“We are living quarter se quarter tak… not making enough money to invest in R&D.”
That was the blunt admission from Sajjan Jindal, Chairman and Managing Director of JSW Group, capturing the pressure India Inc faces despite headline growth. “We are not making enough money to invest in R&D,” he reiterated, pointing to the reality of quarterly pressures limiting long-term investments even as businesses talk up AI-led transformation.
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Sharing the panel with Uday Kotak and Vidit Aatrey, Jindal’s remarks stood in contrast to Kotak’s push for Indian companies to invest 10% of revenue into R&D — a benchmark that remains difficult for capital-intensive sectors.
Speaking about his own industry, Jindal said, “AI will only improve productivity of the businesses. Costs will come down when productivity improves.” In his view, technology is an efficiency lever, not a disruptor. “We are very fortunate to be in the brick and mortar industry. There is no disruption in my industry,” he said, referring to steel, cement and infrastructure.
On China, Jindal was direct. “We have to learn from China on expansion. We are still 4–5 years away from having the bullet train started. China has thousands of kms running.” He added, “China is building its economy at a fraction of a cost as compared to India. Government has to decide how to collaborate with China… we need to take our relationship to another level.”
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The subtext was clear: cost competitiveness is now geopolitical.
On global protectionism, he pointed to Donald Trump’s America-first stance. “Steel made in India is half the cost of steel made in US. India is much more efficient when it comes to steel production. All countries will turn protectionist so India should also protect its industries.”
At the same time, he struck a domestic growth note: “We are better off expanding in our own country.” He confirmed that a JSW car will be on Indian roads before Diwali, marking the group’s push into autos.
