"World Full Of Katappas": Piyush Goyal On Why India Stands Out On Trust

Union Minister Piyush Goyal turned to blockbuster movie ‘Bahubali' on Thursday to draw an analogy charting India's position in the world - a partner who can be trusted. 

Goyal, while addressing the CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam, said that trust is the “scarcest commodity” today. “It's the most difficult commodity to find in most parts of the world,” he said. 

He then made a reference to the popular Telugu movie ‘Bahubali' and talked about the last scene of the franchise's first part - Katappa killing Bahubali. 

Speaking about how the entire country was taken by just one question - why did Katappa kill Bahubali? - Goyal said that in a world full of Kattapas, India is a partner which “will not stab you in the back”. 

Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali? The whole country once asked that question. In global trade today, partners are asking a different one: "Who can we trust?" The answer is India. A partner who keeps its word. A partner who will never stab you in the back. #CIIPartnershipSummit2026

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) November 12, 2026

“For several years, we kept wondering. There's a particular scene in that movie in which Kattapa kills Bahubali. And it remained a mystery for two years. Why Kattapa killed Bahubali? In a world full of Kattapas, India today offers something rare. A partner who will not stab you in the back,” he said. 

The minister shared a clip of the speech on X and reiterated his point in the caption. 

“In global trade today, partners are asking a different one: ‘Who can we trust?' The answer is India,” he wrote. 

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“A partner who keeps its word. A partner who will never stab you in the back,” he added. 

Part one of the ‘Bahubali' franchise, released in 2015, ended on a major cliffhanger showing Kattapa, a popular character of the movie and throne loyalist, stabbing Bahubali, the protagonist, in the back. 

The reason behind the stabbing became a pop culture moment, with people coming up with theories about what may have caused one of Indian cinema's biggest betrayals. The answer came two years later in 2017 when part two of the movie was released.

“Best Trade Deal With US”

Goyal also spoke about the trade deal between India and the United States, negotiations for which are still on, and said that India will have one of the "best" trade deals with the US. 

“And in every respect, India will have one of the best deals with the US," he told reporters. 

He added  that India has negotiated a good set of outcomes with the US in the pact.