India must find its own path, not copy China, says General Atlantic Co-President Martin Escobari

General Atlantic Co-President Martin Escobari emphasised that India must find its own development path, and investors must be patient. He made the remarks while responding to a question from Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath on the lessons that India could draw from China's rise.

Having invested over $5 billion in India, Escobari reflected on a visit to China years ago when its GDP was only about 20 per cent larger than Brazil's."Today, it's 14 times bigger," he said, underscoring the remarkable transformation the country has achieved over 25 years.

When Kamath asked Escobari what drove China's rise, Escobari highlighted China's focus on the "industrialisation", infrastructure development, digital adoption and export-led manufacturing. Then Kamath added that another political advantage China had was that it enabled long-term strategies, allowing "40-year plans" rather than a shorter electoral cycle every four years.

On Kamath's response, Escobari agreed that India should not make everything a copy-paste of China's model. "Your solution is going to have to be more nuanced and more custom-made for India and the unique richness and traditions and complexities of your country," he said. However, Escobari also sounded bullish on the direction of travel. Looking at the growth trajectory of India, he said, "8 per cent is a lot. 8 per cent compounded over 10 years. So be patient with your country."

Attractive opportunities in Indian firms

Kamath said he remains fully optimistic about India, both because he built his wealth in the country and because he is confident that India's economy will eventually reach the $10 trillion mark. However, he cautioned that the milestone may not be achieved within the next five, eight or even 10 years. He also revealed that he is diversifying his portfolio with a greater focus on sectors such as IT services and banking.

Acknowledging that investing in IT services firms may appear unconventional in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, Kamath argued that Indian companies with strong competitive advantages and valuations in the range of 12 to 15 times earnings continue to offer attractive opportunities. The discussion then shifted to a long-standing question facing India's startup ecosystem: why the country has yet to create a globally dominant company of significant scale.

Escobari stated that it takes one pioneer to make the "role model effect". "It can be done. There's access to capital. There is unfair access to human capital that is AI-trained at the right time. You need the courage to do what has never been done before," he said.

Escobari said that once an Indian company successfully break through globally, it could inspire and encourage many others to follow a similar path. However, he also highlighted what he described as India's unique paradox. While a domestic market of 1.3 billion people offers enormous opportunities, it can also act as a trap. Escobari called it the "curse of a domestic market" as companies can become too comfortable helping India solely.

"It is uncomfortable to go to a new country, build a multi-country team and get out of the comfort zone," he said. He also noted that even conquering India is not like conquering one nation. "The diversity in your country is beyond comprehension to anyone who hasn't travelled to your country. It's not one country. It's an amalgamation of civilisations."