PM Modi’s challenge for India Inc.: 50 Indian companies in Fortune 500 in a decade
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech on Saturday, set a target for India Inc. to have 50 Indian companies on the Fortune 500 list within the coming decade. “We often hear about the Fortune 500. Why shouldn’t our goal be that, within the next decade, 50 of the Fortune 500 companies should be from Bharat?” PM Modi asked in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort.
The Fortune 500 list, published by the most reputed global business magazine Fortune, is an annual ranking of the world’s 500 largest companies by revenue. In 2025, the combined Fortune 500 universe generated $43.1 trillion in revenue, representing over one-third of the world’s GDP. Fortune India, the India edition of Fortune, also publishes every year the Fortune 500 India list, which ranks India-domiciled companies by revenue.
Modi also set target for the banking and pharmaceutical sectors, saying at least one Indian bank should be among the world's top five banks and at least one Indian pharmaceutical company should feature among the world's five largest pharmaceutical companies.
Currently, there are 10 Indian companies that rank in the Fortune 500 global list for the year 2025. Of these, Reliance Industries (RIL) and the Life Insurance Corporation of India rank among the top 100, while Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), State Bank of India (SBI), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), HDFC Bank, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, and ICICI Bank rank between 130 and 471 on the list.
Modi also urged Indian micro, small, medium enterprises (MSMEs) to make the most of the country's trade agreements and take domestic products to global markets.
Building Scale on Free Trade Agreements
Modi also highlighted the opportunities created by India's free trade agreements (FTAs), saying the nation has trade agreements with around 40 countries. He urged MSMEs not to miss the opportunities created by these deals and to use them to expand the reach of Indian products in global markets.
The Prime Minister said that “...these trade agreements that have been made are a huge opportunity and hence I would especially like to tell my MSMEs that we should not miss this opportunity.”
He also pointed to Indian agricultural products, including shrimp, reaching international markets, and said Indian products should increasingly move from farms and factories to consumers around the world.
PM Modi's comments came as part of a broader push for manufacturing and exports. He said India needs to build complete value chains within the country, from components to finished products, and compete globally on cost, quality and scale.
He also called for greater focus on “Make in India”, “Vocal for Local” and “Swadeshi”, while asking Indian businesses to use the market access created by trade agreements.
The Prime Minister's larger economic target is to build Indian companies and products that can compete in the global markets as the country works towards becoming a developed economy by 2047.
Defence production increased nearly four-fold
The Prime Minister pointed to the changes of the past 12 years to make the case for this faster pace. Defence production has increased nearly fourfold, khadi and village industries production nearly fivefold and electronics manufacturing nearly sevenfold, he said. Production of modern railway coaches has increased 21 times, while mobile phone production has risen 33 times and digital transactions have grown 100 times.
The next phase, he said, would be driven by “Shakti ki Sapt Dhara”, or seven streams of strength. These are manufacturing, agriculture and food processing, technology and innovation, connectivity and infrastructure, defence, the green and blue economy, and India's soft power.