Vora pointed to a large, fast-growing economy, a young population, huge domestic demand and new sectors unfolding as key advantages India has.
While some near-term pain can't be ruled out, if one stays invested for another one or two quarters, there will be huge value unlocking and wealth creation over the long term.
Vora felt that foreign portfolio investors would return to Indian equity markets when geopolitical tensions ease, pressure on crude oil prices and the rupee subsides, and the AI wave settles. She also called for a reduction in long-term capital gains tax so that Indian markets can become more competitive with other markets.
But how does one convince investors to stay invested when markets are falling?
Priti Rathi Gupta, founder of investment platform Lxmi, who has also witnessed multiple market cycles, believes this period is perhaps the best time to create wealth.
"Uncertainty in my world is an opportunity," said Gupta. She pointed out that women were more persistent investors.
"Women are, by nature, long-term investors. When you look at redemptions, there's data that says that today almost 55-60% of redemptions happen in mutual funds within the first two years. Our data with women says it's less than 10% over 3-4 years," Gupta noted.
While equity markets may be falling, commodity markets have been in the spotlight, with crude prices surging and energy dependence emerging as a major issue. As Praveena Rai, MD and CEO of MCX, India's largest commodity exchange, put it, the time has never been better for commodity markets.
"We are growing very fast for sure. But it is still at the nascent stage. What we need to do is expand awareness of the commodity markets," said Rai.
Rai, who was at the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) before joining MCX, also shared her thoughts on the recent announcement to levy a merchant discount rate (MDR) on UPI (Unified Payments Interface) payments above ₹2,000.
"A lot of systems need to be built for the kind of UPI volumes we are seeing. You are completing transactions end-to-end in 10-15 seconds. Then you need to enable all the e-commerce providers, grocery shops, etc. All this has costs; someone is paying," noted Rai, who felt it was the right time to create value back.
Even amid this uncertainty, one company that is bullish on India is Allianz, which has announced insurance joint ventures with Mukesh Ambani-owned Jio Financial Services.
Speaking during the session, Ritu Arora, India country head for Allianz Services, said the company sees significant opportunities in the long term.
"We strategically believe in the India story," said Arora, who feels markets may be going through a temporary correction and that one couldn't anticipate huge inflows from global investors in the short term.
In such uncertain times, where are big investors finding opportunities?
Anjali Bansal, founder of Avaana Capital, feels that while India has grown a lot over the last 15 years on the back of digitalisation, whether in financial services, e-commerce or direct-to-consumer brands, the next 10-15 years would need to focus more on developing core capabilities.
"We are dependent on oil imports from West Asia for the most part. Even in renewables, we are dependent on imports from the East. So that core capability needs to be developed," stressed Bansal.
She sees opportunities arising from the need for energy security and the strengthening of critical value chains.
Energy, advanced materials, biomaterials, space and defence are where the opportunities lie, noted Bansal.