Amid global volatility, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, expressed continued optimism for India on Wednesday, noting that artificial intelligence (AI) could significantly enhance domestic productivity and provide a powerful tailwind for the economy.
“We continue to be very structurally positive on India as an economy and as a market,” Ben Powell, Chief Investment Strategist for APAC at BlackRock, told businessline. He identified two primary catalysts: demographics and the quality of economic growth. “The demography is a huge tailwind whereby by the end of this decade, around one in five workers globally will be here in India. Second, is the astonishing progress India continues to make around becoming a more efficient, more productive, more technologically-enabled economy,” he said.
However, Powell also flagged potential short-term challenges. “We need to recognise in the very short term [that] we have a little bit of problems [with]. It’s not that India does anything wrong. Supply is not just a local but global issue. But it does have a little bit feed through into, in particular, energy imports, of which India is number one. So, I’m very interested to see, in short, the fuel price or likely fuel price increase – when, how much, and the subsequent ripple,” he said.
Energy and China
Regarding sectoral preferences, Powell noted a strategic focus on energy. “I am focused on energy. Hopefully short-term consequences of closure of Strait of Hormuz and higher prices are over. This has some important implication for the profitability of the energy sector shock..” For him, energy represents a broad basket rather than just oil.
“I’m looking at China as an example of a country [that] has a very pragmatic approach to energy. They really have a whole portfolio: solar, wind, coal and nuclear. They have had an amazing, astonishing growth in their ability to generate power. And I think that has been core to the success of China over the last many years in becoming a manufacturing centre for the world,” he said.
Powell emphasised that India’s highly literate, largely English-speaking and tech-savvy workforce positions the country to become a successful adopter of AI. He noted that this integration will bolster labour productivity, serving as a significant economic tailwind.
BlackRock re-entered the Indian market in 2023 after a nearly five-year hiatus, partnering with Jio to establish a joint venture. With an initial investment of $150 million in a 50-50 split, Jio BlackRock has seen robust growth. In his 2026 Annual Chairman’s Letter to Investors, dated March 23, BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink noted that the venture now manages funds for nearly 400 institutions and over a million retail investors in India. He further highlighted that India is entering a new chapter of economic growth as stock markets continue to rally.
Published on April 29, 2026