Few days ago there was news about Bharat overtaking Japan to become the fourth-largest economy. It was widely talked about and celebrated by all — and rightly so, because no one thought this could happen 40 years back. For me personally, this is a moment of deep pride. When I joined the industry back in the late 90s, Bharat was nowhere on the world economic scene and was never taken seriously. From that anonymity to being acknowledged as the fourth-largest economy and making serious contributions to the global supply chain is something to be proud of.

However, if there is one thing we cannot take away from Japan, it is its title “The Land of the Rising Sun.” But the rest—economic growth, technology adoption, precision manufacturing, innovation, and global admiration—is not off limits. It is ours to earn.

This rise reflects Bharat’s resilience, scale, and ambition. The results of our strong industrial policies are becoming globally visible and locally felt. Our economy grew 7.4% in the latest quarter, at a faster rate than expected. The diversity of growth, powered by factory floors to farm fields and digital citizen services to hard infrastructure, shows Bharat’s economy is maturing in all 360 degrees.

Robust revival in manufacturing is a big contributor to this growth. Data available for 2024 show manufacturing contributes approximately 17% to Bharat’s GDP. Our government aims to raise this to 25%. Comparing this growth ambition to the next two countries in the global economic pecking order, China’s manufacturing share is over 27% of GDP, and Germany maintains around 20–22%; a jump of 8% surely looks achievable.

In my view, no country has embraced technology so fast in daily business life like Bharat has. When I entered the industry 30 years ago, most shop floors in places like Faridabad, Pune, and Peenya were labour-intensive, dark, and dingy factories and had no data; computers were only found in the owner’s cabin. To sell software to them was painful and slow.

Today, things have dramatically changed. Interestingly, when I talk to SMEs in Southeast Asia or the US, many are still unaware of digitalization—its benefits—and hesitant to adopt Industry 4.0. In contrast, our shop floors are buzzing with young, tech-savvy second- and data-driven third-generation entrepreneurs who are eager to adopt digital tools and compete globally. Backed by initiatives like Make in Bharat and Atma Nirbhar Bharat, Bharat’s manufacturing sector is moving fast and confidently towards a stronger, smarter future.

Like I said before, if there is one thing no one can take away from Japan, it is its title “The Land of the Rising Sun,” and if there is one thing no one can snatch from Bharat, it is our well-earned title, “The Land of the Shining Sun.”