With a market cap of Rs 15.6 trillion, Reliance Industries (RIL) topped the chart of the most valuable Indian companies in 2023, for the third year in a row, closely followed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
IT firm TCS came in second with a market cap of Rs12.4 trillion, while HDFC Bank was third in the pecking order with a market cap of Rs11.3 trillion. The combined value of the top 10 companies remained unchanged from the year-ago period at `73.3 trillion, which is equal to 28% of India’s GDP, according to a report by Burgundy Private, Axis Bank’s private banking business, and Hurun India.
The list, a compilation of the 500 most valuable private companies in India, saw ICICI Bank in fourth position with a market cap of `6.47 trillion, followed by Infosys (`5.71 trillion) at fifth. It is based on data from October 2022 to October 2023.
“Despite headwinds — that of continuing fiscal consolidation, higher domestic interest rates, tightening liquidity conditions as well as slowing exports — India’s economic growth has been impressive. As India heads towards a $5-trillion economy, it will be critical to leverage emerging trends like China plus one, MSME, and ‘Bharat’ that will act as engines of growth,” Amitabh Chaudhry, MD & CEO at Axis Bank, said.
The companies on the list have collectively created a value of `231 trillion and employ about 1.3% of the country’s workforce, while 52 companies in the list are less than a decade old. Others in the top 10 are Bharti Airtel, ITC, Larsen & Toubro, HCL Tech and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Suzlon Energy, which registered a y-o-y value growth of 436%, dominates the list of fastest growing companies in the list, followed by Jindal Stainless and JSW Infrastructure.
“The surge in the number of companies registering remarkable value growth is a testament to the vibrant and resilient nature of the Indian market. With an average age of 38, this list is a strong evidence of India’s changing economic landscape — respecting the past, flourishing in the present, and creating for the future,” Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and chief researcher at Hurun India, said.
“The increase in new entrants from industrial goods shows India’s rising manufacturing growth. Even though startups faced a difficult year, the entry bar grew by 13% to `6,700 crore. As the funding situation improves, we expect more value creation from startups, especially in sectors that focus on the future, like AI, SpaceTech, EV and more,” Junaid said.
HDFC, which was in the seventh place in the previous year’s list, does not figure on the rankings this year owing to its merger with HDFC Bank. L&T, HCL Tech and Kotak Mahindra Bank replaced HDFC, Adani Total Gas and Adani Enterprises in the top 10.
Serum Institute of India was adjudged as the most valuable unlisted company, followed by NSE and Megha Engineering and Infrastructure. Jio Financial Services, which demerged from RIL, was 28th.
About 437 of the 500 firms have women’s representation on their boards, while 179 are led by professional CEOs. About 342 witnessed an increase in value against 310 companies in the previous year. Of these, 18 saw their value doubling during the year, while three saw their value grow by `1 trillion. More than half of the companies recorded a value growth of over `1,000 crore over the last year, of which 75 registered a value growth of more than `10,000 crore.
