Baba Kalyani Praises PM Modi | 'Re-Industrialised India Like No One Else' | Bharat Forge MD Hails PM
📅 Jun 09, 2026CNN-News189 MIN621 VIEWS18 SEGMENTS · 2 SPEAKERS
#Exclusive | "It's been one of the greatest events that India has witnessed" says Bharat Forge MD Baba Kalyani as PM Modi becomes longest-serving Indian PM
"PM Modi is one person who has done more than anybody else in re-industrialising India. Our industrial economy was almost dead," he adds
#pmmodi #NarendraModi #IndianPM #LongestServingPM #india
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What Baba Kalyani said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
Baba Kalyani, Chairman of Bharat Forge, praised Prime Minister Modi for reindustrializing India, noting the industrial economy was nearly dead at 14-15% of GDP. He highlighted Modi's efforts to bring the private sector into defense, including next-generation fighter jets, and credited him with changing the emotional quotient of 1.4 billion Indians. Kalyani emphasized the need for India to become a products nation, creating domestic intellectual property, and cited his company's defense work as all Indian IP. He stressed the importance of Atmanirbhar Bharat, citing global conflicts, and mentioned the RDI fund of one lakh crore for private sector research. He advised finishing the ease of doing business agenda, creating policies for domestic IP, and achieving scale in industries like automotive and electric vehicles, drawing lessons from China.
Key takeaways
Kalyani said PM Modi has reindustrialized India more than anyone else, with the industrial economy previously at 14-15% of GDP.
He praised the move to have next-generation fighter jets made by the private sector as a big moment for India.
Kalyani stated that everything Bharat Forge does in defense is Indian intellectual property, with no imported IP.
He mentioned the RDI fund of one lakh crore is available to the private sector for research and development.
He advised creating scale in automotive and electric vehicle industries, citing China as an example.
Numbers and commitments
Figure
What it refers to
Type
At
14-15%
Industrial economy as share of GDP before reindustrialization
0:05In the last 12 years, what do you think has been the Prime Minister and his government's biggest achievement or contribution?
1:58Do you think the defense sector should have been thrown open to the private sector much before?
3:25But let me ask you: what is it that Bharat needs to focus on to continue this march, to continue on this path?
4:40Do you feel it's a need of the hour, or is it an imposition that the Prime Minister is putting on the country, or like you say, it's a mandate within Bharat, so it should be a mandate for Bharat?
7:01Sir, one advice or suggestion you would like to make to the Prime Minister in terms of policy, in terms of reform, which needs to be done like yesterday?
8:16But one quality as a leader that you would like this generation of people to imbibe from the Prime Minister?
Thank you, sir. We're going live with you. Let me just ask you the question again. In the last 12 years, what do you think has been the Prime Minister and his government's biggest achievement or contribution? Because you've worked very closely with him and you've known him for many years.
Well, first of all, I would like to convey my very heartfelt congratulations to the honorable Prime Minister for completing 12 years continuously in office as the Prime Minister of our nation. I think it's been one of the greatest events that India has ever noticed. I have been with him on many occasions. Right after he got elected, we had the workshop of Make in India in Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi in December of 2014. Then I went with him to Japan during September 2015, then to Russia, to Germany, to the UK, to Denmark, and everywhere I've noticed one thing: that his vision and his discussions or his communications with those countries, with the leaders of those countries, with the business people both from India and those countries, was always: how do you put India first? How do you put the nation first? How do you look at bringing more investments, more technology, creating more jobs? I think he is one person who has done more than anybody else in reindustrializing India. Our industrial economy was almost dead. We were running at 14-15% of GDP. And I think the steps that he has taken in the next few years, we should see a big renaissance taking place in the industrial arena.
You started on a path few would actually want to tread at a time when it was not actually encouraged. Do you think the defense sector should have been thrown open to the private sector much before?
It should have been, but it was never done. There was never any trust with the private sector, and that was the next, I would say, hallmark of Prime Minister Modi's policies: the whole process of making India Atmanirbhar by bringing the private sector in the defense in a big way. I mean, you can look at it now; he's even talking about getting the next-generation fighter jets made by the private sector. I mean, that is a big moment for India. It doesn't matter who makes it, but that step itself is a very, very big step, and I have to congratulate the Prime Minister. I think he has changed the emotional quotient of 1.4 billion Indians by the policies that he has put in. Everybody now thinks that things can be done. Everybody is energized. That's why you have so many startups, you have so many people who are becoming, let's say, unicorns. I mean, it's a great opportunity for India, and India has now got a can-do spirit, and it's all thanks to the honorable Prime Minister that we feel that way.
Well, sir, we also feel that Bharat is forging ahead and Bharat Forge has a huge role to play in it. But let me ask you: what is it that Bharat needs to focus on to continue this march, to continue on this path?
Well, I think the focus of Bharat has to be how to convert Bharat into a products nation. We can't just be a service nation. We have to start making products, and we have to start making products that we innovate ourselves. We create the intellectual property ourselves. I mean, if you look at our company, everything that we do in defense is Indian intellectual property, either our own or working with organizations like DRDO. There's no imported intellectual property in our business, and that's the direction that India has to take. If we create Indian products that are globally acceptable, you know, in the next 10 years, and as Prime Minister Modi says, you know, 2047, we can become, or at least aspire to become, a developed nation.
Sir, conflicts around the world have now shown us that Atmanirbhar becomes much more important than at any other time. Do you feel it's a need of the hour, or is it an imposition that the Prime Minister is putting on the country, or like you say, it's a mandate within Bharat, so it should be a mandate for Bharat?
9 more exchanges in this transcript
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Kalyani, B. (2026, June 9). Baba Kalyani Praises PM Modi | 'Re-Industrialised India Like No One Else' | Bharat Forge MD Hails PM [Interview transcript]. CNN-News18. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/974458/
MLA
Baba Kalyani. "Baba Kalyani Praises PM Modi | 'Re-Industrialised India Like No One Else' | Bharat Forge MD Hails PM." CNN-News18, 9 Jun. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/974458/.
BibTeX
@misc{kalyani2026_974458,
author = {Baba Kalyani},
title = {Baba Kalyani Praises PM Modi | 'Re-Industrialised India Like No One Else' | Bharat Forge MD Hails PM},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, CNN-News18. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {jun},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/974458/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
