As this letter is being finalised, there are strong indications that Russian President Vladimir Putin would visit New Delhi this year and Prime Minister Narendra Modi might go to China for the first time since 2018.
The last few years promised much, as India began to emerge as an economic and manufacturing alternative to China. US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House this year was expected to bolster this, by turning India into more of a bulwark against the US’s biggest economic rival.
But that plan looks set to go off the rails, what with the threat of unsustainably high tariffs on India’s exports to the US and the country being declared a “dead economy", in addition to being accused of financing Russia’s war with Ukraine.
We can debate the rationale of President Trump’s statements and actions till we go blue in the face. But the fact is that businesses here face uncertain times, especially those such as automotive components that have a high reliance on the US market.
That is why companies such as Bharat Forge, the protagonist of this fortnight’s cover story by Manu Balachandran, would be heaving a sigh of relief for diversifying into potent areas such as defence. But this is not just about one company. Bharat Forge embodies the rise of India’s indigenous defence industry after decades of reliance on imports. As we saw during Operation Sindoor, the domestic defence manufacturers are bringing out the big guns.
Suveen Sinha
Editor, Forbes India
Email: suveen.sinha@nw18.com
X ID: @suveensinha
First Published: Aug 18, 2025, 10:20
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