'India Is Different': Ben Powell On Why India Is A Good Hedge To Artificial Intelligence For FPIs

As global markets rally on the back of AI fervour, BlackRock's Ben Powell defended India's position as a growth hub, calling it a different but unique story as foreign portfolio investors continue to remain cautious on domestic markets.

In an interview with NDTV Profit, Powell explained why India, despite the absence of an AI-driven rally, stands out as a unique opportunity for FPIs to generate alpha.

"In a world which is very, very kind of hard to find diversification—it just feels like it's all an AI story, we're bullish that AI story—but India is a different thing," he said.

While the majority of markets have ridden the wave of AI, leading to unprecedented rallies, Ben Powell believes India has the perfect mix of rising working population and productivity, which is coupled with policy reform.

"India is different. It is driven by this beautiful combination of a rising working population and increasing productivity driven by the ongoing reforms, the amazing work being done around digitalization, and so forth," he said.

Powell went on to claim that India is a standalone 'good' element to have in a portfolio for a global investor as it not only gives them geographical diversification but also acts as a hedge against AI.

"So India is a very different story. We think it's a good story. And to your excellent question, yes, we think it is standalone good, but even better within the context of a global portfolio because it is a slightly different thing from the AI super-boom," he added.

During the interview, Ben Powell also stated how 2026 is going to be a year full of surprises and uncertainties. If US President Trump's social media account continues to dominate markets, it's going to be a hard game to play, he said.