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Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran on Tuesday, October 13, flagged the growing convergence of geopolitical, technological and commodity-related disruptions, saying businesses were facing an unprecedented combination of challenges despite having weathered pandemics and two world wars over the past five decades. "We have had it good for the last five decades. Our group has seen pandemics, two world wars, and we survived.
But it's the first time everything is happening together, from the geopolitical disruption, technological disruption, and the commodity disruption." NATARAJAN CHANDRASEKARAN, CHAIRMAN, TATA SONS Chandrasekaran said at the 2026 Bloomberg New Economy Forum. He identified technology, its potential misuse and the resulting restructuring of labour as key near-term challenges. He also expressed concern over ongoing conflicts and supply chain disruptions, citing a cyberattack that nearly cost Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) six weeks of production.
Chandrasekaran said businesses needed to reassess resilience amid growing uncertainty. "We have to define what resilience will mean for our business," he said. Semiconductors key to India's future Separately, Chandrasekaran said semiconductors would be fundamental to India's future, with the country well positioned to emerge as a key player in global supply chains, supported by its talent pool, large domestic market and potential international partnerships.
He said the Tata Group's priority was to build capabilities in an industry essential to meeting domestic demand, while stressing the need for partnerships to access technology and develop India's semiconductor ecosystem. "We are in a beautiful spot in India, because we have the talent, we have the domestic market, we can play a part in every global supply chain," he said. However, Chandrasekaran cautioned against investing in the most advanced chip-manufacturing technologies without adequately assessing market demand and commercial viability.
"You cannot be reckless and say that I am going to be putting a 2 nanometre chip (plant). It's just not going to work. So, we need to also see where the demand is," he said, adding that investments must be financially viable and generate sustainable employment over the long term.
Tata Electronics is setting up a semiconductor fabrication plant in Dholera, Gujarat, in partnership with Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC), with an investment of around ₹91,000 crore. The group is also developing a semiconductor assembly and test facility in Assam, involving an investment of around ₹27,000 crore. The projects are aimed at meeting growing domestic demand, strengthening India's semiconductor supply chain and integrating the country more closely with the global electronics manufacturing ecosystem.
Also Read: The global AI meltdown may be good news for Indian IT, but not for these stocks Tags Home / Business News / N Chandrasekaran flags geopolitical, technology and commodity disruptions
Source: CNBC TV18
