MUMBAI: Mohandas Pai, chairman of Aarin Capital and former CFO of Infosys, highlighted India’s dynamic economic trajectory, driven by its young and innovative population.
He was addressing a session at the recently held Oxford India Forum.
“We see huge growth happening in this country, and we’re empowering problem solvers,” Pai said, predicting that the most exciting growth in the next five years will occur in India.
He described India as the next major hub for tech-driven value creation, highlighting the transformative impact of digitization.
Pai praised the burgeoning startup ecosystem in India, forecasting the emergence of 250 unicorns within the next two years.
He noted that India’s startup ecosystem, with 138,000 startups including 23,000 funded ones, ranks third globally, creating $550 billion in value. By 2032-33, this ecosystem is projected to create a $10 billion economy by accelerating business activities and boosting productivity.
“Indians are innovative. There are 6,300 AI startups. Every kid is starting an AI startup in Bangalore. 2,000 IoT startups, AR, VR, robotic startups. AI has become horizontal for everybody. Indians are creating unicorns globally. Forty-four percent of unicorn founders in the US are not US-born, and India has the largest share. India ranks third in global unicorn rankings,” Pai said.
He also credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for the significant transformation in India over the past decade, citing improvements in living conditions and basic amenities.
“We are doing well. We have grown very well. We transformed India. We’re transforming more of India, and we’ll transform the world. New digital public infrastructure is India’s solution to the world,” Pai said.
Pai also touched on India’s democratic strength, referencing the recent Lok Sabha elections.
“The greatest exercise in democracy throughout world history happened in India recently, and the people of India are very wise. They know what they want. They will vote for the government of their choice. They’ll bring to power the people they want. They will vote out whom they don’t want, and democracy works,” he asserted.
He also highlighted the positive developments in education, healthcare, and overall living standards, saying, “Poverty has come down. Deprivation has come down. People are in school. They’re getting better health. They’re living longer. A lot of good things are happening, and a lot of good things will happen in the future.” (source: India Today)
