Brand India: A country the world can rely on

Guest Column: Vaibhav Maloo, Managing Director, Enso Group, writes the question is no longer whether the world has noticed us, but what it has learnt to expect from us

by Vaibhav Maloo
Published: Aug 17, 2026 9:44 AM | 4 min read

India's global reputation is shaped by its performance in trade, technology, and diplomacy, with a focus on transitioning from visibility to credibility in Brand India.
In FY 2025-26, India achieved $863 billion in goods and services exports, but its share of global merchandise exports remains low at 1.8%, highlighting the need for improvement in manufacturing and product development.
The success of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which processed 242 billion transactions, demonstrates India's capability in creating scalable, inclusive systems, though it must also enhance its research and development investment.
To strengthen Brand India, the country must focus on international competitiveness, effective diplomacy for market access, and ensure that its companies prioritize quality and reliability in their offerings.

A country’s reputation is often decided in rooms it does not control: when a fund manager considers a factory, when a buyer tests a product, or when a government chooses a strategic partner. India is already present in those rooms. The question is no longer whether the world has noticed us, but what it has learnt to expect from us. That distinction—between visibility and credibility—will decide the next phase of Brand India. No campaign can manufacture that reputation. It accumulates slowly, through trade, technology, diplomacy and everyday commerce.

There is solid evidence behind the optimism. India closed FY 2025–26 with an estimated $863 billion in goods and services exports. The record matters, but the composition and global reach of those exports matter more. Yet its share of global merchandise exports was only 1.8 per cent in 2024, compared with 4.3 per cent for commercial services. The gap says something important. India has established formidable strength in talent and services, but it still has ground to cover in product development, manufacturing depth, distribution and the creation of global consumer and industrial brands.

UPI is the clearest evidence that India can execute at extraordinary scale. The platform processed nearly 242 billion transactions in FY 2025–26—an achievement built not through a single commercial platform, but through interoperable public infrastructure operating at population scale. That capability is valuable well beyond payments. It shows that India can build systems that are affordable, inclusive and difficult to replicate elsewhere.

But adoption cannot be mistaken for ownership. India rose from 81st place in the Global Innovation Index in 2015 to 38th in 2025, while research and development expenditure remains around 0.64 per cent of GDP. That is the gap India now has to close. India should aim to export more than engineering hours. It must export patents, platforms, products and standards.

The China+1 opportunity deserves the same clear-eyed treatment. Global companies are diversifying supply chains, but relocation is not an entitlement conferred by geopolitics. Investment ultimately follows reliable power, efficient logistics, predictable regulation, enforceable contracts and consistent quality. Incentives may attract assembly lines; lasting advantage comes from component ecosystems, design capability, process knowledge and dependable after-sales support. Self-reliance should therefore be measured by the ability to compete internationally, not by the ability to keep competition out.

This is also why diplomacy must have a commercial purpose. Strategic relationships should translate into market access, recognition of Indian standards, technology partnerships, investment channels and more resilient supply chains. For business, diplomacy succeeds when political goodwill reduces friction at the factory gate and the border. India brings scale, talent, democratic legitimacy and strategic autonomy to the table. But autonomy should never be confused with aloofness. In a fragmented world, a dependable partner does not need to agree on everything; it needs to be clear, capable and consistent.

Brand India cannot be carried by the government alone. It is strengthened—or weakened—at every port, approval desk, airport, invoice and customer interaction. Culture, cinema, cuisine and the diaspora create familiarity, but quality and reliability convert familiarity into preference. Indian companies must invest as seriously in design, service and reputation as they do in capacity.

India’s rise has created global attention. The next decade must earn the premium that comes with trust. The strongest Brand India will not be a campaign, but a pattern: products delivered on time, technology owned at home, commitments honoured and partnerships that remain useful in both prosperity and crisis. That is modern independence—not economic isolation, but the capacity to engage the world on our own terms and the confidence to be judged by global standards.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com.