Shailesh Pathak presently serves as the Secretary-General at FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry), the leading business chamber founded in 1927. FICCI represents over 250,000 entities across India's states, spanning diverse industries.
Prior to his role at FICCI, Mr Pathak held CEO/MD positions in private sector companies and government roles, contributing to execution, financing, and strategy. With a corporate career spanning 19 years, he worked with ICICI, L&T, and IDFC. As an IAS officer for 17 years, he held key posts in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Transitioning to the non-profit sector in 2022, he became Director & Professor of Practice at the Indian School of Public Policy. Mr Pathak's wide-ranging experience bridges Government, Business, and Academia, with an early career in investment banking. He is devoted to public policy, cities, infrastructure, and finance.
Affiliations include G20's B20 Task Force membership, BRICS Business Council Co-Chair, and FICCI's Transport Infrastructure Committee. He's authored over 40 publications on diverse topics.
Mr Pathak holds an MBA from IIM Calcutta, LLB, and Diploma in Ornithology from BNHS. He's recognized for his achievements and commitment to sustainable development. He spoke to Asian Voice about India’s strategic rise in the global economy.
1. How is India bound to grow financially? What are some initiatives through which the country can progress towards the path of financial growth?
As per a recent Morgan Stanley report, India’s GDP would rise from 2022’s 3174 bn to 7939 bn by 2030. India would contribute one-fifth of global growth during this journey from 3.2 trillion to 7.9 trillion.
Many measures have already been implemented towards inclusive financial growth. These include the universalisation of bank accounts mapped to the unique identity of individuals, direct money transfer to the bank accounts of the needy, and UPI - Unified Payment Interface making money transfers using mobile phones, within 5 seconds, from any bank to any bank, using QR codes and other simple mechanisms. Today, India’s digital payments account for more than two-fifths of global digital payments, all of which have happened in the last six years. As the economy formalises rapidly, access to digital credit is becoming much easier with innovative fintech startups. With a unified Goods & Services Act and digital operations, public exchequer revenues are going up rapidly. This is leading to record outlays for social and physical Infrastructure, both of which are contributing to faster financial growth.
2. The West Midlands gets the lion’s share of benefits from the FTA between the UK and India. With this, the living bridge gets stronger. However, what’s in store for India in terms of the actual advantage of signing an FTA with the UK, which visibly, on paper, doesn't show an equal amount of benefits for India at large?
The Government of India (GoI) has had over ten rounds of consultation with their UK counterparts towards the Free Trade Agreement. The FTA negotiations are ongoing. In the process, GoI has had intensive consultations with Indian Industry and Commerce, including FICCI. We are confident that the negotiations would result in a win-win for both countries and their businesses when the final FTA is signed.
3. With India hosting the G20 summit, how will this presidency change India’s position on the world map? What message are we conveying as we host this summit?
India’s chair of the B20 has led to a special focus on lower per-capita income countries, especially in terms of quicker business growth for higher growth and increased employment. We would hope that Economics takes precedence over political issues. On the Indian side, G20 meetings in over 50 cities have created capacities in business and tourism, which would lead to long-term benefits. Above all, India’s outstanding successes in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) could be emulated in other G20 countries and beyond.
