Moneycontrol News
Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala on February 6 said that PM Narendra Modi will be triumphant in the upcoming general elections but also reiterated that India's growth is above any single personality.
"The BJP has not lost as badly as Congress lost in 2013. I would not take this election result to be the final guide to 2019 general elections. I will still bet my money on a BJP government led by Modi," he said at the annual TiECON summit in Mumbai.
Jhunjhunwala said growth and prosperity come only when there is chaos in countries like India and America.
"Skills, democracy, demographics, entrepreneurship, governance and natural resources are factors behind India's growth," he said.
Jhunjhunwala also pointed out that democracy was an important contributor to India's growth, and that it is often overlooked. He gave the example of Botswana being the most prosperous country in the mineral-rich continent of Africa, as it has the longest period of democracy in the continent.
"People are underestimating the implications of governance. It has a long way to go, but it is slowly and surely coming," he said.
When asked about potential red flags in the global economy, he said the stability of the euro, and the debt accumulated by China, at 300 percent of its GDP, should be watched closely.
When asked about the global economic slowdown affecting valuations in India, Jhunjhunwala said that if the slowdown is not accompanied by a financial crisis, as was the case in 2008, then it may not affect India's valuations significantly.
He also said that other ongoing events such as the volatility of oil prices, and the trade friction is not materially going to affect India's growth.
