The Situation Room: As India's growth outpaces its shoppers, consumer PR moves to the front of the brief

The FMCG sector is the 4th-largest contributor to India's GDP. It's also a key indicator of consumer confidence.

Kunwar Himmat Singh, director - corporate affairs, sustainability & societal initiatives, Nestlé India, pointed out at The Situation Room, "The FMCG sector is one of the most immediate barometers of India's development. Every product stocked, purchased or missing from a shelf tells us something about aspiration, access and execution. 

Therefore, Singh added, "FMCG becomes a live feedback loop for the Viksit Bharat agenda — a practical, real-time test of whether growth is actually reaching households across India."

FMCG has faced a slew of challenges such as margin pressures from q-commerce, fragmented retail systems, fluctuating rural demand and volatile input costs. 

Singh says, "Consumer resilience is structural. But the structure only holds if policy protects it." Which is why, "Supply-chain modernisation and responsive policy reinforce each other. Neither gets far on its own", he adds.

Apurv Kumar Mishra, consultant - PMEAC, Niti Ayog, is a frequent commentator on economic reforms, administrative rationalisation, structural governance, and international trade. 

Commenting candidly on the challenges of industry policy, Mishra pointed out that a single clearance can sit across several government departments, complicating ease of doing business.

Mishra also advocates strongly for shifting the core philosophy of Indian public administration toward continuous, systemic performance rather than episodic interventions. He supports initiatives like Mission Karmayogi, arguing that public administration must evolve from "training as a one-time event" to learning as a continuous, institutionalised governance function. He favours capacity-building frameworks that are digital, competency-driven, and tied to strict performance metrics.

He has also recommended the introduction of an "Energy Atmanirbharta Act" to legally institutionalise energy self-reliance, establish critical mineral reserves, and encourage public-private R&D for clean energy.

The Iran -US conflict has only heightened the challenges of energy self-sufficiency. Aggressive scale, deep backward integration, and strong policy protection are needed to support India’s 500 GW renewable energy target by 2030. 

One area where India has made strides is solar. India's current cumulative installed solar capacity is 164.59 GW, making it the third-largest solar market globally behind China and the United States

India needs to move beyond solar module assembly into localised ingot, wafer, and cell production to eliminate reliance on foreign supply chains. 

Anil Patni, speaking in his personal capacity, focused on the achievements of the solar energy sector.  A supporter of aligning private sector manufacturing with national renewable targets, Patni believes that the time has come for expanding domestic solar PV manufacturing and strengthening India's green supply chains.

Solar manufacturing is also incomplete without energy storage, expanding operations into Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) to support long-term grid stability.