'Make in India' viewed as reigniting growth

Mistry calls for a technology roadmap to be developed

Seeing opportunities in a challenging environment, Tata group chairman Cyrus Mistry on Wednesday said that the Modi government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign holds the “promise of reigniting growth in the years to come”.

In his New Year message to the employees of the over $100 billion Tata group, Mistry also stressed upon the need for firms of the conglomerate to keep pace with fast evolving technologies and develop a technology roadmap to effectively serve the evolving customer needs in the new age.

“Amidst a complex and unpredictable geopolitical environment, we find that new opportunities have emerged, but equally, several challenges persist. In India, recent policy measure and strategic direction defined by the government, especially its ambitious ‘Make in India’ campaign, hold the promise of reigniting growth in the years to come,” he said.

Reflecting on the year gone by, Mistry said, “Globally, major markets seem to be on two different growth tracks. Some countries, such as the US and the UK, continue to show signs of recovery and growth.”

“On the other hand, the large economies of China and Europe fell short of growth expectations. This has led to a fall in global commodity markets, which offers both challenges and opportunities.”

Highlighting the need for the group firms to be prepared to serve customers in a fast changing environment driven by technological developments, he said, “The customers and the markets we know are evolving. Today, emerging technologies in the digital and physical space are transforming business at a pace never seen before.

“We must deepen our understanding in several areas such as digitisation and big data analytics, and develop an innovation and technology roadmap to effectively serve evolving customer needs.” In his letter to nearly 5.82 lakh employees, Mistry said that “keeping with our pioneering spirit that is core to the group, we look to continue to invest in R&D and in the development of new technologies, which will become an integral part of our companies’ strategies”.

He also said it was “critically important” for the group firms “to collaborate and learn, not only from each other, but also from the global best” in today’s challenging economic and competitive environment that has put relentless pressure on margins.

Reiterating the group’s Vision 2025 targets, Mistry said that in the next 10 years, “25 per cent of the world’s population will experience the Tata commitment to improving the life of customers and communities. As a result, Tata will be among the 25 most admired corporate and employer brands globally.”