News18 Rising Bharat Summit: Meet The Voices Shaping Western India’s Next Growth Chapter

The News18 Rising Bharat Summit - West Edition in Mumbai will gather leaders from policy, business, finance, and sports to discuss regional growth and enterprise.

Western India has long been a place where ambition becomes enterprise. Its financial markets connect businesses with capital, its industrial centres manufacture for India and the world, and its entrepreneurs turn changing consumer needs into new opportunities. The next challenge is to build on these strengths, helping established businesses reinvent themselves; emerging ventures scale and economic opportunity reach more people. The region’s economic weight is evident in its export performance. Gujarat and Maharashtra together accounted for approximately 41% of India’s merchandise exports in FY2025–26. Across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Goa, manufacturing, financial services, logistics, technology, renewable energy and tourism create a diverse foundation for growth. How these capabilities can support The Next Phase of Indian Enterprise will be at the heart of the News18 Rising Bharat Summit – West Edition in Mumbai.

Policy will be central to that conversation. Attracting investment is one part of the task; converting it into productive businesses, employment and stronger regional economies is another. Bringing the policy lens will be Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra; Shri Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra; Shri Harsh Sanghavi, Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat; and Shri Shrikant Shinde, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, with perspectives on the decisions shaping development and opportunity across the region.

The discussion naturally extends to the infrastructure needed to sustain this ambition. Growing cities require transport networks, civic services and planning that keep pace with business expansion and rising aspirations. Ashwini Bhide of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Dr Sanjay Mukherjee of MMRDA and Anil Gaikwad of MSRDC will bring the public infrastructure perspective. Alongside them, Niranjan Hiranandani of Hiranandani Group, Abhinandan Lodha of The House of Abhinandan Lodha, Shashank Jain of BGRE and Brookfield India REIT, Nishant Kabra of JLL India and Sumant Rampal of HDFC Bank will add insights into urban development, property investment, housing finance and the capital required to build the next India.

In the country’s financial capital, a conversation about the future would be incomplete without the market veterans who assess where investment is heading. Global uncertainty, domestic business performance and changing investor behaviour all influence how capital reaches Indian enterprise. Ridham Desai of Morgan Stanley India, Prashant Jain of 3P Investment Managers, Pankaj Tibrewal of Ikigai Asset Managers, Shailesh Raj Bhan of Nippon India Mutual Fund and Maneesh Dangi of Mosaic Asset Managers will bring perspectives on Indian and global markets, investment discipline and long-term value creation. Access to capital matters just as much beyond the markets. With MSMEs contributing 31.1% of India’s GDP and 35.4% of manufacturing output, widening responsible access to finance is essential to helping businesses invest and expand. Hemant Gala of PhonePe Lending will bring a digital-credit perspective to the broader discussion on how technology and financial partnerships can serve consumers, merchants and enterprises.

For India Inc., the challenge is also one of reinvention: deciding which strengths to preserve, which opportunities to pursue and when to make a new bet. Habil Khorakiwala of Wockhardt Group, Anandamayi Bajaj of Bajaj Hindusthan and Ananya Birla of Birla Studios, Birla AI Labs and Birla Cosmetics will contribute perspectives spanning established institutions, strategic transformation and new ventures.

A different form of reinvention is unfolding in the businesses changing everyday life. Consumers want greater convenience, dependable quality and better value, opening markets for entrepreneurs who can solve familiar problems at scale. Niraj Singh of Spinny, Ankush Grover of Rebel Foods, Naiyya Saggi of EDT, Mayank Kumar of upGrad and BorderPlus, Dhvanil Sheth of Skillmatics and Arjun Vaidya of V3 Ventures will bring entrepreneurial perspectives on building businesses around these evolving needs.

Understanding consumers is only part of the equation. Earning their attention and trust is equally important, particularly in a region that is home to much of India’s advertising and entertainment industry. Anand Ramanathan of Deloitte, Arun Iyer of Spring Marketing Capital, Sukesh Nayak of Ogilvy, Rajdeepak Das of Leo Burnett and Anisha Iyer of OMD India will add perspectives on consumption, creativity and brand-building. Finance and money education creator Anushka Rathod and actor, singer, dancer and content creator Sai Godbole will bring the voices of a digital generation reshaping how audiences connect with ideas and individuals.

The qualities behind enduring enterprise also find expression in sport: discipline, resilience, teamwork and the ability to perform under pressure. Cricket legends Ajinkya Rahane and Harbhajan Singh, para-athlete Soumya and para-archer Swati Chaudhary will bring experiences that extend the conversation beyond business to the determination behind achievement.

Together, these voices will connect the region’s strengths with the choices that will define its future. The Summit brings policy, investment, enterprise and aspiration onto one stage, advancing the conversations shaping Bharat’s journey towards becoming an Enterprise Nation.

The News18 Rising Bharat Summit – West Edition takes place at Taj Lands End, Mumbai, on 28 October 2026, from 10 AM onwards. Register now to be part of the conversation.