India Inc.'s Animal Spirits Back, Says New Ficci Chief Anish Shah

The animal spirits are back for India Inc. and there is a resurgence in the manufacturing space, according to the new Ficci chief Anish Shah.

"We in M&M have talked about doubling our capacity which we have done, producing vehicles that are best in the world, are competing with global leaders and winning by a big margin," Shah, who took over as president of Ficci, told NDTV Profit's Tamanna Inamdar in an interview.

"Are lot more needs to be done in terms of setting up markets around the world but "we are on a very good path already", he said. "That fact is that domestic companies building world-class products and are truly making in India for the world."

The confidence "we have to be able to not just win in India but around the world is really what I would refer to as animal spirits", he said.

There is a lot more that is required in the micro, small, and medium enterprises space, Shah said.

"As we think about building ecosystems for companies coming to India for supply chain and even for Indian manufacturers to grow, the ecosystem will consist of various MSMEs and not just large companies, said Shah, managing director of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. "And therefore its very important to develop this space."

It is not possible to achieve the set economic goals when only the large companies are growing bigger, Shah said. "It has to be on the back of women-led growth, farm contribution, MSMEs creating ecosystems, farm prosperity, and other inclusive factors.

On the upcoming 2024 election, Shah's expectation is for economics to be at the forefront, not politics. "The current government has put economics along with inclusive development ... and that is the expectations that we have."

Shah said there is limited time as companies worldwide are looking to diversify their supply chains. India is clearly a destination that can benefit from that and a lot of activity has happening already, Shah said.

"Ease of doing business, single window clearance, setting up of digital and physical infrastructure, and the government is making significant steps and doing activities that attract top companies into India."

The growth in exports will only accelerate further, according to Shah. "We have seen 10 times growth in export from FY17 to FY23, and this growth is not only sustainable but it would likely accelerate further."