At a recent Mumbai conference about India’s small and medium-sized enterprises, there was much talk over the buffet lunch of pulao and gulab jamun on their prospects.

It did not always match the tone of earlier upbeat speeches at the Confederation of Indian Industries’ summit that praised government initiatives to help small business maximise India’s moment as the world’s fastest-growing major economy.

“For India to grow exponentially, we need more and more of our [small businesses] to mature into large firms in the decade to come,” said Sunil Kant Munjal, president of the confederation and chair of two-wheeler company Hero. But some summit attendees endorsed the view of those economists who say India’s growth and the rapid expansion of the country’s biggest conglomerates has obscured the pressures on smaller businesses.