AIF industry crucial for India's economic expansion: Mayank Jha

BCG's Mayank Jha highlights significant growth potential for India's AIF industry, comparing it to the mutual fund sector before its boom. He emphasizes its crucial role in economic expansion and achieving 'Viksit Bharat' goals.

Mayank Jha, Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group (Photo/ANI)

India's Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) industry has significant growth potential and could play a crucial role in the country's economic expansion, while artificial intelligence (AI) continues to present a major opportunity, said Mayank Jha, Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the 4th CII Alternative Investment Fund Summit 2026, Jha highlighted that alternative assets account for just 6 per cent of India's asset management industry compared with 19 per cent globally. Hence, “the opportunity of alternative assets to become important in the growth of the Indian economy is certain...there is a lot of headroom to get there,” he added.

AIF at a Stage Similar to Mutual Funds in 2016

Highlighting the growth potential of the AIF industry, Jha said the sector is currently at a stage similar to where India's mutual fund industry stood nine years ago, just before it witnessed rapid expansion. “Today AIF commitments are about 17.5 lakh crores and the mutual fund industry in 2016 was at about that level. So, we are expecting the amount of capital that India needs for Viksit Bharat. This is the kind of commitment of capital on the private side that will be needed and AIF will be a very crucial lever to drive it,” he said.

AI an 'Important Opportunity'

Apart from this, Jha also stressed that AI continues to be an “important opportunity” for India; however, the country needs to look at it “differently.”

Need for Foreign Capital

Additionally, India would require substantial foreign investment to achieve its long-term development ambitions, making it important to strengthen the framework for attracting international capital. “As a country we need a lot of foreign capital which needs to come in for the for the growth of the economy as we look at as we look at Viksit Bharat. So, the entire framework of getting foreign capital needs to continue to be made attractive. Now there can be multiple policy interventions in that,” he said. (ANI)

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