Blackstone Inc.’s India journey may have started with hesitation, but the country has since emerged as one of the investment firm’s strongest private equity markets globally. Blackstone President and COO Jon Gray recalled that the firm’s initial India operation was relatively small and lacked a clearly defined strategy. The global financial crisis then made it even harder for the firm to build momentum.
“We had sort of a skeleton crew. We didn’t really have a great defined strategy,” Blackstone’s president said, according to a Bloomberg report. “We couldn’t make the numbers work. So we did basically nothing.”
That early experience eventually prompted Blackstone to rethink its strategy for India. “We said, ‘You know what? We just need a better approach.'”
Years later, that reset has translated into massive returns, with India becoming Blackstone’s highest-returning private equity market globally, according to Gray.
Blackstone Changes Its India Investment Strategy
Blackstone’s approach to India changed significantly after its initial struggles. Rather than maintaining a limited presence, the investment firm began pursuing majority or equal-control positions in businesses. Its investments have focused on areas such as information technology services, commercial real estate and domestic manufacturing.
Gray now believes India could be approaching an important stage in its economic development, with the country’s growth trajectory potentially creating further opportunities for global investors.
“It takes time to get to a stage where you can really begin to expand your growth rate,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Wall Street Week. “And I do feel like India is getting closer and closer to that tipping point.”
India’s Economy Has Climbed The Global Rankings
India’s economic position has changed considerably over the past two decades. A 2005 World Bank report had ranked the country 14th globally by economic size. Since then, India’s gross domestic product has expanded nearly fivefold to $3.69 trillion, moving the country into fourth place and putting it ahead of Germany, the UK and France.
The country’s demographic profile remains another major factor behind the investment case. India has a population of around 1.47 billion people and overtook China to become the world’s most-populous country in 2023.
According to the World Bank, India’s growth accelerated to 7.6 per cent in fiscal 2026, reinforcing its position among the world’s major economies.
India’s Talent Pool Adds To Its Investment Appeal
Beyond the size of its economy, India’s large and educated workforce is also central to the country’s appeal for investors.
Mohandas Pai, former chief financial officer of Infosys Ltd., pointed to the scale of India’s annual graduate pool. He said around 11 million people graduate from colleges across the country every year.
That includes an estimated 800,000 to 1 million engineers or near-engineers, with roughly 500,000 considered capable of being trained for the technology sector, Pai said.
Pai sees an opportunity to combine India’s human capital with the financial resources, markets and marketing capabilities available in the US.
“We can conquer the entire world,” he said.
US-India Ties Face Challenges But Long-Term Trend Remains
The investment outlook is not without challenges. Gray pointed to areas of friction between the US and India, including tariffs and the impact of the US war with Iran on energy costs. “There will be bumps,” he said.
Despite these issues, Gray said the broader relationship between the two countries has continued to move towards closer ties as India becomes increasingly integrated with global capitalism. He argued that this direction has remained consistent irrespective of which political party controls the US government.
For Blackstone, patience has been an important part of its India strategy. Gray said infrastructure had historically been one of the major constraints on the country’s growth potential.
He pointed not only to roads, transport and other physical infrastructure, but also to the legal framework and capital-markets infrastructure needed to support businesses and investment.
“The real issue that has held India back for a long time was the infrastructure in the country. And it wasn’t just the physical infrastructure. It was the legal, the capital markets infrastructure,” Gray said.
Gray credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration with doing a “phenomenal job” in addressing those areas.
“A lot of things are falling into place,” Gray said.
