On India Inc radar: Op Sindoor, US tariffs and AI impact

It is not too unusual for Defence Ministers to kick off business conclaves. But when Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh delivered the inaugural address at industry body CII's annual general meeting on Thursday, he was also flanked by the Defence Secretary, the Air Force and the Navy chiefs, and the vice chief of the Army Staff.

- VIKAS DHOOT

Coming soon after India's Operation Sindoor hit terror camps across Pakistan to retaliate against the horrific attack on tourists in Pahalgam, the significance of this unprecedented dais sharing by India's top defence officials with industry captains, is not hard to fathom. The inaugural session that witnessed a rousing standing ovation and a felicitation ceremony for the defence top brass not only sent a strong message about India's rising military industrial complex but also demonstrated that security is a top-of-the-mind issue for India Inc.

The US' tariff tantrums dominated mindspace as well, with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president Sanjiv Puri expressing hopes of an expeditious conclusion of a bilateral trade deal being negotiated with the US to avert its reciprocal tariffs that have been paused till July.

When Rajesh Agrawal, Special Secretary in the Commerce Ministry, joined a session on global trade, a co-moderator remarked he had the toughest job in India, barring, of course, the security forces. Agrawal is the chief negotiator for the trade deal with the US. In a late evening parley, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal assured industry: "We are well on track on trade talks with the US..."