Private equity picture brightens in India

Mumbai

HANGING on the wall in the modest office of Nitin Deshmukh, the chief executive of the Kotak Private Equity Group, is a photograph of a tiny man scaling a tall sand dune. "Take pride in how far you have come," the inscription says. "Have faith in how far you can go."

For investors in Indian private equity, it's a maxim that is well understood. Indian private equity exploded a decade ago when global firms like Blackstone, 3i Group and Apax Partners flocked to India, drawn by the spectacular returns produced by local funds.