Gautam Adani to IIM students: Build before the world is ready; India will be a $25-tn powerhouse by 2050

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, during a keynote address on his entrepreneurial journey at the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow today, told students that as the global centre of gravity shifts towards India, the youth of the country will not just be looking at a five-trillion or 10-trillion-dollar economy but a 25-trillion-dollar powerhouse by 2050.

In a world fractured by war and torn by the hunger for dominance, says Adani , India stands tall by its restraint. In a purported reference to the imposition of US tariffs on various countries, including India, Adani said: "Where others impose, India uplifts. Where others take, India gives – quietly, consistently, and with dignity. No nation can claim this moral high ground with the authenticity of India."

Talking about his vision behind building the port in Mundra, one of India’s largest marshlands in the Kutch region, Adani told students: "Maps will only take you where someone has already been. But to build something truly new, you do not need a map. You need a compass that points to the possibilities."

He said today, Mundra is India’s largest commercial port, and has gone on to become the nucleus that anchors Adani group's network of 21 ports and terminals spread across 17 domestic and 4 international locations.

Talking about his ports business, Adani said Adani Ports now handles nearly 30% of India’s sea-borne cargo and also powers India’s largest industrial Special Economic Zone, spanning over 40,000 acres of land. "Looking back, I can tell you that the first project (Mundra) is always the hardest. Because it demands not just skill, but belief. But once that first impossible dream is brought to life, something shifts. You stop asking, “Can it be done?” and start asking, “What else is waiting to be built?”

The tycoon also spoke about the group's Carmichael Coal Mine in Queensland, Australia, which became one of the most contested energy projects of this century, said Adani. "We were accused in courtrooms, debated in parliaments, and criticised in headlines. Our people on the ground faced harassment. Our permits were delayed, our railway lines questioned, and our right to even exist on that land was challenged. Everywhere we turned, the message was clear: Back down!! But we did not."

Notably, the Adani group's Carmichael project today powers industries with cleaner coal, supports several thousand livelihoods in Australia, and has built an Indo-Australian corridor that is both commercial and strategic, he said.

Adani also spoke about turning a desert in Khavda into the world’s largest single-site renewable energy park. "If Mundra was marshy land under saline water, Khavda was saline water under marshy land. Khavda is such a desert that I was told even camels refuse to walk on it," said Adani. Despite initial studies suggesting it would be impossible to build stable structures there, Adani said the company built a mega renewable energy park spread over 500 square kilometres, generating 30 GW of green power.

He called the redevelopment of the slums of Dharavi, Asia's largest slum, his hardest project of all. "It is also one of the world’s most complex social, economic, and political ecosystems...redeveloping Dharavi is not about laying bricks or yet another slum redevelopment project. It is about rebuilding dignity for those 1 million people who helped build Mumbai, but never benefited from it,” Adani said.