Moneycontrol FiDEX 2026: India short-term drama, long-term opportunity, says Rashesh Shah

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India’s economic and market environment may appear volatile in the short term, but the long-term trajectory remains strongly positive, Rashesh Shah said at Moneycontrol FiDEX 2026 (Financial Distribution Expo).

“India in the short term is filled with drama, but in the long term it is filled with a lot of opportunity,” Shah said, pointing to frequent geopolitical tensions, market disruptions and domestic developments that often dominate short-term sentiment.

Such volatility can appear more intense depending on how closely markets are tracked, he said. Minute-by-minute market monitoring can make price movements seem highly volatile, whereas a longer-term view often shows much steadier outcomes.

The longer-term trend in Indian markets highlights the power of compounding despite periodic disruptions, Shah said.

“When I started my career in 1989, the Bombay Stock Exchange index was about 680. Today it is around 80,000,” he said. “Having seen more than 100x growth over 35 years shows what long-term compounding can do.”

Navigating Indian markets therefore requires balancing short-term risks with long-term opportunities, Shah added.

“What we have learned is that you need a bifocal vision — one eye on the short-term risks and the other on the long-term opportunity,” he said.