BCG's global chair hopes India, US to deepen ties in 2026

Mumbai, Dec 15 (PTI) Rich Lesser, the global chair at consultancy firm BCG, on Monday hoped that India and the US would deepen their long-standing ties by forging a "pragmatic and effective" deal.

In the comments that come amid continuing unease in the New Delhi-Washington relationship since the inauguration of Donald Trump as the US President, Lesser said it is important not to miss the "broader context" in the ties, underlining that they go far beyond economics as well.

"I do remain optimistic that we'll be able to shape a pragmatic and effective, and hopefully a good deal that's truly a win-win for both countries to advance the relationships between them in 2026 and far beyond," Lesser told PTI here.

There will be "hard negotiations" going ahead on the tariff front, he said, adding that while Trump sees himself as a strong negotiator, India has also defended its interests well.

Acknowledging that the first year of Trump's second term as president has led to "tense" moments, he stressed that this does not mean that the situation will be the same going forward as well.

"Hopefully, both sides will see the value in making some concessions, striking a good bargain, and being able to move forward. Neither side gets everything it wants, and both sides get a win. That's the hope," Lesser said.

He was, however, quick to add that striking a deal will not lead to the end of uncertainties, pointing out that Trump likes to leverage this particular aspect.

It is also essential for India not to be "fixated" on the issues with the US, one of its largest trading partners, he said, and pointed to the slew of other bilateral deals which India is negotiating with other countries.

"India should be a producer of high-quality, low-cost products and services that can support the entire world. And of course, the US is a very big economy. Not trying to say it isn't, but I am only saying that people shouldn't be overly fixated on just the US," he noted.

The firm's India head, Rahul Jain, said India has a slew of strengths, including political stability, strong corporate balance sheets, responsive public policy, digital enablers and high consumption.

"I think we have never had a more stable and positive outlook than we have as a country," Jain said.

India is high up in discussions for chief executives because of their focus on supply chain resilience, Jain added.

"The CEO's mind has shifted away from solving for only efficiency to equally solving for resilience, and therefore, everyone is looking for not the lowest cost, but the balanced systemic supply chain, and India has to play a big role given not just the population here, but also the workforce," he said.

When asked about the sluggish growth in private capital expenditure, Jain acknowledged the need for acceleration but also pointed to certain issues that India needs to solve.

Citing client conversations, Jain said there is "euphoria" among private enterprises in terms of this being India's manufacturing moment, but stressed that it can happen only if the country is competitive and if the small and medium enterprises also invest.

"I think, on the private side, I remain optimistic. On the SME side, you require greater access to capital and cheaper capital than what we have today," he said.

Lesser said India is very important for the USD 14-billion BCG at present, and added that over the next three years, he sees India contributing much more to the firm than it presently does.

Jain said up to four of the over 18 practice heads employed by BCG at a global level are Indians.

The firm employs nearly 120 partners in domestic operations at present. PTI AA BAL BAL