Telcos Are Gasping For A Top-Up

The massive financial burden arising from adjusted gross revenue dues is threatening to undo telecom firms. To pay up and continue in business, they need capital. Getting that, however, is unlikely.

Will Everybody Love Raymond?

Gautam Hari Singhania is hoping they will as he encourages handpicked professionals to reimagine the lifestyle and consumer businesses and even go where the group has never gone before: real estate.

Why Are There So Few Women Leaders?

Only around 6% companies on the Fortune India 500 list are managed by women.

THE PAY CHEQUE DEBATE

The pay growth of India Inc.’s top executives and directors was slower in FY19, but six of them took home 1,000 times the median remuneration of their employees.

Mission Accomplished!

Ship to investor base...Braving multi-fold challenges... Fortune India 500 companies see 9.53% and 11.8% growth in revenue and profit in FY19... More detials in a bit...

TOP OF THE CHARTS

Since the first Fortune India 500 list in 2010, Indian Oil has been the topper. But this year, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has beaten it to the No.1 spot.

IF THE CAPE FITS

Vedanta Resources chairman Anil Agarwal’s superpower is resuscitation. He has 10 examples to prove it.

BUSINESS - PERSON OF THE YEAR

“LEAD FROM THE BACK,” Nelson Mandela famously said, “and let others believe they are in front.” In a year dominated by political chaos and bluster, it was a rare brand of steady—even quiet— leadership that won the day in the business world. And no one epitomises that brand of obsessively results-driven, team-based leadership more than our new No. 1 (turn the page to find out more). To create our annual list, we first screen for results, looking at 10 financial factors ranging from total return to shareholders to return on capital. Then we search for the standouts. The leaders who tackled audacious goals, overcame impossible odds, found creative solutions. Read on for how they—and their companies— thrived in 2019. You just might learn something about tackling a challenge of your own.

ONE NATION, TWO REALITIES

A strange situation is unfolding in India: The bulls are charging in a slowing economy. And economists and market pundits don’t know what to make of it.

BREATH OF NEW AIR

Structural changes in the global pharma industry are throwing up challenges and opportunities. Enter Cipla with its expertise in respiratory medicine, readiness for a crusade against antibiotic resistance, and vision for relevance beyond pharma.

How HUL Is Leveraging Novel Ideas For New Realities

If the biggest has to grow bigger, business as usual barely suffices, it calls for fresh thinking and the gumption to try new things, under Sanjiv Mehta's leadership, Hindustan Unilever is showing just that.

Spotify Saved The Music Industry. Now What?

Profits are hard to come by—and Apple and Amazon aren’t going away.

THE ONLINE SHOPPING FRENZY IS SPREADING

There is growing demand for international brands such as H&M, Under Armour, and Mango, from tier 2 and tier 3 markets; e-tailers report 50% growth in sales from non-metros.

‘IN LUXURY, IT TAKES TIME TO BUILD SCALE'

Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Brands (RBL), which sells affordable luxury and premium brands, will complete a decade in the business next March. It expects to end the year with ₹ 3,000-crore revenue and become one of the top purveyors of branded goods in India. Consumer demand may seem tepid now, but for RBL chief Darshan Mehta, the plan remains the same: to keep growing.

THE WINNER TAKES ALL

THERE IS A NEW WAVE OF CONSOLIDATION ACROSS SECTORS IN THE ECONOMY. SHOULD INDIA BE WORRIED? OR, IS IT A RITE OF PASSAGE?

REQUIEM OR REBIRTH?

TO AVOID BECOMING A NOSTALGIC FOOTNOTE IN THE EVER-CHANGING MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT SAGA, DIRECT-TO-HOME PLAYERS IN INDIA ARE SEEKING NEW RELEVANCE IN THE AGE OF DIGITAL AND PERSONAL CONTENT CONSUMPTION.

LITTLE BIG GENIE

THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS IN JAIRAM VARADARAJ’S VISION TO TAKE HIS ELGi EQUIPMENTS TO NO. 2 IN THE WORLD. HE DOESN’T JUST WANT TO BE BIG. HE WANTS TO BE THE BEST. INDIAN CAPITAL GOODS COMPANIES DON’T TYPICALLY TAKE THE BRANDED PRODUCT ROUTE BUT THE THIRD-GEN ENTREPRENEUR IS COUNTING ON HIS STATE-OF-THE-ART AIR COMPRESSOR TO DO THE TRICK.

BIG BANKS WIN GAME OF Q2 ESTIMATES

Big lenders have outperformed analysts’ estimates for the July-September quarter, giving hopes of green shoots for the sector. However, it will be some time before the sector is out of the woods.

A TOAST TO DREAMERS, CREATORS,AND LEADERS

If there is one thing common to all Most Powerful Women in business listers, it is this: They took the road less travelled.

The Fight Against Big Tobacco 2.0

A three-pronged attack of federal regulation, state legal action, and class action lawsuits is coming for the makers of e-cigs.

High Tech Takes On Mass Shooters

Artificial intelligence-powered security cameras that detect guns are being pitched as an extra layer of protection against a plague of violence.

‘The 2020s Will Be India's Decade'

Stefan Hoops, global head of Deutsche Bank’s newly-created corporate bank division, says India is growing quite nicely and it is one of the most exciting markets when one looks at innovations in the payments space.

Good Capital: The Startup Champion

Millennial investors and siblings Rohan and Arjun Malhotra are making the right connections around the world for Indian startups. Through Investopad and Good Capital, they are providing people with opportunities to learn and build things—just as their father used to do in the ’80s and ’90s through his IT education business.

Once Upon A Time At Netflix

Apple, Disney, HBO, and others are challenging the digital entertainment giant’s dominance like never before. Here’s how the company plans to fight back—and win—in the streaming wars.

Why India Loves A Crisis

How the IL&FS Fiasco is transforming the face of non-banking finance companies and the ecosystem that supports it.

All In The Family

Even today, family businesses offer better returns to every stakeholder in society.

In Top Gear

RAJIV BAJAJ HAS A 360° PLAN TO MAKE BAJAJ AUTO LIVE UP TO ITS TAGLINE ‘THE WORLD’S FAVOURITE INDIAN’.

Doubling The Fizz

NADIA CHAUHAN, THE 33-YEAR-OLD JOINT MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER OF FMCG MAJOR PARLÉ AGRO, ON THE APPY FIZZ SUCCESS STORY, THE PLAN TO DOUBLE TURNOVER BY 2022, AND MORE.

Couple Connect

Simran Lal and Raul Rai’s Nicobar stands with a distinct identity among home-grown fashion and lifestyle labels through a blend of Indian sensibilities with functional aesthetic. The New Delhi-based brand has been moulded by the husband-wife duo’s diverse business experiences: Lal is CEO of retail chain Good Earth and Rai was an i-banker. Next? Break even this year end.

Big Things Come In Small Cases

Smallcase Technologies is trying to ignite investor interest by offering an alternative to mutual funds. Its run has been good so far. Next? A million strong investor base by March 2020.