Underscoring the need for inter-connectedness between the organisational and national level human resource development (HRD) issues, challenges and opportunities, the horizons of HRD are being extended from a holistic perspective. In recent times, Indian firms in general have made big strides in increasing their global competitiveness, both at home and abroad. The availability and management of talent is seen to be one of their key competitive advantages. By focusing on strategic HRD initiatives, challenges and future scenarios at the organisational level, this paper sheds light on what needs to be done at the national level to develop human resources in India.