Former NITI Aayog CEO highlights India’s opportunity to shape a changing world economy through technology, manufacturing and sustainable growth
NEW DELHI: GTNS, SEPTEMBER 10, 2026; Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has outlined India’s expanding economic role amid a rapidly changing global landscape, with particular attention to industrial capacity, clean technology and the need for stronger innovation-led growth.
Speaking at the India Today BRICS Roundtable, Kant discussed the economic shifts taking place across the world and the opportunities available to India as BRICS countries seek greater cooperation in trade, investment, technology and development.
India’s industrial opportunity
Kant’s remarks placed India’s manufacturing capabilities at the heart of the country’s long-term economic strategy. With global supply chains being restructured, India has an opportunity to attract investment while developing domestic capabilities in strategically important industries.
The former NITI Aayog CEO has previously argued that India’s large talent pool and expanding technology ecosystem can become major advantages as the global economy moves towards new technology-driven sectors.
Clean technology gains importance
The discussion also comes at a time when clean energy and sustainable technologies are becoming increasingly important to global investment decisions.
For India, the challenge is not simply expanding renewable-energy capacity but building an industrial ecosystem around clean technologies, including manufacturing, innovation, skills and supply chains.
BRICS itself has increasingly become a platform for discussions involving sustainable development, infrastructure, energy and technology cooperation. India’s 2026 presidency is being conducted under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
BRICS and the changing global economy
The wider economic debate surrounding the 2026 BRICS summit is focused on how emerging economies can build greater economic options without creating another closed economic bloc.
Current discussions include local-currency trade, alternative payment mechanisms, development finance, connectivity and stronger South-South economic cooperation.
Against this backdrop, India’s industrial expansion could give the country a stronger position in global supply chains while allowing it to engage with multiple economic partners.
Technology, manufacturing and growth
Kant’s intervention comes as India seeks to combine its traditional strengths in services and human capital with a deeper manufacturing base.
The emerging opportunity extends from advanced manufacturing and digital technologies to clean energy, artificial intelligence and other high-growth sectors.
The broader message from the BRICS economic discussion is that India’s next phase of growth will depend not only on the size of its market, but also on its ability to develop technology, industrial capabilities and globally competitive enterprises.
With the BRICS Summit scheduled in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, economic cooperation is expected to remain a major component of discussions among participating countries.
Global Times News | INDIA ; GTNS
SEPTEMBER 10, 2026