At the First Foundation Day of the Chintan Research Foundation, Pranav Adani, Managing Director (Agro, Oil & Gas) and Director of Adani Enterprises, offered a resonant perspective that defined the promise and direction of the newly launched think tank. Reflecting on the importance of indigenous thought leadership in a rapidly shifting world, Pranav Adani described the Foundation as an idea whose time has come.
He stressed that the time had come for India to view global problems through its own lens, rejecting frameworks that often feel disconnected from the lived experiences of its citizens. “For far too long, we have examined global problems through lenses that were not our own. The dominant narratives shaping our understanding of development, progress, and even crisis have often felt disconnected from the lived realities of our people. That must change,” he asserted.
Positioning Chintan Research Foundation as a future-shaping institution, Pranav Adani urged that it become “a crucible of new ideas—ideas rooted in Indian realities and representative of the Global South.” He highlighted that policy solutions must not be confined to boardrooms but must extend to “factories, farms, startups, and households across India.”
India, he noted, is at a crucial juncture. To achieve the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047, “we need bold transformation,” and institutions like CRF must lead policy discourse on climate change, energy transitions, global economic realignment, and the geopolitics shaping the future. The challenges are immense, but so is the potential.
Drawing a parallel with the Adani Group’s own journey, Pranav Adani highlighted how his organisation has spent over three decades operating at the crossroads of infrastructure, innovation, and national interest. “I see Chintan’s mandate as aligned with ours: to be a catalyst for growth, grounded in independence, rigour, and purpose.”
What distinguishes CRF, he argued, is its potential to become a meeting ground for diverse minds and stakeholders. “It must be a platform where entrepreneurs and policymakers, trade negotiators and local innovators, academics and artisans find common cause.”
Pranav Adani also articulated three fundamental principles that should guide Chintan’s future: collaboration, decentralisation, and global engagement. He urged all Indian think tanks to work together, noting, “Among those gathered today are representatives from some of our finest think tanks… Imagine the impact if we truly collaborate—sharing knowledge, avoiding duplication, and collectively moving the needle on key issues.”
He stressed the importance of decentralisation, reminding the audience that “India is not one city or one region. It is a thread of diverse voices across its length and breadth.” He called on CRF to engage with cities like Ranchi, Raipur, Bhubaneswar, and Bhopal, and with communities in the Northeast and coastal regions. “For Chintan to speak with authenticity, it must first listen deeply,” he said.
Looking outward, he underlined the responsibility India bears as a voice of the Global South. “The world is searching for new paradigms—partnerships rooted in equity, voices that have long been unheard. Let CRF build that global footprint with confidence,” he said, adding that he envisions the Foundation becoming a crucial bridge for diplomatic dialogue.
Yet, for all the talk of strategy and vision, Pranav Adani reminded the audience that public policy is, at its core, deeply human. “Policy is not abstract. It is deeply personal. As our Chairman often says, ‘Growth must be measured not just by numbers, but by the lives we touch.’” He painted a vivid picture of the individuals whose lives must ultimately be uplifted by institutions like Chintan—a weaver in Varanasi, a woman running a dairy in Gujarat, a student coding in Bengaluru, a tribal youth in Chhattisgarh striving for opportunity.
To the government functionaries in the room, he offered a promise: “Chintan will strive to provide rigorous, evidence-based research to support your work. It will be a platform to ask and answer the hard questions shaping our future.”
“Let chintan lead to prayaas—so that thought becomes action, and ideas become instruments of real change,” he concluded.
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