RC Bhargava calls on central and state governments to fast-track reforms and leverage technology to foster private enterprise and sustainable growth, amid optimistic forecasts for India’s car market expansion and green initiatives.
Maruti Suzuki India chairman RC Bhargava has called on central and state governments to speed up reforms, simplify the business environment and back policies that generate wealth, arguing that stronger private enterprise is essential if India is to make up for lost time.
In his message to shareholders in the company’s 2025-26 annual report, Bhargava said political parties should support reform measures and programmes that expand the economy, while ensuring that the extra resources created are used to build a more equitable and just society. He also said technology should be used more widely because it can cut corruption, reduce delays and lower production costs.
Bhargava linked his appeal to India’s recent economic performance, saying the country has continued to do well despite global disruption. He noted that goods and services tax collections have remained strong even after rates were lowered on more than 90% of products, adding that the recent tax changes may have helped the economy hold up better through a difficult period.
His comments come after the government’s GST 2.0 overhaul, which took effect on September 22, 2025 and has already lifted demand in the car market. Business Standard reported earlier that Bhargava has been reassessing the industry outlook in light of the tax reforms, with Maruti now estimating that India’s car market could reach 6.1 million to 6.3 million units by FY2030-31. He also expects the small-car segment to grow much faster than it did over the past five years.
That view is more upbeat than Bhargava’s earlier public remarks this year, when he said the small-car market needed annual growth of 8% to 10% to keep the sector on track. Moneycontrol reported that he sees strong enquiry levels continuing, particularly for cars in the lower GST bracket.
Bhargava said Maruti’s own retail sales rose 17% in the second half of last year after the new tax rates were introduced. He added that the company ended March 2026 with 1.9 lakh pending bookings because production capacity had not kept pace with demand in some models, a problem he said stemmed from earlier shifts away from small cars towards sport utility vehicles. The company is now making newer production lines more flexible, and Bhargava said that approach is already helping.
He also reiterated Maruti’s belief that India will need several technologies to reach net-zero emissions. Alongside electric vehicles and other options, he said biogas could become an important substitute for imported compressed natural gas because it can be produced locally and has no import content. He added that the fuel would also create useful byproducts, including organic manure.
Bhargava said Maruti has been working with the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in Pusa for two years on the idea and that the preliminary findings match the company’s thinking. He said the board has approved four biogas plants in the first phase at a cost of Rs 561 crore. The company expects the project to support cleaner fuel use, ease pressure on CNG supplies and reduce the need to burn coal for power generation.
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