India Matters
Megatrends and cross-sector reforms continue to attract international capital to India. A growing number of domestic retail investors may add depth to the country’s capital markets. Multiple themes are driving growth. Over 100,000 startup companies have also emerged since 2016, creating a broad and diverse investment opportunity set.
We believe three megatrends stand out: India’s digitization advancement, the country’s rise as a global manufacturing hub, and its growing cohort of affluent consumers.
India has embraced innovation. There has been a rapid increase in internet access, fintech, e-commerce, education, and healthcare technology in recent years. We expect this to continue. India has over 900 million internet users and about half a billion smartphone users.1 Its digital payments industry is booming, and digital transactions as a percentage of India’s economy is now more than 75%.2 As experienced, locally based investors, we see compelling long-term investment opportunities emerging across e-commerce, fintech and IT services.
Flagship initiatives such as “Make in India” and production-linked incentive schemes are attracting investment, positioning the country as a global manufacturing hub. “Make in India” policies have driven domestic production, though ease of doing business still varies across states. Considerable progress has already made in electronics, for instance, where there is an ambitious target to grow the sector into a $500 billion industry by 2030 focusing on manufacturing production, including semiconductors. Expected areas of growth include consumer spending and infrastructure, with a need for significant investments to sustain development.
India's population overtook China in 2023 to become the largest globally, and the country also has one of the youngest demographics in the world with a median age of 28 years.3 India’s middle-class population, the largest in the world, is expected to account for 80% of the country’s population and 75% of consumer spending by 2030. Estimates suggests an “Affluent India” cohort—those with a per capita income of over US$10,000—will grow to ~100 million consumers by 2027.4 We see opportunities emerging for companies that can cater to premium spending trends across categories, from food and fashion to technology and transportation.
Source: Goldman Sachs Asset Management as of November 30, 2024
* Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research. As of November 18, 2024. 6.3 year-on-year real GDP growth in 2025.
** Includes listed companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange
1 Source: The Times of India https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/india-now-has-936-16-million-internet-subscribers-trai/articleshow/109537789.cms
2 Reserve Bank of India, National Payments of India, December 2023
3 Worlddata, census.gov. As of February 2024
4 Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research. As of January 12, 2024.