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The Machinery Of India’s Next Leap
The Weekend Playlist
In partnership with
Good morning.
If last weekend playlist was about the fine print of India’s promise, this edition is about the infrastructure of making good on it.
Pratik Agarwal explains why electricity could become the backbone of a new growth cycle, if India can build the transmission and storage to match its renewable ambition. Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman lays out ANRF’s attempt to fund deep tech with patient capital, not quick-return money. Rajiv Kumar argues that manufacturing needs the one thing India still underplays: export competitiveness.
India’s opportunity now depends on building the systems that let growth travel.
WEEKEND EDITION
The Grid Behind India’s Power Boom
The next Indian infrastructure story may not be roads, ports or airports. It may be the grid.
In this episode of Weekend Edition, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Sterlite Electric’s Pratik Agarwal who states that India crossing 270 GW of peak power demand is not just a record. It is a signal that the economy may be ready to move from fossil-fuel dependence to what he calls an “electrostate”, where electricity powers transport, cooking, cooling, factories, data centres and industrial growth. India currently gets about 25% of its energy from electricity; the ambition is to push that much higher.
But this is not simply a renewables story. Agarwal is of the opinion that the real game is round-the-clock green power: combining solar, wind, batteries, pumped hydro and the national grid to serve industrial customers continuously. Hindustan Zinc, for instance, is shifting a large share of its power use from coal to renewables while reducing costs.
The bottleneck is transmission. Renewable capacity can be built faster than the grid that carries it. That makes high-voltage lines, underground cables, sensors, drones, AI-led optimisation and grid storage central to India’s energy transition.
Key Insight
The bigger opportunity may be AI data centres, where India’s cheap, fast, green power could become a global advantage.
SPECIAL EDITION
India’s Patient Capital Experiment
Can India’s deep-tech dreams finally find patient money?
In this episode of Special Edition, Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with ANRF CEO Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman who explains that the first cohort of their funds is already backing companies across 6G, space tech, satellites, health tech, biotech, drones, and applied AI. The money is not structured as conventional grants. It comes as long-term debt, convertibles, or blended instruments, capital that can wait while deep-tech companies commercialise difficult science.
The shift is important. India has long had strong scientific talent but weak bridges between labs, startups, large companies, procurement, regulation, and markets. ANRF is trying to build that bridge: grants for academia and labs, translation programmes for early-stage ideas, and scale-up capital for private companies. It also wants CSR, philanthropy, and professional fund managers to multiply the impact.
But this is not just about money. Monitoring, mentoring, procurement, regulation, global markets, and exit options still need work.
Key Insight
The money may open the door. But India’s real DARPA test is whether science can move from paper to product to procurement.
THE CORE QUIZ
Which Indian automaker exported the highest number of passenger vehicles in FY2026? |
HOW INDIA’S ECONOMY WORKS
India’s Missing Manufacturing Scale
Make in India will not work at full scale unless India also learns to export from India.
In the latest episode of How India’s Economy Works, journalist and author Puja Mehra speaks with NITI Aayog’s Dr. Rajiv Kumar who argues that India cannot become a serious manufacturing power by selling mainly to itself. India may have a large population, but it is not yet a large enough market: low per-capita income and uneven purchasing power mean domestic demand cannot deliver the scale manufacturers need. Without scale, there is no competitiveness. Without competitiveness, manufacturing’s share in GDP will not rise.
His prescription is blunt: India needs export-led manufacturing. That means moving beyond petroleum exports and capital-intensive sectors, and pushing labour-intensive industries such as garments, leather, toys, light engineering, gems and jewellery, and food processing. The disappointment is stark. Bangladesh has built a stronger garment export story, often with Indian entrepreneurs and professionals, while India’s own labour-intensive sectors have struggled.
Key Insight
The real test is whether India can turn protection-seeking industries into export-competing industries.
THE CORE X EDGE BRIEFING
After our session last month on “Navigating Market Risk 2026”,” we’re back to tackle another big debate. Leading voices from India’s asset management industry will examine how investors should think about volatility, diversification, asset allocation, currency risk, and portfolio strategy in a shifting global environment.
As Indian investors look beyond a strong home-market story, the discussion will explore a critical question: where are new market opportunities emerging, and how should investors track them while managing risk.
What Attendees Can Expect: Indian investors have benefited from a strong home-market story for many years. But with volatility rising, currencies moving, and global markets shifting, the question now is how portfolios should balance risk across asset classes, markets, and regions.
Speakers
Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO, Edelweiss Mutual Fund
Radhika Gupta is one of India’s most prominent voices in asset management and personal finance. As MD & CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, she has been at the forefront of conversations around investor behaviour, global financial investing, long-term investing, and building disciplined portfolios through market cycles.
Navneet Munot, MD & CEO, HDFC Asset Management Company Limited
Navneet Munot leads one of India’s largest asset management companies and brings deep experience across equity, fixed income, macro strategy, and institutional investing. His perspective will help frame how investors should think about risk, returns, and diversification in a shifting market environment.
This is an invite-only session with limited seats.
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