Ace investor Shankar Sharma believes that India’s true economic awakening will not come through comfort or celebration, but through crisis and discomfort. Speaking on the Exploring Minds podcast, Sharma outlined a vision for India’s transformation that hinges on adversity. “You go from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. because of a crisis,” he explained. For Sharma, it’s moments of deep economic distress—whether caused by a slowdown, fiscal imbalance, or industrial stagnation—that jolt nations into genuine reform and global competitiveness.
True to his reputation as a contrarian investor, Sharma distances himself from hyped sectors like solar energy or artificial intelligence. “I have no idea what solar is going to do or what AI is going to do. I’m not a venture capitalist,” he remarked. Instead, he focuses on investing in countries, not just commodities or themes. A prime example is his investment in Chile, the world’s largest copper producer. “I haven’t just bought copper. I’ve gone and bought Chile,” he said, arguing that a rebound in copper prices could trigger a broader economic revival for the country.
Sharma’s strategy centers on backing economies or companies with a strong historical track record that have stumbled due to macroeconomic missteps, policy errors, or just bad luck. He believes that such bets offer more upside than speculative plays in emerging tech. “When they turn, the upside is real,” he asserted.
Clarifying his widely cited “4 a.m. investing” framework, Sharma explained it is often misunderstood. “It’s not about sunrise industries. It’s about things on which the sun has already set but are now reviving,” he said. In other words, it’s not the shiny new sectors but the revival stories—of forgotten industries or nations—that hold real potential. “Don’t confuse sunrise industries with 4 a.m. investing—they’re completely different things.”
When asked what it would take for India to become a true “4 a.m. country,” Sharma’s answer was blunt: “A crisis.” He criticized the prevailing attitude of self-congratulation and complacency among Indians, arguing that only a profound wake-up call will shake the country into competitive mode. But even then, he offers a note of caution: “Not all 4 a.m. will become 10 a.m.—far from it.”
In essence, Sharma advocates for resilience through reckoning—a belief that only the furnace of crisis can forge a globally competitive India.
