Exclusive | JP Morgan's Jaime Dimon says India to be fastest growing nation for next 10 years

India should be the fastest growing nation for the next 10 years and the second biggest destination for technology, said Jaime Dimon, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), JP Morgan Chase on Thursday, September 22.

“You have done a lot of fabulous things like biometric identification, open and checking accounts, trying to develop infrastructure better, getting rid of bureaucratic regulatory burdens, it should be the fastest growing nation to play for the next 10 years. If you don't, it's because you did not do all the right things,” Dimon told CNBC-TV18 from the sidelines of the JP Morgan India Investor Summit.

India's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 13.5 percent in the April-June quarter, showed the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on August 31. It was down from the 20.1 percent recorded in the corresponding quarter last year and up from 4.1 percent sequentially, the data showed.

However, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday slashed India’s GDP growth forecast for FY23 to 7 percent mainly on account of higher inflation and a tight monetary policy. In April, the ADB projected the Indian economy to grow at 7.5 percent in FY23 and 8 percent in FY24. In July, however, it trimmed the forecast for FY23 to 7.2 percent and for FY24 to 7.8 percent citing higher-than-anticipated inflation and monetary tightening by RBI.

India has grown dramatically over time and it’s the second biggest destination for technology, Dimon said, while also adding that the US wants to ally with India and partner on many fronts.

“You have people like America who want to be your ally and partner in many more ways."

Dimon believes that India could be a huge beneficiary of manufacturing moving out of China.

“Every company looks at supply chains that are going to have to diversify more and a lot of people say that China is not as secure a supply chain and therefore to move manufacturing to somewhere. And I think India could be a huge beneficiary of that.”

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, many Western firms have made no bones about diversifying their supply chains, often referred to as China plus one.

A key expectation from India is that the country needs to have the right rules and regulations in place.

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