A family name synonymous with Indian industry since the freedom movement, carried into the era of specialty chemicals and global manufacturing. As India moves towards Viksit Bharat by 2047, its chemicals and materials sector is emerging as a critical pillar of self-reliant, export-oriented manufacturing. Few business families illustrate that continuity better than the Bharat Rams of Delhi — and few individuals embody it as directly as Arun Bharat Ram, Chairman Emeritus of SRF

From the legacy of the Shri Ram family to building SRF into a diversified global enterprise, Arun Bharat Ram's journey reflects India's transformation from traditional industry to technology-driven manufacturing. India's industrial story has been shaped by business families that combined entrepreneurship with institution-building. Among the most influential of these is the Shri Ram family, whose legacy spans manufacturing, education, culture and social development. One of its

From a call-centre job to clear off trading debts, to founding the platform that brought millions of Indians into the stock market — Nithin Kamath's story is a masterclass in patient, customer-first entrepreneurship. As India moves towards Viksit Bharat by 2047, few sectors matter more to the country's economic ambitions than financial inclusion. Millions of first-time Indian investors now access the stock market through a phone screen — and a significant share of them do so

Away from the spotlight that surrounds many of India's business dynasties, Rajan Raheja has built one of the country's most understated yet diversified industrial groups — anchored by Exide Industries, India's largest battery maker. As India moves towards Viksit Bharat by 2047, its industrial backbone is being strengthened not only by high-visibility founders, but also by low-profile custodians of legacy businesses who scale them quietly and steadily. Rajan Raheja, Vice Chair

"I started Nykaa at the age of 50 with no experience. I hope the Nykaa journey can inspire you to be the Nykaa of your lives." Some entrepreneurial stories begin with a college dorm-room idea. Falguni Nayar's began after nearly two decades in investment banking — a reminder that in India's growing startup ecosystem, experience, patience, and timing can matter as much as youthful risk-taking. As India moves towards Viksit Bharat by 2047, its consumer internet and e-commerce se

From recognising the untapped power of regional-language entertainment to building Sun TV Network into one of India's most influential media companies, Kalanithi Maran's journey is a story of entrepreneurial foresight, content, technology, diversification and institution-building. India's economic development has produced entrepreneurs across manufacturing, technology, finance and healthcare. But the country's transformation has also been shaped by those who recognised the ec

From a chemical engineer leaving the pharmaceutical industry to pioneering CPVC piping in India, Sandeep Engineer's journey is a story of first-generation entrepreneurship, innovation, market creation and the transformation of a small industrial venture into Astral Limited. India's economic transformation has been powered not only by large traditional industrial houses but also by first-generation entrepreneurs who identified opportunities in emerging industries and built ent

Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder and Executive Vice Chairman of Info Edge (India) Limited, is one of the pioneers of India's consumer internet industry. From building Naukri into a leading online recruitment platform to expanding into 99acres, Jeevansathi and Shiksha, his entrepreneurial journey mirrors the evolution of India's digital economy. This article explores Bikhchandani's career, Info Edge's business model, financial performance, technology strategy, artificial intellig

"Vision should not be based on existing strengths, but on future opportunities." Some entrepreneurs build companies from nothing. Others inherit institutions — and the harder task of reinventing them for a new era. Adi Godrej, Chairman Emeritus of the Godrej Group, belongs to the second category, and few Indian business leaders have navigated that challenge as successfully across as many decades. As India moves towards Viksit Bharat by 2047, the story of Adi Godrej offers a v

From carrying forward O.P. Jindal's industrial vision to transforming Jindal Steel & Power into a global infrastructure enterprise, Naveen Jindal's journey represents entrepreneurship, nation-building, education, philanthropy and an enduring belief in a self-reliant India. India's journey towards becoming a developed economy is being shaped by entrepreneurs who build the physical and institutional foundations of growth. Steel plants, power generation, mining, infrastructure a

The story of Dr. Prathap C. Reddy and his family is closely intertwined with the transformation of private healthcare in India. From the establishment of Apollo Hospitals in Chennai in 1983 to Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited’s present-day integrated healthcare ecosystem, the Reddy family has helped build one of India’s most prominent healthcare enterprises. This article explores Dr. Prathap Reddy’s vision, the role of his daughters in Apollo’s evolution, the company’s hea

From the rise of Aristo Pharmaceuticals to a family business that became one of India's notable privately held pharmaceutical fortunes, the story associated with Uma Devi Prasad and the Prasad family reflects the scale, complexity and enduring impact of India's pharmaceutical entrepreneurship. India's pharmaceutical industry has played a transformative role in the country's economic development. It has created manufacturing capacity, generated skilled employment, expanded acc

"For my father, jewellery was not merely an ornament, but a symbol of emotion, celebration and legacy." As India moves towards becoming a Viksit Bharat by 2047, few stories capture the spirit of homegrown entrepreneurship as vividly as that of Joy Alukkas, Founder and Chairman of the Joyalukkas Group. From a modest family jewellery counter in Thrissur, Kerala, to one of the largest single-owner jewellery retail chains in the world, Joy Alukkas's journey is a story of craftsma

Magical Blocks Introduction For centuries, cities have largely been built in the same sequence. Land is acquired, infrastructure is developed, buildings are constructed, and only then do people arrive to form a community. This approach often prioritizes physical assets over human collaboration, resulting in places where social cohesion, economic purpose, and long-term resilience develop slowly—if at all. What if we reversed this process? What if communities were imagined befo

How Bharat Economic Forum is Building a Trusted Global Ecosystem for Business Acquisitions, Investments, Strategic Partnerships, and Collective Economic Growth Every Great Business Opportunity Begins With One Introduction Behind every successful acquisition, billion-dollar investment, strategic partnership, or business expansion lies one common factor—the right introduction at the right time. Most businesses don't fail because of a lack of ambition. They fail because they nev

"A nation is only as developed as the doctors it trains and the students it educates — and some families spend generations quietly building the institutions that make that possible." Few Indian business leaders inherit a legacy as directly tied to nation-building as Dr. Ranjan Pai, Chairman of the Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG), a global enterprise spanning universities and hospitals that traces its roots to one of the earliest and most consequential experiments i

"Sometimes a nation's oldest knowledge becomes its newest industry — when someone has the patience to rebuild trust in it, product by product." Among India's most unusual entrepreneurial journeys is that of Acharya Balkrishna, the man behind the day-to-day running of Patanjali Ayurveda, one of India's fastest-growing FMCG companies — built not on venture capital or industrial inheritance, but on Ayurveda, yoga, and a partnership with a spiritual teacher. From Nepal's Hills to

"Healthcare access is one of the truest measures of a nation's development — and few things advance it as quietly and powerfully as an affordable, reliable medicine." India's rise as the "pharmacy of the world" was not inevitable. It was built by entrepreneurs who, starting with very little capital, chose to bet on complex science, global regulatory approval, and decades of patient investment. P.V. Ramprasad Reddy, co-founder of Aurobindo Pharma, is one of the central figures

"Every nation that rises does so on the back of the roads it lays, the airports it builds, and the power it generates — often years before the world notices." Infrastructure development in India rarely comes from inherited wealth. It usually comes from entrepreneurs willing to take enormous, patient risks on assets that take decades to pay off. G.M. Rao, founder of the GMR Group, is one of the clearest examples of this kind of long-horizon entrepreneurship. From a Small Jute

"Great nations are not only built with steel and cement. Some are built with code, with trust, and with the courage to bet on an idea that has never been tried before." Long before India became known as the world's back office and, later, its innovation partner, one entrepreneur had to convince a sceptical world — and an equally sceptical India — that Indian engineers could compete on the global stage. That entrepreneur was N.R. Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys, one of