Leaders from government, industry and global economic institutions gathered in New Delhi on Tuesday for the opening day of Times Network’s 11th India Economic Conclave (IEC 2025), setting the tone for discussions on India’s economic strategy in a rapidly changing global order. The two-day event, being held at Taj Palace, is themed “Navigating Geoeconomics” and is centred on India’s growth ambitions, strategic autonomy and positioning in an increasingly multipolar world.

According to a Times Network press release, Day 1 of IEC 2025 featured a series of high-impact sessions examining economic resilience, trade and capital flows, infrastructure and manufacturing, digital and services-led growth, and emerging priorities such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, climate transition, mobility and defence preparedness. The conclave brought together senior policymakers, business leaders and global experts to reflect on how economics and geopolitics are becoming deeply intertwined.

Setting the context for the discussions, Vineet Jain, Managing Director of The Times Group, said the world is witnessing a fundamental recalibration of the global order. “We meet at a moment when the global order is undergoing rapid calibration. Economic power blocs are shifting, tariff battles are redefining trade flows, technological supremacy is the new currency of influence, and energy geopolitics is reshaping alliances across continents,” he said. Referring to India’s growth trajectory, Jain noted that the country’s latest GDP numbers reaffirm its position as the world’s fastest-growing major economy. “India’s moment is not approaching, it is here,” he said, outlining the long-term vision of building a fully developed and globally influential nation by 2047.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted India’s ability to navigate global economic turbulence while sustaining steady growth. She stressed the importance of recognising the country’s achievements despite external headwinds. “Navigating geoeconomics while remaining a bright spot of fast and steady growth and sustaining that level of growth year after year — is something the people of India are achieving. I believe each one of us, including political parties & critics, should recognise this,” she said. Sitharaman underlined the government’s policy focus on micro, small and medium enterprises, describing them as central to job creation, manufacturing and exports.

Addressing global trade dynamics, the finance minister pointed to the increasing use of tariffs and non-tariff barriers as strategic tools. “Globally, it is now very clear that trade is neither fair nor free,” she said, adding, “Tariffs have been weaponised globally. India’s intention was never to weaponize tariffs. We have safeguarded our industries.” She cautioned that India would need to negotiate carefully in an environment marked by rising economic nationalism, while also recalling India’s historical role in global trade. “Nearly 25 percent of global trade once emanated from India. That is the kind of period we should be aiming to return to,” she said.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari spoke about infrastructure as a key growth enabler, stating that the government no longer faces resource constraints in building highways and transport networks. He attributed this to road monetisation and innovative financing models. “Today, in my experience, we don’t have any resources problem because the way in which we are monetising the road and developing different type of models… there is no problem about resources because the traffic density is very high,” Gadkari said.

Gadkari also highlighted a significant reduction in logistics costs, noting that India’s logistics cost has come down sharply from earlier levels. “In India, previously it was 16 percent. But the latest study from IIM Bangalore and IIT Kanpur and IIT Chennai… indicates that our logistic cost in the road is reduced by 6 percent. So now from 16 to 10… today I’m confident that this logistic cost is a single digit at 9 percent,” he said. Lower logistics costs, he added, could boost exports by nearly 1.5 percent and contribute to job creation, while improved road infrastructure is also driving growth in tourism and agriculture.

During her session, Gita Gopinath, Professor of Economics at Harvard University and former Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, spoke about shifting energy and trade dynamics. With oil prices around $60 per barrel, she said India has an opportunity to diversify energy partnerships beyond Russia and recalibrate relations with the US. “From an economic perspective, this trade-off is not a bad one for India,” she noted. On US-China trade tensions, Gopinath said she does not expect further escalation, citing America’s dependence on China for rare earth elements. She also pointed to land acquisition as a persistent constraint on India’s infrastructure-led growth.

Other speakers on Day 1 included V Vaidyanathan, MD & CEO of IDFC FIRST Bank; Vijay Kiran Anand, CEO of Invest UP; David Tait, CEO of the World Gold Council; Patrik Antoni, CEO of IKEA India; and Sridhar Vembu, Co-founder and Chief Scientist of Zoho Corporation, among others, covering topics ranging from investment and consumption to gold markets and technology innovation.

IEC 2025 is presented by IDFC FIRST Bank, with support from a range of partners including Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, World Gold Council, Radico, Axis Max Life Insurance, Adani, the Government of Uttar Pradesh and NBCC. As the first day concluded, the conclave set a strong foundation for deeper conversations on policy, sectoral priorities and innovation, with Day 2 expected to focus on mobility, cyber readiness, AI regulation, workforce strategy and India’s roadmap for global economic leadership.