Nifty’s Long Journey Since 2008
From 2008 to 2025, the journey of the Nifty index looks slow for many investors. During these 17 years, India’s economy became almost four times bigger.
But in the same time, Nifty grew only about five times. In simple terms, the stock market did not grow as fast as the country’s economy, and this makes many people feel disappointed.
Returns Look Average, Not Great
When we look at yearly returns, Nifty gave close to 10% CAGR over these 17 years. For such a long time, this number does not look very strong. Many people expect better returns from equity markets over long periods. This is why some feel that the overall performance was not fully worth the wait.
Earnings vs Index Growth
In the charts, the black line shows the Nifty index and the bars show company earnings. Company earnings grew at around 8% CAGR, while Nifty grew at around 10% CAGR. This gap raises an important question. If India’s economy is growing at 6% to 8% every year, why are big companies not growing much faster than this?
Maybe Growth Is Outside Nifty
One possible reason is that the main index may not show the full picture. It is possible that many companies outside Nifty, in the broader market, have grown faster. So while Nifty looks slow, some other parts of the market may have done better during this time.
Starting and Ending Points Matter
The year 2008 was not a cheap starting point for Nifty. The index was already at a high level then. Starting from a high level always makes long-term returns look lower. On the other side, the 2025 number was taken near a low point. By the end of 2025, Nifty was much higher than that level. This choice of start and end points clearly affects the final CAGR number.
The Bigger Picture
Overall, the concern about slow growth is valid. But the data also looks a bit selective. When you start from a high point and end near a low point, returns naturally look weaker. If we look at longer periods more evenly, Nifty’s long-term return comes closer to 12%, which is still reasonable for an index.
