Top brands spotlight India’s geoeconomic momentum at India Economic Conclave ’25

NEW DELHI: India’s corporate and policy elite gathered in New Delhi this week as Times Network staged the 11th India Economic Conclave, positioning geoeconomics as the defining force shaping the country’s growth ambitions in 2025.

The conclave, themed Navigating geoeconomics, served as a high-powered forum to examine India’s economic resilience, strategic autonomy and global standing amid a rapidly fragmenting world order. Discussions ranged across trade and capital flows, infrastructure and manufacturing, digital services, artificial intelligence, climate transition, mobility and defence preparedness.

Maruti Suzuki used the platform to articulate its deliberate stance on electric mobility. Senior executive officer, marketing and sales Partho Banerjee said the carmaker was focused on solving core ownership challenges rather than chasing early adopters in a segment that still accounts for just 4 per cent of monthly passenger vehicle sales. Despite the presence of nearly 18 electric models, Maruti is preparing the ground before rolling out its e-Vitara electric SUV in India.

To address range anxiety, the company has installed 2,000 dedicated EV charging points across more than 1,100 cities and partnered with 13 charge-point operators. It plans to scale this ecosystem to 1 lakh chargers nationwide by 2030 through dealer and operator networks.

Insurance reforms featured prominently. Axis Max Life Insurance managing director and CEO Sumit Madan, described GST 2.0 and the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025 as structural resets for the sector. He said allowing 100 per cent foreign direct investment would deepen competition, while the removal of GST on life insurance had already revived demand.

Payments and financial sovereignty formed another key theme. Pay10 Global and Eastern Fortune Investments chairman Prabhpreet Singh Gill said RBI’s 2025 cross-border licensing framework would enable Indian firms, particularly MSMEs, to expand internationally as countries tighten control over domestic payment systems. He argued that interoperable digital payments could reduce dependence on global networks and strengthen bilateral trade corridors.

Energy transition completed the picture. Luminous Power Technologies CMD Preeti Bajaj, positioned solar as India’s most scalable and affordable power source, calling for diversified battery technologies aligned with local conditions rather than a single global template.

IEC 2025 closed with a clear message: as global economic power splinters, India Inc is recalibrating strategy: less ideological, more transactional, and firmly anchored in national advantage.