Govt spending is keeping industry optimistic: Jindal Steel Director at 11th AIMA National Leadership Conclave

10 April 2026, New Delhi: Indian consumer sentiment remain unaffected by the war in west Asia, as it has not resulted in shortages on the street, and consumer confidence in the government’s ability to manage supplies is growing, according to India’s business leaders.

Speaking at the 11th National Leadership Conclave organized by All India Management Association (AIMA) Mr Prashant Tandon, Co-founder and CEO, Tata 1mg said that it is more the supply side that is looking in some kind of shock and the demand side is still to catch up. The system is giving them the essentials so far and they are inundated with too much information to react, he says. “Right now, the demand side in India is quite robust, but the resilience of companies will be tested,” he said.

Mr Sanjay Singh, Director- Strategy & External Relations, Jindal Steel Limited said that India’s GDP grew 7.6% last fiscal despite shocks and the government’s investment pipeline is a source of growth for the industry, particularly the steel sector. He pointed out that about 29% of all steel produced in India is bought by the government and its forecasted investment for the next five years is Rs 250 lakh crore. Overall, infrastructure and construction sectors buy two-thirds of all steel made in India, he said. However, he shared that government departments have pulled out the covid playbook and they are talking of alternative sources. He said that the government is considering multiple sources of inputs for the steel industry, as it is a logistics-dependent industry.

Mr Naveen Aggarwal, Office Managing Partner - Delhi NCR, KPMG in India hoped that the vulnerabilities would go away in a few weeks, because if they do not, prices will move upwards. “We’ve not seen the inflation hitting retail customers so far, but once it does, there will be some products that will become loss making or impossible to sell at a higher price point,” he said.

Mr Tandon said that building resilience often involves having resilient partners, as key suppliers and service providers to large companies may struggle to continue at the given price point. He said the cost of packaging is likely to go up and companies have to worry about their packaging supplier going under. One needs to diversify supplier base to avoid a situation where a critical supplier exits suddenly, he said.

Mr Shiv Siddhanth Kaul, Managing Director, NECO Engineering Services described human resources as Indian economy’s key challenge at the moment, as AI is expected to destroy jobs. However, he argued that AI would also create huge business opportunities, especially for small companies that could turbo-charge their business with AI. “Don’t invest in a new plant if the world is falling apart, but invest in human resources to ensure that the workforce has the technical skills,” he said.

Commenting on India’s dependence on imported technologies, Mr Singh said that India’s R&D is dominated by the government, where high risk-high reward bets are unlikely. Mr Kaul talked about private sector's challenges in getting scientists to do research. “The PhD students aren't necessarily trained to do research in a way that's commercially sensible or viable,” he said.

The panel agreed that India needs a balance between growth and resilience, and between assured returns and risky research.

The panel discussion was moderated by Mr Pranjal Sharma, Economic analyst, advisor and author.

The conclave was attended by more than 500 delegates and it was livestreamed on AIMA’s social media channels.

Company :-All India Management Association

User :- Ranjana Bhardwaj

Email :-rbhardwaj@aima.in