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We are betting on health, and specifically the health of our next generation as a game changer in India’s growth story.

While efforts to tackle malnutrition have borne fruit over the years, unfortunately there are still several diseases – visible and invisible – that can cripple our children. One of these invisible adversaries is lead poisoning.

Used extensively and found almost everywhere in the environment, lead is extremely toxic and can cause cognitive impairments which are irreversible in children. And children are especially vulnerable since they absorb 4-5 times more lead from the same source as do adults.

We have started shedding light on this issue through a High Level Roundtable held in April, 2023 and by convening India’s senior-most doctors, scientists and public health experts in the India Working Group on Lead Poisoning, to discuss and come up with strategies to mitigate this threat. In the coming years, we intend to focus on this issue and work with all stakeholders from the district level up, to ensure no child has to suffer the debilitating effects of lead poisoning as they grow up.

With the goal of making India a preferred business destination and global manufacturing hub, Pahle India Foundation is laser-focused on policy innovation to build an investor-friendly business ecosystem. Against the backdrop of pandemic- induced supply chain shocks and changing geopolitical realities, businesses around the world are increasingly adopting a ‘China plus one’ diversification strategy. India must seize this opportunity to establish itself as a viable ‘plus one.’ These aspirations cannot be achieved with a hostile regulatory system in place, weighing down business growth. In the words of Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, the need of the hour is to shift away from red-tapism towards laying the red carpet for businesses.

The Indian manufacturing sector has long faced difficulties in scaling up and achieving global competitiveness due to the lasting legacy of the License Raj, despite the nation’s sizeable labour force and internal market. The regulatory environment represents a long-standing pain point for businesses, with its excessive volume, complexity and stringency. An intricate and opaque web of compliances, punishing waiting periods for approvals, overall regulatory uncertainty, and poor corporate governance practices are all factors that hurt investor confidence and prevent the fulfilment of India’s manufacturing potential.