Speaking at the India Today conclave here, Mr. Karan
Adani spoke of the need to make India self-reliant from an energy import
perspective.
He said resilient infrastructure and logistics
networks will be critical to sustaining economic growth as global supply chains
face recurring disruptions from geopolitical tensions and shifting trade
routes.
Mr. Karan Adani, who is also Director, Adani Cement,
noted that the ongoing crisis in West Asia has highlighted the vulnerability of
global trade routes passing through key maritime choke points such as the
Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Malacca.
Disruptions along these corridors can quickly ripple
across global supply chains, reinforcing the need for stronger logistics
infrastructure and diversified trade networks. Mr. Karan Adani added that the
infrastructure platforms built by the Adani Group are national assets that
strengthen India’s trade, logistics and energy security…Mr. Karan Adani said the Adani Group’s infrastructure
strategy reflects this paradigm shift. By building platforms across ports,
logistics, energy and airports, the Group aims to strengthen India’s capacity
to support trade, manufacturing and economic growth.
“We strongly believe in the India story. We know the
assets we are building and the role they can play in the country’s future,” he said.
According to Karan
Adani, the Group’s long-term aspiration is to become the country’s most
efficient logistics provider and among the cheapest generators of power while
maintaining strong corporate governance.
Reducing logistics costs remains a key priority. Stronger integration
between ports, transport utilities, airports and logistics networks can
significantly improve supply chain efficiency. “Once infrastructure is built, trade
follows,” he said.
To support this vision, the Adani Group plans to invest Rs 2 lakh crore
in greenfield infrastructure projects annually over the next five years,
spanning renewable energy, transmission, airports, logistics and data
centres. Mr. Karan Adani also spoke
about the need to cut management layers in the Group as it has grown in size… “And when we look at ourselves in
the mirror, we do feel that we’ve become quite slow. We’ve become quite heavy,
we’ve become slow, decisions have become slower. So that’s where we are going
through this whole transition or, I would say, transformation as an
organisation, where it’s a unique transformation that we are going towards
where we are looking at partnership models, where we are going to be partnering
with multiple companies to help us in terms of Capex execution or O&M
execution,” he added.
Renewables remain a core capability for the Adani Group, alongside
emerging technologies such as battery storage. The Group is also expanding its
presence in materials such as cement, aluminium, copper and defence
manufacturing, sectors that support large-scale infrastructure development…With
APSEZ operating international assets, including Haifa Port in Israel, the company has
had to adapt to shifting trade patterns while maintaining cargo operations…Mr.
Karan Adani said many global companies are increasingly moving towards regional
supply chains to improve resilience.
Looking ahead, the Adani portfolio aims by 2030 to
double port capacity from 600 million metric tonnes (MMT) to 1,200 MMT, expand
renewable energy capacity from 18 gigawatts to 50 gigawatts (GW), and increase
thermal power generation from 17 GW to 45 GW.
Mr. Karan Adani said growth must also be guided by
values. “Speed and scale
are important, but empathy and responsibility are equally essential,”
he said, echoing Chairman Gautam Adani’s emphasis on purpose-driven leadership…“The second big part of the group is
the whole ports, logistics, transport utility…And the third big vertical for
the group is the whole materials and science part…even the defence–that falls
part of the materials business. That’s how you should look at the Group. We are
very focused, we know where our core competency is, and that’s how we are
structured,” he added.