ET World Leaders Forum 2026: India can emerge as global powerhouse for human capital

India is not just an investment destination but has the opportunity to emerge as a global hub for human capital, with its young population and talent offering the country an opportunity to become a provider and builder rather than merely a consumer, Karan Dinesh Singh Rawat, Partner and CEO of SPEC Finance, said.

"When I think of human capital, like we are at a unique opportunity and stage in our country, where we have the most young population in this entire world. What does that give us? That gives us a lot of opportunity. That opportunity is not just money. That opportunity is to be builders, not users. That opportunity is to be providers, not consumers," he said.

Rawat said India's history as a civilisation of builders should guide its economic transformation.


"All of us have been moving towards a consumerism market. But as individuals, I think India has always been a civilization, which has been a civilization of builders, not consumers," he said.

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He cited his experience with Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) as an example of opportunities that can exist well before they are widely recognised.

"My first few days, I used to think that when am I going to go back? But when I understood that there is a certain pace in how the city moves. I understood the thing very clearly through my experience in GIFT City, that miracles don't happen to you. Miracles are already there. They are in plain sight. You just have to identify them and make them your own," he said.

"GIFT City was that miracle for me. I was a young lawyer who had in GIFT City, who was trying to do a job. Eventually, when I left, you know, six months into it, I was an entrepreneur with millions of dollars behind my investment," Rawat said.

He urged young Indians to move beyond their comfort zones and recognise opportunities around them. "The difficult part is that we have to get out of our comfort zone. Gujarat was not my comfort zone, but then I yet decided to make it my comfort zone," he said.

Rawat said India's demographic scale gives it a responsibility beyond its own economic interests.

"We have to adopt the power of our history to make a future which is, I think, good for everybody, not just for India," he said.

He spoke about the evolution of SPEC Finance, which he said began with two people in a small room at an accelerator in GIFT City and is now seeking to become a catalyst for global finance.

"Because, you know, I don't think you need to make the rich richer. It's quite ironic I run a finance company and I'm saying this to you. But no, the fact is wealth is built through people, not through money. Money is an instrument of management," he added.