India’s most influential global giants: Inside the Fortune India MNC 500 power list

Fortune India, for the first time ever, has compiled a definitive list of the largest MNCs by revenue—an effort that highlights their pivotal role and decisive standing in shaping India’s evolving economic story. The development comes at a time when the government has rolled out the red carpet for multinationals to manufacture in India, offering production-linked incentives across 14 sectors with an outlay of ₹1.97 lakh crore. The Fortune India MNC 500 showcases the heft and depth of the world’s biggest multinationals with a cumulative total income of ₹36.77 lakh crore and ₹2.25 lakh crore in profits.

While the automotive landscape in India is now firmly entrenched in the hands of MNCs, in the case of HUL—which began its India sojourn back in 1933, making it one of the oldest multinationals to set up shop in the country—its trajectory mirrors India’s colonial and post-colonial economic evolution. From pioneering soaps and packaged goods to becoming a household name synonymous with everyday essentials, HUL’s legacy has been an example of endurance and adaptation. But, as former HUL CEO Sanjiv Mehta explains, the industry dynamics of FMCG and auto are like chalk and cheese.