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Where Capital, Energy And Risk Go Next

Where Capital, Energy And Risk Go Next

The Weekend Playlist

September 06, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

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What happens when India’s growth ambitions collide with tighter capital, fragile supply chains and a more uncertain global economy?

This week, Rajiv Kumar and Surjit Bhalla examine what India must change to revive investment, exports and competitiveness. Nilesh Shah looks at how mutual funds may need to move beyond equity, while Ananth Narayan traces how interest rate policy can distort asset allocation and capital flows.

The external risks are just as important. Anas Alhajji looks at energy security and India’s dependence on Russian crude, Lim Wei Hung explains why rare earth security will depend on cross border collaboration, and Hal Brands sees geopolitical volatility becoming a more persistent feature of the global economy.

Across these conversations, the message is similar: growth will depend not just on attracting capital, but on allocating it better and building greater resilience across markets, energy and supply chains.

WEEKEND EDITION

India’s Capital Markets Need To Go Beyond The Familiar

Can India’s mutual fund industry reach the next generation of investors if it continues to be seen largely as an equity product?

In this Weekend Edition, Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Nilesh Shah of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Co. Ltd. about how the industry must evolve as investor participation deepens and markets become more mature.

Shah points to a large gap between the roughly six crore mutual fund investors today and the much wider pool of Indians who already own financial or physical assets. Closing that gap, he says, will require products beyond equity, including debt, hybrids, REITs, SIFs, global investments, and eventually access to unlisted assets.

However, expanding the product universe also brings new constraints. Illiquidity, specialised fund-management talent, investor education, and regulatory safeguards will determine how quickly these categories can scale.

Key Insight

The next phase of mutual fund growth may depend on becoming a broader investment platform that offers different risk, liquidity and return profiles rather than relying primarily on equity.

SPECIAL EDITION

India’s Russian Oil Cushion Is Being Tested

Why has India weathered the recent disruption in Asian energy markets better than many of its neighbours?

In this Special Edition, Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Dr. Anas Alhajji of Energy Outlook Advisors, LLC at Elara Capital Ashwamedh 2026 about oil prices, LNG flows, and how shifts in Russian, Gulf and American energy supplies are reshaping the market.

India stands out in Asia because discounted Russian crude has helped it restore imports, replenish inventories, and resume petroleum product exports even as demand weakened elsewhere. Alhajji also sees an opportunity for India to rethink strategic reserves by allowing Gulf producers to finance and build storage capacity locally.

Yet the bigger shift may be in gas, not oil. LNG is becoming increasingly central to global energy trade, while reduced Qatari supply is keeping prices elevated and making access especially difficult for poorer importing economies.

Key Insight

India’s recent energy resilience has come from access to discounted Russian crude, but greater storage capacity could determine how well it handles the next supply shock.

The Era Of Seamless Globalisation Is Over

What changes for businesses when geopolitical disruption stops being an exception and becomes part of the baseline?

In this Special Edition, Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Dr. Hal Brands of Johns Hopkins SAIS at Elara Capital Ashwamedh 2026 about Donald Trump’s foreign policy, the future of US-China competition, the strain in US-India ties, and what a more fragmented global order could mean for investors and companies.

Brands sees Trump’s approach as an effort to extract greater leverage from America’s trade, alliance, and strategic relationships. That makes policy more transactional, but also harder for partners to predict.

However, the bigger risk may extend well beyond any one presidency. Even if individual crises ease, Brands expects rivalry between major powers, regional instability, and a less seamless form of globalisation to persist.

Key Insight

The end of seamless globalisation means resilience may matter more than efficiency in how companies build supply chains and allocate capital.

Can Asia Build A Rare-Earth Supply Chain Beyond China?

Can countries reduce their dependence on China without trying to recreate China’s entire rare-earth ecosystem?

In this Special Edition, Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Wei Hung Lim of Southern Alliance Mining at Elara Capital Ashwamedh 2026 about Malaysia’s rare-earth opportunity, the importance of heavy rare earths, and what it takes to build a more resilient supply chain.

Malaysia’s advantage lies not simply in having reserves, but in the composition of its deposits, including elements such as terbium, dysprosium, and yttrium that are critical for magnets, semiconductors, and advanced industrial applications.

However, Lim says self-sufficiency may be unrealistic. China has spent decades building capabilities from mining through processing to manufacturing. For other countries, the more practical route may be to combine mining, refining, and manufacturing capabilities across borders.

Key Insight

Rare-earth security is not simply about finding more deposits; it depends on matching the right minerals with processing, manufacturing and end-use capabilities across countries.

India’s 2047 Goal Needs A Different Growth Model

Can India become a high-income economy by 2047 without changing how it attracts capital and organises growth?

In this Special Edition, Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Dr. Rajiv Kumar of Pahle India Foundation at Elara Capital Ashwamedh 2026 about why sustaining 8 to 9% growth could require a fundamental reset in the role of government, private investment, exports, and foreign capital.

Kumar’s central idea is a shift from a regulatory state to a private-sector promotional state, one that identifies anchor investors, works with them directly, gives states greater responsibility for export strategy, and builds clearer accountability at the district level.

However, he also challenges the assumption that India’s population automatically guarantees a large domestic market. If purchasing power remains limited, external demand and export-oriented FDI become even more important. That includes being more open to Chinese capital where security concerns can be managed.

Key Insight

Reaching developed economy status by 2047 may require India to combine sustained 8 to 9% growth with a more promotional state, targeted FDI, stronger exports and greater accountability in how growth is delivered.

Can India Grow Faster Without Becoming More Competitive?

India wants to become a developed economy by 2047. But what if the bigger constraint is not ambition, but the incentives shaping investment?

In this Special Edition, Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Dr. Surjit Bhalla, Economist at Elara Capital Ashwamedh 2026 about the realism of India’s 2047 target, the slowdown in private investment, and why manufacturing has struggled to become a larger engine of growth.

Bhalla sees India’s infrastructure expansion as significant, but says public investment can only take growth so far. The next leg must come from private capital, manufacturing, and greater access to global demand.

However, he believes protection can work against that objective. Tariffs, quality control orders, and other barriers may shield domestic producers, but can also reduce the pressure to invest, compete, and export.

Key Insight

The next leg of growth may require India to shift from protecting domestic producers to exposing them to the competition that encourages investment, scale and exports.

THE CORE QUIZ

Which state’s Food and Drug Administration busted the racket involving altered expiry dates and nutrition labels?

HOW INDIA’S ECONOMY WORKS

When Cheap Money Creates Expensive Markets

Can keeping interest rates low end up making India less attractive to investors?

In this episode of How India’s Economy Works, Puja Mehra speaks with Ananth Narayan, economist and former Whole Time Member of SEBI, about the links between India’s bond, equity, and currency markets and the unintended effects of managing each in isolation.

Narayan says aggressive bond purchases and low fixed-income returns have pushed discretionary savings towards equities and overseas assets, contributing to stretched valuations and weaker foreign inflows. Lower interest-rate differentials have also made it cheaper to hedge or speculate against the rupee.

However, his point is not that policymakers should never intervene. It is that intervention needs to account for how one market spills into another.

Why This Matters

India’s bond, equity and currency markets do not operate in isolation. If low interest rates distort where savings flow, the effects can spill into equity valuations, foreign investment and the rupee.

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