Key Points:
- Larry Fink hails India’s digital rupee and tech reforms as ushering in the “era of India,” warning the U.S. is falling behind.
- He emphasizes India’s long-term growth driven by smartphone adoption, 5G rollout, and digital public infrastructure.
- BlackRock’s Jio partnership aims to expand capital market participation, making investing more accessible to Indian households.
BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink on Wednesday praised India’s digitisation of the rupee and technology-led reforms, calling it the “era of India” and warning that countries such as the United States are falling behind in adopting digital systems.
Speaking at the JioBlackRock event “Investing for a New Era” in Mumbai, Larry Fink said the Narendra Modi government’s focus on digital infrastructure has transformed commerce across India and positioned the country for sustained, long-term growth.
“When you think about how the Modi administration digitised the rupee and how it transformed commerce in India across the board, I am very worried about other countries,” Fink said. “Even the United States is falling behind. We need to be digitised.”
The event was hosted by JioBlackRock, a joint venture between Jio Financial Services, part of the Reliance Group, and BlackRock. Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani also participated in the discussion.
Larry Fink said India’s economic story should not be judged on short-term political or market developments but on structural changes that unfold over decades.
“When you think about the growth of India, it’s not a quarter, it’s not a day or week, it’s not a year. It’s over a long horizon,” he said.
Long-Term View of India’s Growth
Larry Fink pointed to the widespread adoption of smartphones, expansion of high-speed networks, and rapid digitisation of services as pivotal moments in India’s development.
“I think that’s a pivotal point, 2012 was,” he said, referring to the period when smartphone use began accelerating in India. “Think about your life before the smartphone here in India, but the beginning of the smartphone, the rollout of 5G, and how that transformed India in so many ways.”
He said India’s ability to adopt and deploy technology at scale sets it apart from many other major economies.
“The dispersion of that technology in India is really what is so inspiring, and the utilisation of the new technology for more and more people, and how that transforms commerce, consumption, information, education, all of that is ripe for real, solid growth,” Fink said.
India’s digital public infrastructure, including online identity systems and digital payments, has been widely credited with increasing financial inclusion and lowering transaction costs. Larry Fink described these developments as part of what he called the “democratisation of India.”
“I think this is part of the democratisation of India, and so now India is a leader in this,” he said.
Global Comparisons and Trade Outlook
Asked about a recently announced U.S.-India trade deal, Fink said it may influence markets in the short term but would have little impact on India’s long-run trajectory.
“Over 20 years, it had no bearing,” he said. “Maybe over the next six months or a year, it will have some significant bearing. But over time, the foundational issues of India make it good — how it’s able to leapfrog.”
He said the country’s capacity to adopt technologies developed elsewhere and adapt them for mass use gives him confidence in India’s future.
“The fundamental opportunity is the huge intellectualism of India to transform what technology, whether the technology was created in the U.S. or somewhere else in the world,” Fink said.
Call for More Investors
Fink also stressed the importance of expanding participation in India’s capital markets, arguing that broader investment would allow households to share in the nation’s growth.
“If you believe in the era of India, we need to get more people investing alongside the growth of the country,” he said.
Participation through capital markets, he added, enables families to build long-term wealth and aligns personal financial outcomes with the country’s economic progress.
Fink said BlackRock’s partnership with Jio aims to offer technology-enabled mutual funds and investment products that make investing more accessible to Indian savers.
“We need to be thinking about how this all plays out,” he said. “This is a long journey, and India is in a very strong position to lead.”
