At the CRISIL event titled “INFRASTRUCTURE – THE CATALYST FOR INDIA’S FUTURE,” Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, delivered a keynote address stressing the transformative role of governance and green energy in propelling India’s infrastructure sector.
Governance: The Bedrock of Infrastructure Growth
Adani underscored the pivotal role of governance in infrastructure development since 2014, describing it as the catalyst that enabled the sector’s remarkable progress. “If the period between 1991 to 2014 was about putting down the foundations and building the runway, then the period between 2014 and 2024 has been about the aircraft taking off,” Adani stated. He highlighted the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) project, which outlines a projected investment of Rs 111 lakh crore from FY20 to FY25, as a prime example of effective governance driving sector-wide transformation. This initiative, he noted, has galvanised several thousand infrastructure projects across various sectors including energy, logistics, airports, and social infrastructure.
Vision for a $10 Trillion Economy by FY32
Adani projected a robust future for India, predicting that the nation will become a $10 trillion economy by FY32, with a cumulative infrastructure spend exceeding $2.5 trillion. He pointed out that approximately 25 per cent of this investment will focus on energy and energy transition, a sector he believes will play a critical role in India’s economic growth. “While every nation has its challenges, I can confidently state that India’s real growth is yet to come,” Adani affirmed.
Green Energy: The Driver of Economic Progress
Highlighting the importance of sustainable energy, Adani stressed that the availability of green electrons will be the primary driver of economic progress. He expressed confidence in the limitless growth potential of the green energy market, stating, “We will produce the world’s least expensive green electron that will become the feedstock for several sectors that must meet the sustainability mandate.” This focus on green energy aligns with global trends towards sustainability and positions India as a leader in the renewable energy space.
The Future of Data Centers
Adani also addressed the burgeoning demand for data centres, driven by the AI revolution. He described data centres as critical infrastructure necessary to support the computational needs of AI systems, which include machine learning algorithms, natural language processing, computer vision, and deep learning. “The data centre business is poised to become the largest energy-consuming industry in the world,” Adani noted, highlighting the inseparable link between energy transition infrastructure and digital transformation. The Adani Group, he revealed, already holds India’s largest order book for data centres and is in discussions for additional gigawatt-scale AI data centres.
