MUMBAI — Expressing total confidence in the country's domestic "growth story," market regulators confirmed Tuesday that an anticipated 7.4% GDP growth rate has successfully inspired foreign portfolio investors to pull $12.7 billion out of the Indian stock market in March to buy artificial intelligence equities in other time zones.

"The underlying fundamentals of our economy are incredibly strong, which is exactly why global capital is fleeing to the Nasdaq and the Nikkei," said a market official, reviewing 2025 data showing Indian indices edging 1% lower while the Japanese Nikkei surged 70%. The official emphasized that India's 10% index weight in traditional IT services remains a vital global asset, noting that domestic firms will eventually be hired to troubleshoot the AI platforms driving the US Nasdaq's 70% tech weighting.

The capital flight, which continued with another $4.7 billion in foreign outflows in April, follows a consistent multi-year pattern. In 2024, Indian benchmarks rose a modest 8.8% while the tech-heavy South Korean Kospi surged 43%. Officials acknowledged that domestic benchmarks remain 5% to 6% down from pre-West Asia war levels, a phenomenon attributed to global investors quietly realizing India does not manufacture the technology driving the current market supercycle.

"Domestic retail investors should not be discouraged by this underperformance," the official added, advising citizens to continue pouring their savings into a narrow rally of large-cap stocks to provide reliable exit liquidity for foreign institutions reallocating to Samsung and SK Hynix.