India to remain an extremely attractive market for global PE players in 2021 India is likely to be one of the fastest growing major economies over next decade. Mohit Ralhan January 01, 2021 / 01:44 PM IST The year 2020 proved to be a year of profound disruptions with the onset of COVID-19 pandemic which triggered major economic and societal changes in the country. The economy faced major challenges amidst nationwide lockdown, labour disruptions, demand contraction and capital inadequacy, among other issues. However, despite various concerns, the Private Equity (PE) space showed optimism as the PE investment activity largely kept pace and momentum of the previous year. During the initial months of slowdown, private equity investors showed a more cautious approach focussing on existing portfolio. But as the likely impact on various sectors started to take shape, the PE investors went into full drive to cherry pick better assets. Typically, economic disruptions have proven to be a good time for private equity industry to build better portfolios. Therefore, by end of 2020, total PE investments worth $38.2 billion were recorded, which was in line with the $38.9 billion investments in the previous year. Growth-stage rounds bagged highest investment of $15 billion, followed by late-stage rounds with investment of $11.2 billion.