India’s global rise depends on embracing cultural and economic roots, says Amitabh Kant
He connected this individual responsibility to India’s broader economic aspirations.
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At the CNN-News18 Rising India Summit 2025 in New Delhi, India’s G20 Sherpa and former NITI Aayog CEO, Amitabh Kant, offered a rousing call to action: each citizen must act as an ambassador of India’s civilisational strength and soft power. Speaking on a panel that also included McCann Worldgroup India CEO and poet Prasoon Joshi, and businessman Suhel Seth, Kant linked India’s spiritual and cultural legacy with its ambitious economic future.
“Who would that be?” Kant said in response to the idea of India needing a figure like the mythical Jambavan, who reminded Hanuman of his dormant power. “Each one of us. I think each one has had to become an ambassador for India's soft power.”
He connected this individual responsibility to India’s broader economic aspirations. “Look at our vision for Viksit Bharat—from a $4 trillion to a $30 trillion economy. That means your GDP has to grow nine times, your per capita income eight times, and your manufacturing 16 times. You can't do all that without a very strong feel for your civilisation, your culture—your inherent strength.”
Kant brought in a sharply analytical and digital perspective to the conversation, underlining the country’s transformation over the last decade. “Ten years ago, India was among the fragile five economies. Today, we’ve risen to become one of the top five,” he pointed out. “India now leads the world in fast payments — 50% of global real-time digital transactions happen here. China follows with just 20%.”
While Prasoon Joshi captured hearts with his lyrical ode to Rising Bharat and the metaphor of Jambavan — the mythological figure who reawakens faith in hidden strength — Kant grounded that inspiration in data, scale, and long-term vision. The soft power, he argued, must not be seen as separate from the hard numbers of infrastructure and innovation.
The panel agreed that India stands at a unique juncture — not just as a geopolitical or economic force, but as a civilisation offering answers to some of the world’s deepest crises. “The world is looking to India not just for trade or tech, but for wisdom and leadership,” the panelists concluded. “Now is the time to look inward and project outward with confidence.”
