At Davos, Hitachi India backs rail, energy and payments sectors

Hitachi India Chairman Bharat Kaushal on Tuesday said faster implementation of large projects has significantly improved the utilisation of Japanese investment commitments in India, leading to larger deal sizes and increased private sector participation.

Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting here, Kaushal said Japanese investments are now being absorbed much faster due to improved execution by the Indian government.

He said this has also resulted in bigger deals between India and Japan, with transactions no longer limited to government-to-government agreements, and a growing number of private sector deals across equity, debt and partnerships.

Crediting the Indian government, Kaushal said implementation has been one of the key areas of transformation over the past decade, whether in the modernisation and expansion of Indian Railways or in metro and urban mobility solutions.

He said the energy sector has also undergone a major transformation and has become increasingly horizontal, touching many aspects of the economy.

On Hitachi’s focus areas in India, Kaushal said energy and rail remain major social and political priorities, and their economic impact is difficult to match.

“We are seeing about USD 45-50 billion being spent in the rail sector, including urban mobility, and close to USE 40 billion being spent in energy,” he said.

Besides rail and energy, Kaushal said the company’s payments business is another important area, spanning both cash-based services through ATMs and digital payments through the State Bank of India.

“And both of these businesses, of course, have become flagship of Digital India’s story. They have both grown,” he said.

On India-Japan relations, Kaushal said economic engagement between the two countries has remained consistent over the years.

“You know, earlier our absorption capacity of a lot of Japanese funding that was coming was not getting absorbed at the same speed because there were implementation delays, and the Japanese companies’ hallmark is quality and reliability,” he said.

He said improvements in execution have changed both the size of deals and the seriousness with which they are pursued.

“So the last time that I think it was in 2022, USD 42 billion were committed. More or less before the end of 2025, most of that money was spent already, and now commitments from the private sector are also coming,” he said.

On artificial intelligence, a key theme at Davos, Kaushal said AI would have a wide-ranging impact similar to the internet.

He said artificial intelligence would affect almost all sectors, including manufacturing, helping reduce costs, improve productivity and enhance capabilities.

(With inputs from PTI)