India will become a global hub of future supply chains, an alternative to the supply chains currently centered around China, said N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, addressing the graduating students of the Anant National University’s fourth convocation ceremony.
He laid emphasis on future prospects of the Indian economy and the prowess it would command as a global force. “We are in a defining moment, where the global growth is going to be dominated by the growth in developing and emerging economies than from the developed economies for decades to come. And India already, is fast growing to be the largest growing economy in the coming year and possibly this decade,” said the Tata Sons Chairman, in his convocation address.
Chandrasekaran stated that India will emerge as an economy, “which is going to be driven by multiple positive engines, i.e. consumption, formalisation of economy, infrastructure-led economy, domestic as well as export growth-oriented economy. Because of all these, India will become a hub of the future supply chain. A supply-chain base, which will be an alternative to the global supply chain that is currently centered around China,” he said, adding that it will reflect in the sectors of manufacturing, hi-tech aerospace, pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, and materials, among others.
Pandemic impact
Terming the past two-three years under the pandemic as pivotal moment in history, Chandrasekaran stated that it felt like almost a “couple of decades of experiences all packaged in a short period of time. We’ve experienced a pandemic, an economic slowdown and a revival of huge magnitude, a geopolitical crisis, which is going to redefine the world, emergence of crypto, the emergence of technology, and many more.”
Addressing the students, faculty members and the parents, Chandrasekaran stated that the pandemic-hit years, while they caused a lot of hardships, also opened up enormous opportunities. That indicated some clear, unmistakable trends. On four defining trends, the business leader stated that first was the adoption of technology, where India has gained a decade of acceleration in the adoption of digital technology. “Second is sustainability. Climate change has become a reality and any goals on net zero will only get advanced. Every deadline we have, to be brought forward,” he said.
He underlined the third trend as the user experience, experiential design, and solutions that bring ease of use, safety, and wellness to the consumers. It will not only become attractive but will become criteria to follow. “If products and services don’t meet those criteria, they will not be accepted in the marketplace,” he said adding that the fourth trend is the future economic growth model, “that is where you are very fortunate to be in a country at this time, which has a huge potential.”
207 students graduate
Over 207 students were awarded degrees in the disciplines of Bachelor of Design, Bachelor of Architecture, Anant Fellowship for Climate Action, Anant Fellowship in Built Environment, and Master of Design – Integrated Product Design and Urban Design and Development. Also present were Ajay Piramal, President AnantU & Chairman of Piramal Group, Provost Dr Anunaya Chaubey, board members, faculty, and students.