Fortune 500 India: Navigating The Known Unknowns

FOR THOSE SITTING in the corner rooms of India Inc., devising growth strategies has become a story of constant change and redrawing of priorities. Whether it was the fallout of the crippling Covid-19 pandemic some years ago, the supply chain disruptions, and then the widespread geopolitical uncertainties, India’s biggest corporations have had to navigate constant — and unforeseen — challenges over the past few years. But there’s enough to test Corporate India even now — the consumption conundrum is real, with corporate leaders drawing attention to the stress in the middle-income category.

As we go forward in FY25, growth is slowing and the global business environment will continue to be unpredictable. This stress is already evident in the second-quarter earnings, where several companies missed their earnings estimates and top-line growth was strained. Some segments of the financial sector are witnessing asset quality issues, while consumption continues to be an area of concern. Government spending in the first half of FY25 has been weak, which has been a worry for both corporates and the markets. But there’s hope that in the second half of FY25 there will be a rebound in some of these areas, and corporate earnings will recover going forward.

Against this background, this year’s much-awaited Fortune 500 India list assumes great significance. The definitive list of India’s largest corporations presents a story of resilience and grit where India’s best-known companies have successfully navigated choppy waters in FY24, and grown in strength. The figures tell the story, and many records have been broken this year. The profit pool of India’s largest as a percentage of GDP has risen to a 13-year high on the back of strong showing by financials, energy and automobile companies. The cumulative profit pool grew by a smart 27.5% year-on-year to touch an all-time high of nearly ₹14 lakh crore, even as cumulative revenue of the Fortune 500 India this year rose to a record ₹157 lakh crore. That’s some showing in a VUCA — volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity — world.

As V. Keshavdev, who helmed this issue, writes in his opening essay, this year’s list is also home to a record number of billion-dollar revenue companies, with as many as 283 of the 500 notching up a hefty $1.7 trillion in total income, and $154 billion in cumulative profits, with 37 billion-dollar profit-generating companies. But much like earlier years, there is serious heft at the top of the list, and the big boys continue to dominate in terms of their contribution to the cumulative revenues of the Fortune 500 India. The top 10 companies alone contribute as much as 35% of the cumulative total income, while the top 50 command 64% of the total income, leaving the rest to be distributed among the remaining 450. The big, then, are clearly getting bigger.

This year’s list once again has Reliance Industries at No.1, but there’s a change at the second spot, with Life Insurance Corp. toppling Indian Oil Corp. to bag the No.2 slot. Indian Oil and ONGC take the No.3 and No.4 positions, while State Bank of India enters the Top 5 this year, displacing Bharat Petroleum, which drops to No.6. Given the global headwinds, the current fiscal promises to be an equally eventful one for India Inc. and will test its resilience to the hilt.