ET World Leaders Forum 2026: India Inc’s got all it takes to roll out ‘World+1’ model, says Kumar Manglam Birla

New Delhi: The global economy has developed strong shock absorbers to cope with a vastly greater order of stress, growing despite wars, a pandemic, interest rate hikes, tariff increases and energy jolts in the past few years, said Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman, Aditya Birla Group.

“Growth has probably slowed down and all of us — economies, corporations — have learnt to deal with a lot more stress,” said the head of one of India’s biggest conglomerates at The Economic Times World Leaders Forum 2026.

“The biggest source of stress is geopolitics. And there too, the global order is changing,” he said.


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The Aditya Birla Group, which has a market capitalisation of $118 billion, has taken a contrarian view during this period, expanding in new and traditional areas, he said, with businesses in India reflecting the underlying economy.

The group is currently in the midst of investments worth $30 billion spanning its various divisions — metals, cement, telecom, renewable energy, green fibre and carbon black.

Birla dismissed the standard China+1 supply chain strategy, rejecting it as “intellectually lazy,” calling instead on India Inc to adopt a “World+1” model. “We have all it takes, we have got a track record, and I think that we really can be a growth engine for the entire world,” he said.

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All large conglomerates in the country have been investing aggressively, Birla said, responding to rhetoric that the domestic capital expenditure cycle has been weak. “I don’t think we should confuse capital discipline with conviction about India. I find that conviction about India is perhaps the highest I have seen for a long time,” he said.

Investment in Ecosystems

The Aditya Birla Group is the largest manufacturer of cement in the country, is a leading producer of aluminium and entered the paints business two years back.

All the three businesses are currently seeing heightened competitive intensity.

Birla also said both competition and risk taking are an important part of running a business.

“It is always good to have a view on competition. But I think that we have focused on what we know best, which is running plants, investing deeply into ecosystems,” he said. “Our approach has been rather simple. We believe in running our own race.”

Birla, 59, who had to take over the group at the age of 28 after his father’s untimely death in 1995, spoke with quiet pride about his children —Ananya and Aryaman — who have been taking a greater role in the family business as well as striking out on their own. While he’s there for advice and guidance if needed, Birla also prefers to let them find their own way in their chosen individual pursuits.