Pune: Sanjiv Bajaj, Chairman and MD of Bajaj Finserv, expressed optimism that ongoing trade discussions between India and the U.S.—following the Prime Minister’s recent visit—could result in a mini trade deal. Such an agreement, he suggested, could potentially pave the way for India's next phase of liberalization, akin to the landmark 1991 economic reforms that fueled consistent growth of 6-7% over the last 25 years.

The MEA-PIC Asia Economic Dialogue (AED) 2025 continued on its second day with an engaging Fireside Chat featuring Sanjiv Bajaj and moderated by Rama Bijapurkar. During the session, Bajaj addressed the global economic landscape, highlighting the uncertainty surrounding the new U.S. administration under President Donald Trump. He noted that changes in U.S. policies will have both tactical and long-term strategic effects worldwide, including on India.

While acknowledging India’s steady 6-7% GDP growth, Bajaj emphasized the necessity of achieving an 8-10% growth rate over the next 20 years to sustain its large and growing population. To reach this target, he called for bold reforms in multiple sectors. He highlighted India’s high logistics costs (15-16%) compared to Southeast Asia’s 6-8%, suggesting that reducing duty rates could enhance India's global competitiveness.

Bajaj also stressed the importance of domestic financial services and technological advancements in banking. He pointed to India's robust digital public infrastructure, particularly UPI, which now processes 16-17 billion transactions monthly, as a key enabler of economic efficiency.

He further outlined Bajaj Finserv's initiatives, including programs to skill 20 million youth and harness AI for improving productivity and customer engagement.