3 min readNew DelhiJun 5, 2026 03:50 AM IST
First published on: Jun 4, 2026 at 10:47 PM IST
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla on Thursday flagged the economic challenges confronting India amid growing instability in West Asia and argued that the country must build greater national capabilities to seize emerging opportunities. Bhagwat said India had not yet become a Vishwaguru because it is still inadequately prepared.
The two were speaking at the valedictory function of an RSS training programme in Nagpur.
“Even though these are challenging times, this is India’s era. The world has been caught between the competing ambitions of superpowers. In the past three years, prices of crude oil have skyrocketed either because of wars or market fluctuations. Supply chains are once again stressed—for the third time in this decade. And finally, AI is at our doorstep. This AI revolution is likely to transform economies and impact many more people than any other recent technological invention,” Birla, the chief guest at the event, said.
Birla said the current phase of global uncertainty had come at a crucial juncture for India.
“And the challenge for India is that this flux exists at the time when India is set to begin its Amrit Kaal. But the biggest lesson that history teaches us is the importance of building national capability and national resilience,” he said.
Arguing that business-building contributes to nation-building, Birla said: “A futurist from the US has said that the world will experience 100 years of progress in the next 10 years. The question before us is not whether the future will arrive. It already has. The question is whether we have the courage to build upon it, the imagination to shape it and the determination to ensure that it serves the aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians.”
Echoing Birla’s remarks, Bhagwat said India’s moment had arrived but the country still lacked the preparedness required to lead the world.
“The world says that it needs a new path (of development) and only India can show that path. And so India’s time has come. But that is not enough. You have to be prepared for that time. The chief guest is right, the future has already arrived. The future is waiting for us to be prepared. We have been saying for a long time that India is Vishwaguru, India has to become Vishwaguru, we have to make India Vishwaguru. So what is stopping us? Our preparation; it is still incomplete,” he said.
The remarks assume significance at a time when India faces multiple economic challenges. Rising crude oil prices have widened pressures on the current account, while slowing capital inflows have raised concerns about external sector vulnerabilities.
Bhagwat said India must become prosperous and powerful while remaining rooted in its civilisational values.
The constitution of the RSS, which was accepted as the basis by the government for lifting the ban, explained its raison d’etre clearly, including the method of collecting funds.
(Photo: X/RSS) 
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