India's Fastest Growing Companies

The fifth edition of Business Today’s fastest growing companies picks out leaders who grew even in tough times.

- Anup Jayaram

Over the past few years, businesses in India have been facing rough weather. Some of that has been due to the sustained impact of demonetisation and introduction of the Goods and Services Tax. Now, with the rupee weakening against the dollar and a steady rise in crude oil prices as India enters an election year, business optimism has deteriorated, according to the latest Grant Thornton International Business Report. And it is happening at a time when global optimism is at a record high.

There are positive signals too. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated that India will be the fastest growing economy at 7.4 per cent in 2018, and grow at 7.8 per cent in 2019. The IMF’s Asia and Pacific Regional Economic Outlook says that “the recovery is expected to be underpinned by a rebound from transitory shocks as well as robust private consumption.” The World Bank has forecast that India will grow at 7.3 per cent in 2018 followed by 7.5 per cent in 2019 and 2020. Meanwhile, the Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index rose to 51.6 in April from 51 in March 2018. As the government aims to resolve the issue of banking NPAs under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), there is hope that many large, indebted companies could find new buyers.