Top industrialist Anand Mahindra on Wednesday emphasized that India must use the imposition of 50% tariffs by the US as a catalyst to make the nation greater than ever. He urged the country to seize this moment to shape a virtuous outcome amid the evolving global trade environment.
According to the Mahindra & Mahindra Chairman, the “law of unintended consequences” is quietly at play in the ongoing tariff war triggered by the United States.
“The EU may appear to have accepted the evolving global tariff regime, responding with its own strategic adjustments. Yet the friction has nudged Europe to rethink its security dependence, leading to higher defence spending in France and Germany. In the process, Germany has moderated its fiscal orthodoxy, which may well catalyse a resurgence in Europe’s major economies. The world could gain a new engine for growth,” said Mahindra on X.
He added that in Canada, long held back by internal trade barriers between provinces, steps are now being taken to dismantle them – bringing the country closer to a common market and improving economic resilience.
“Both these ‘unintended consequences’ could become long-term positives for global growth. Shouldn’t India too seize this moment to shape a virtuous consequence for itself? Just as the 1991 forex reserves crisis triggered liberalisation, can today’s global manthan over tariffs yield some amrit for us?” he asked.
Mahindra stressed that India must radically improve the ease of doing business, moving beyond incremental reforms to implement a genuinely effective single-window clearance system for all investment proposals.
“While states control many investment regulations, we can begin with a coalition of willing states aligning with a national single-window platform. If we demonstrate speed, simplicity, and predictability, we can make India an irresistible destination for global capital in a world seeking trusted partners,” he noted.
He also identified tourism as one of the country’s most underutilized sources of foreign exchange and employment.
“We need to dramatically accelerate visa processing, improve tourist facilitation, and build dedicated tourism corridors around existing hotspots, offering assured security, sanitation, and hygiene. These corridors can serve as models of excellence, encouraging other regions to emulate and raise national standards,” he said.
Mahindra proposed a broader action plan, including strengthening liquidity support for MSMEs; accelerating infrastructure investment; boosting manufacturing through expansion of PLI schemes and rationalizing import duties, especially on manufacturing inputs, to improve competitiveness.
“Let the unintended consequences we create be the most intentional and transformative ones of all. We cannot fault others for putting their nations first. But we should be inspired to make our own nation greater than ever,” he concluded.
(With inputs from IANS)
