AI Narration Listen 00:000.5x0.75x1x1.25x1.5x2xThank you for your feedback.Your feedback has been reported succesfully.The increased liquidity and broadening of the investor base in India have made it possible for the likes of Blackstone to fund startups, real estate or infrastructure development projects, grow these investments and eventually exit via IPOsIndia, according to Prime Minister Modi, offers “reliability and stability” in a world full of uncertainties. Retaining investor trust is key to fulfilling that claim.3 min readOct 19, 2026 06:00 AM IST First published on: Oct 19, 2026 at 06:00 AM ISTThat Blackstone wants to double its investment in India to $100 billion over five years is significant. It suggests that the world’s largest alternative asset manager — with $1.3 trillion-plus investments in private equity and credit, real estate and infrastructure — takes a long-term view of India, “as the fastest-growing major economy for many decades to come”. Its COO Jonathan Gray credits India for having a strong and liquid capital market, making it “the easiest place to list a company” after the US. A similar long-term perspective —overlooking downsides such as the country’s energy import dependence, currently overvalued stock markets, and limited foundational AI and chip manufacturing capabilities — also explains Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial Holdings’s successful $5.6-billion bid to acquire a 60.7 per cent stake in IDBI Bank.That long view is both encouraging and compelling. The formalisation of the Indian economy alongside financialisation of household savings, investments in physical and digital infrastructure, and a four-fold expansion in total installed renewable energy capacity to nearly 300 gigawatts under the Narendra Modi government are impressive achievements. Among other things, they have boosted economic productivity by enabling more efficient flows of goods, services and savings. Take capital markets. In 2013-14 and 2014-15, a mere Rs 11,681 crore and Rs 17,056 crore were raised by companies through new capital issues of equity shares and bonds/debentures. In 2024-25 and 2025-26, those numbers were at Rs 2,18,339 crore and Rs 2,46,215 crore respectively. The increased liquidity and broadening of the investor base in India has made it possible for the likes of Blackstone to fund startups, real estate or infrastructure development projects, grow these investments and eventually exit via IPOs. For investors, whether foreign or domestic, ease of exit matters as much as entry — which India’s robust public markets today allow.AdvertisementPersuasive though the long-term “structural” story may be, India cannot brush aside the immediate challenges from elevated global energy prices and soaring bond yields. A lot of foreign capital flows into India in recent times has been courtesy of low interest rates in advanced economies. That era of cheap global money has largely ended. It makes financing of external current account as well as domestic fiscal deficits all the more difficult — and reason enough why policymakers must double down on macroeconomic stability and unfinished reforms, especially in agriculture and market-distorting subsidies. India, according to Prime Minister Modi, offers “reliability and stability” in a world full of uncertainties. Retaining investor trust is key to fulfilling that claim. ShareWhatsapptwitterFacebook