffering due to current geopolitical issues, which will affect India’s exports. “But, India is very well positioned and will continue to grow,” adds Godrej.

While the pandemic created a dent in economic growth globally, including in India, industry experts insist that the country is on its way to recovery aided by robust growth in demand.

“The country’s long-term growth process continues to be steady, stable, diversified and resilient,” says Harsh Goenka, Chairman, RPG Enterprises.

He lists out multiple reforms over the past few years such as GST, Production Linked Incentive (PLI), support for start-ups, and a focus on Make In India that will be pivotal in pushing India towards the goal of reaching a $5-trillion (Dh18.3 trillion) economy in the next two to three years. Without a doubt, Goenka says India continues to remain one of the fastestgrowing key economies globally and is well poised to accelerate the growth rate to 8 per cent per annum.

Adapting to changing market

As India’s working-age population (15-64 years) is set to expand from 938.6 million in 2020 to 1 billion by 2030, as per United Nations, the country’s heritage businesses are tasked with constantly disrupting practices in order to thrive in the changing industrial landscape.

“India’s expanding young working age cohort will especially fuel demand for digitally enabled services while also boosting the sharing as well as the gig economy,” says Neha Anna Thomas, Senior Economist, Frost & Sullivan.

In line with evolving social and demographic trends and changing consumer preferences, she says India’s oldest conglomerates are also seen to be expanding their solutions portfolio, be it Aditya Birla Group’s recent partnership with House of Masaba capitalising on the evolving fashion and beauty needs of young, digitally savvy consumers, or Tata Group’s launch of a super app integrating all multiple brands for a seamless digital experience.

Acknowledging that days of staid business practices are over, Godrej says, “Disruption is the name of the game.” Giving one example, he says the company introduced India’s first ready-to-mix body wash, which was always considered a premium product unaffordable to the masses. “We have democratised the product by making it very affordable.”

The Godrej Group’s other flagship company Godrej & Boyce says engineering excellence and a strong pioneering spirit have always been the operating philosophy of the company. “Our B2B businesses have been built through strategic investments in high-end engineering capabilities and manufacturing scale,” says Anil G. Verma, Executive Director and President, Godrej & Boyce (G&B).

To capture new opportunities emerging in a digital-first, Industry 4.0 world, he says G&B is reimagining and reengineering its portfolio by investing in digital technologies and processes, building new skill sets among employees and engaging with customers across social and online platforms.

RPG Group, which has a diversified portfolio in the areas of infrastructure, tyres, information technology, health, energy and plantations, with major brands like CEAT Tyres and KEC under its umbrella, has been gearing up for the changing industrial landscape and charging ahead with India’s future economic growth. “We are constantly reorienting our core businesses in line with the emerging megatrends and growth opportunities in adjacencies,” says Goenka.

For example, CEAT Tyres devotes significant efforts to be a leading innovator in tyre technologies to meet emerging needs, especially in electrical vehicles. In addition, CEAT has incubated a business targeting fleet advisory services, an emerging adjacent opportunity.

On the digital front, the company has launched a major digital transformation exercise to usher in Industry 4.0 at CEAT’s manufacturing plants.

On the people front, he says RPG was one of the first companies in the industry to announce a permanent hybrid work policy. “We have followed that up with many other progressive HR policies related to diversity and inclusion,” adds Goenka.

According to S. N. Subrahmanyan, CEO and Managing Director at Larsen & Toubro (L&T), two recent megatrends of global relevance are technology advancement and adoption and the concerted efforts to decelerate climate change. “We, at L&T, are making our presence felt in both these spheres,” he says.

Using almost every possible technology such as IoT, cloud, mobility, BIM, AR, VR, analytics, AI, ML, geospatial and more, L&T has successfully enhanced productivity and efficiencies with real-time visibility of operations and predictive analysis.

“On the green front, we aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040 and water neutrality by 2035 by integrating ESG into our strategy to improve resource efficiency and reduce carbon footprint,” he adds.

India’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland says it has taken various ground-breaking measures and initiatives over the years.

“We firmly believe that it is as important to make in India as it is to design in India,” says Amandeep Singh, Head – International Operations, Ashok Leyland. “That way, we are not just a manufacturing hub but also an intellectual hub for product and technology development. We have several patents and IPs that showcase our level of innovation.”

The most recent example of its innovation is the AVTR platform and its inherent modularity of the platform.

“It essentially gives clients the freedom of choice, which was missing until now in the commercial vehicle segment. What AVTR range provides is the exact solution for the specific need of customers, hence delivering 100 per cent on the need and ensuring the product is used optimally to generate maximum profitability.”

Singh says the country’s 75th anniversary of independence is an occasion to take stock of the accomplishments over the past eight decades and to consider what further needs to be done.

“Finally, we must define our goals, solidify our vision, and align people, institutions and policies with the future vision,” he adds. ●