Deepinder Goyal, founder of Eternal, has been named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year for 2025. The company, in a statement, said that the jury acknowledged Goyal’s extraordinary impact on India’s consumption patterns through his consumer-tech businesses.
The award, now in its 27th edition in India, was decided by an 11-member jury led by Sajjan Jindal. Goyal was recognised for creating significant shareholder value while generating employment across formal and gig segments and fostering a wider entrepreneurial ecosystem, as per the company. He will represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year awards in Monte Carlo in June.
At the ceremony in Mumbai, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal felicitated Goyal along with Special Jury Award recipient Uday Kotak and the category winners.
Winners across sectors
EY announced winners across eight categories spanning traditional and new-age sectors. Abhishek Lodha of Lodha Group won in energy, real estate and infrastructure. Ajay Bhardwaj of Anthem Biosciences was recognised in life sciences and healthcare, while Gopal Vittal of Bharti Airtel won in the entrepreneurial CEO category.
Jasbir Singh of Amber Enterprises was named winner in manufacturing. Karan Bhagat of 360 One WAM won in services. The start-up category was awarded jointly to Pranav Goel and Uttam Digga of Porter. Sunil Vachani of Dixon Technologies won in business transformation, while Vir S Advani of Blue Star was recognised in consumer products and retail.
According to EY, the 2025 winners together account for nearly Rs 4 lakh crore in revenue, a combined market capitalisation of over Rs 22 lakh crore and employment for nearly 2.8 lakh people.
The E&Y jury this year included industry leaders such as Dilip Shanghvi of Sun Pharmaceuticals, Harsh Mariwala of Marico, Nilesh Gupta of Lupin, Ravi Lambah of Temasek, Sanjeev Bikhchandani of Info Edge, Saurabh Agarwal of Tata Sons, Shailendra Singh of Peak XV Partners, Shweta Jalan of Advent International, Suneeta Reddy of Apollo Hospitals and Vellayan Subbiah of Cholamandalam Investment and Finance and Tube Investments of India.
Uday Kotak honoured by E&Y
Uday Kotak, a Padma Bhushan awardee and veteran banker, received the Special Jury Award for his contribution to India’s banking and financial services sector and his long-standing engagement with entrepreneurship. India has previously produced several global winners at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year awards, including N R Narayana Murthy of Infosys, Uday Kotak, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon and Vellayan Subbiah.
Commerce Minister bets on macro strength, reform push
Addressing the gathering, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India’s entrepreneurial momentum was powering one of the world’s strongest growth stories. “India’s entrepreneurial spirit is today the driving force behind one of the most compelling growth stories in the world. In the last 11 years, entrepreneurship has become Bharat’s greatest strength,” he said.
He cited real GDP growth of 8.2% in the second quarter of FY26, inflation trending downward, foreign exchange reserves of $725 billion and historically low banking NPAs as indicators of macroeconomic resilience. India attracted $80 billion in foreign direct investment in FY25, he said, reflecting global confidence in reforms and policy stability.
Goyal also highlighted structural reforms, including the consolidation of labour laws into four codes, tax and compliance reforms and free trade agreements providing preferential access to 38 nations. Trade with Australia and the UAE has doubled since the FTAs came into force, he said, adding that sensitive sectors such as agriculture and MSMEs remain protected. “This is India’s moment,” he said, urging entrepreneurs to leverage trade agreements and scale globally.
Challenges ahead for India Inc
Speaking on the outlook for India, Rajiv Memani, Chairman and Chief Executive of EY India, said accelerated reforms, deeper global integration and advances in artificial intelligence were reshaping India’s economy and creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs. The 2025 winners, he said, reflect bold ideas and execution capabilities.
Farokh Balsara, partner and EOY India programme leader, said the cohort underscored the scale and diversity of Indian entrepreneurship, with businesses focused on long-term value creation and ecosystem development.