Davos 2025: Trump Tariffs Not A Concern, But Need To Spur India Demand, Says Bharat Forge's Amit Kalyani

A possibility of US tariffs for Indian exporters does not concern Bharat Forge's Vice-Chairman and Joint Managing Director Amit Kalyani, as they will be managed by the country to prevent inflation, according to him. However, the Indian economy is not growing at the pace it needs to grow, he said.

Tariffs are a wait and watch, Kalyani said, adding he is not overtly concerned because it affects everyone and not just us. At the same time, he noted that the opportunity of a buoyant America market is great.

"We are very hopeful to see what is happening in India as we need something to boost our economy," Kalyani said. "It is not growing at the pace which we need it to grow, especially the manufacturing sector, because demand is not there."

For Bharat Forge, Kalyani sees a big opportunity in electronics. The company is not looking to acquire anything in Europe, and acquisitions will largely happen in India, he said, adding other geographies can be considered, but only for synergies or getting into new areas.

Another domestic concern for him is the amount of freebies, he said, adding he doesn't know how states can afford that in a low-to-medium growth scenario. "With that in place, I don't know how much room it leaves to play with interest rates," he said.

On the government's PLI schemes, he said, a lot of them are well meaning, but their impact will be seen 5-10 years from now. "We need PLI, but we also need something to spur demand which, therefore, creates the need to expand capacity," he said

From the upcoming budget, Kalyani expects the government to unshackle many sectors, where there are too many regulations for the private sector to effectively play along, including rail, roads, and housing. "It is not easy to do these businesses in India," he said. "Only the cities are developing, we need to improve quality of life in tier-2 and 3 cities."

Given the US scenario, he said 2025 is unpredictable in many ways. "One of the issues is what Trump gets done on resolving geopolitical issues," he said. "Resolving the Ukraine-Russia and Israel issues will be a big mood booster as it will normalise the economic situation."

Trump's focus on rebuilding America in terms of infrastructure will have a compounding impact on the entire economy, according to him. If it plays out well, it will bring manufacturing back. If the US economy does well, the world does well, he said.