KPMG India CEO hails India’s resilience, calls for business diversification | Today’s news
New Delhi: India has shown resilience against rising geopolitical tensions, global trade uncertainty and supply chain disruptions, maintaining strong economic growth and domestic consumption, said Yezdi Nagporewalla, CEO, KPMG India.
He warned that geopolitical uncertainty and its impact on global trade and supply chains is likely to persist. The key question, Nagporewalla said, is how effectively India can navigate this environment while maintaining growth and innovation.
“If you look at GDP (gross domestic product) growth and broader economic indicators, India has shown sustainability and resilience. Despite global challenges, we have continued to grow, supported by the strength of domestic consumption,” Nagporewalla told Mint on the sidelines of ENRich 2026, KPMG’s annual energy and natural resources conference, being held on November 2-3 in New Delhi.
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According to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI), India’s real GDP grew by 7.8% year-on-year in the April-June quarter of FY27, compared to 6.9% in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Nagporewalla said the world is moving away from the globalization model that prevailed a decade ago as countries become more inward-looking and establish new trade relationships with other markets.
“The US has traditionally been a key trading partner, but recent developments have reinforced India’s need to diversify its trade relationships, strengthen global supply chains and build greater domestic resilience. This also presents an opportunity to increase India’s attractiveness as a global trade and investment destination,” he added.
The global business environment has been increasingly shaped by geopolitical realignments, growing trade protectionism and disruptions to critical supply chains. Ongoing conflict in West Asia has raised concerns about energy security and shipping routes, while uncertainty over tariffs and strategic tensions between major economies such as the US and China are reshaping global trade flows, he said.
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When asked whether India will move away from its identity as a service-led economy and become a manufacturing-led economy, Nagporewalla said there is a concerted effort to strengthen the manufacturing sector.
In October, Mint wrote about how Indian manufacturing startups saw a surge in investor interest and a surge in revenue as the country ramped up efforts to boost domestic manufacturing. Funding for such startups jumped from $164 million in 2020, when the pandemic hit, to $1.92 billion in 2026, according to data platform Venture Intelligence.
“We need the right balance between manufacturing and services. The changes brought about by AI are also transforming the services sector, so it is important that India diversify its economic strengths – for example, sectors like semiconductors, critical minerals and data centers,” he added.
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The fact that services have traditionally played a dominant role in India’s economy has also shaped the country’s skill and talent pool, Nagporewalla added. However, artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the nature of this requirement.
The recently released KPMG India CEO Outlook 2026 report found that attracting and retaining talent (54%) and addressing skills gaps (53%) are among the top workforce challenges for Indian CEOs.
“The challenge for businesses today is to enable their existing workforce to work effectively with AI. This will require both upskilling and reskilling. The skills that made someone employable a few years ago may no longer be enough. Employees today also need the ability to work alongside AI,” Nagporewalla said.
Talking about the impact of artificial intelligence in the consulting industry, Nagporewalla said that the new technology is set to reshape not only consulting but also insurance, tax and advisory firms.
“From automating assurance processes and analyzing legal precedents in tax to streamlining the implementation of technology in consulting, its potential to improve productivity is significant. We are already incorporating AI into our processes to increase efficiency and enhance delivery. However, human judgment and oversight will continue to be key, particularly in ensuring accuracy and maintaining quality,” he added.
Talking about the use of AI at KPMG, Nagporewalla said the company’s AI strategy has two broad dimensions. The first is internal adoption, with much of the company’s research now being automated or supported by agents. “We are also introducing agents into internal operational processes. The second dimension is the integration of AI into our client engagements. We are working to ensure that AI capabilities are part of our core engagements,” he added.
