Progressive India: Thought Leaders Who Contributed to India's Growing Economy

Progressive India: Thought Leaders Who Contributed to India’s Growing Economy

As the COVID-19 pandemic is showing signs of slowing down, India’s economy is displaying signs of recovery. In FY 2020-21, India has already registered its highest ever FDI at $81.72 billion. By 2022, India is expected to be the world’s fastest-growing major economy once again. This comes with resumption of critical economic activities such as manufacturing and trade, as well as digitisation of services such as banking.

All these efforts to revive the country from a slump can be attributed to various progressive leaders from across major sectors.’

So, who are these leaders from various sectors that are significant economic contributors? Here’s a detailed list of progressive leaders who have shown and continue to show their worth as nation-builders.

List of Progressive Leaders Contributing to the Indian Economy from Major Sectors

Trade and Energy Infrastructure – Gautam Adani

Trade and commerce are the backbones of any nation. Founder and Chairman of the Adani Group – one of the largest conglomerates in India, Gautam Adani has emerged as one of the new progressive leaders. Under his leadership, Adani Group operates India’s largest shipping and trade business via Adani Ports and is responsible for keeping India’s critical supply afloat during lockdowns.

He is also gunning to turn India into the world’s leading renewable energy player with Adani Renewables, which is already the country’s leading solar power player. Through his focus on sustainability, Gautam Adani is enabling India towards a greener, cleaner, and a more progressive industrial path forward.

Financial Services – Sanjiv Bajaj

Banking and Finance is another major contributor to the Indian economy. As India emerges from the crisis, this sector is sure to play a key role in keeping individuals and businesses afloat with digitised and accessible capital for everyone. Among the top financial leaders in India is Sanjiv Bajaj, the Managing Director and Chairman of Bajaj Finserv. Under his aegis, Bajaj Finserv is enabling millions of Indians to achieve financial independence. As one of the modern Indian banking leaders, he has embraced fintech and ensured the digitalisation of financial services, thereby resulting in the unbanked or underpenetrated segments getting access to financial services.

This has made it easier for customers and MSMEs from Tier 2 and Tier 3 regions to access loans, capital, insurance, personal banking, and more through technology over the last decade. Sanjiv Bajaj is a proponent of cooperation among incumbents and fintechs where financial institutions can leapfrog the technology advantage of startups and create better services for the consumer.

Telecom – Mukesh Ambani

This is the age of connectivity. For 5G and digitalisation to become ever-present in the country, the telecom sector, especially service providers, will play a key role. Thankfully, the likes of Mukesh Ambani, the Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, have a proven track record of inciting economic growth via business strategy. His Reliance Jio venture was instrumental in making smartphones and cheap internet accessible to millions of rural and urban people. Now, it is on track to roll out superfast 5G and other technologies to bring the era of IoT and smart devices to the country.

Manufacturing – Sajjan Jindal

The manufacturing of raw materials is crucial for the infrastructural growth of India. This is why one of the best entrepreneurs and new progressive leaders, Sajjan Jindal, is on our list. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of JSW Group – a wholly invested conglomerate in many sectors, especially steel manufacturing. Under his leadership, JSW Steel has become India’s largest steel manufacturer and has a presence in over 100 countries. Their products have played a huge role in infrastructure and real estate booms in the country and should continue to do so for the foreseeable future as construction activity picks up pace.

IT – Natarajan Chandrasekharan

Did you know that the IT sector is responsible for over half of the FDI that the Indian economy receives? Massively vital to the country’s economic growth, the IT sector has one inspiring thought leader who has helped push India’s name as an IT behemoth: Natarajan Chandrasekharan. He is the CEO of Tata Consultancy Services – the world’s largest IT services company in terms of market cap.

Under his leadership, TCS became the largest private-sector employer in the country, catering to the aspirations of millions of hopeful citizens every year. He has also spearheaded innovation in the IT sector at TCS – a reason why it continues to add so much value to the nation’s economy.

What Our Economists Say

Here’s what some of the leading economists are saying about the nation’s economic resurgence under new progressive leaders and top financial leaders in India.

Eminent economist N R Bhanumurthy, the Vice-Chancellor of BR Ambedkar School of Economics told PTI, “Going by the recent trends in some of the leading indicators, there are clear positive signs and the Indian economy may be clearly moving out of the dark clouds covered by the pandemic.”

“Despite the COVID-19 severe shock, India’s macroeconomy is more healthy and ready for faster growth than it has been for a long time. That recovery from both the first and second waves was faster than expected points towards inherent strengths of the economy,” Ashima Goyal, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank, told PTI.

With optimism on the rise, there is reasonable confidence that the top financial leaders in India will continue to drive the momentum for economic growth and allow the nation to break free from the shackles of pandemic-led slowdown.