India can bridge a fragmented world as a ‘connector economy’: Anand Mahindra

“Uncertainty is no longer the exception; it is the rule,” he said.

“Black swan events have become obsolete because the pond is full of black swans. Situations that were previously seen as temporary disruptions are now proving to be a more long-term reset of supply chains, geopolitical alignments and technologies,” Mahindra said.

“There is a shift from episodic shocks to continuous earthquakes, where anticipating change is increasingly difficult, and the imperative is to build the agility and resilience to navigate a constantly shifting landscape. Manthan 2.0 is, indeed, upon us,” Mahindra said.

“Can we continue to reap the amrit in this new Manthan? For India, the stars are favourable,” he said, adding that India’s rise is increasingly aligned with the way the world is being reconfigured.

“Mark Carney and many other global leaders have called for the world to move beyond rigid trading blocs towards multiple coalitions, and this is happening as we speak.”

“We were the first to implement the concept of non-alignment. This is the ideal time to move from being ‘non-aligned’ to becoming a ‘multi-aligned’ force and a trusted partner. The question for India is no longer whether it will rise, but how fully it will translate this moment into an enduring advantage,” Mahindra said.

He said it is time to move from navigation to acceleration.

“As the mist of uncertainty billows around us, we will seek enduring advantage by going into Attack Mode,” he said.

“Attack Mode is a strategy adopted in Formula E racing, where a racing driver makes a deliberate choice to accelerate at the right moment, in imperfect conditions. In ideal conditions, overtaking is difficult, because everyone is at speed,” he said.

In a world that is rebalancing and shifting from globalisation to selective partnerships, India’s relevance has grown, Mahindra said.

“Its ability to combine scale with strategic flexibility is positioning it as an increasingly important pillar of a distributed global economy,” he said.