India has produced a wide variety of successful entrepreneurs, including those in the fields of technology, online retail, and social enterprise. In this article, we will be taking a closer look at the top 10 entrepreneurs in India who have created successful businesses and left a significant impact on the country’s economy and society.
Top 10 Entrepreneurs in India
Dhirubhai Ambani:
Dhirubhai Ambani was an Indian businessman who was born in 1932. He began his career modestly by selling traditional delicacies to religious pilgrims. Soon after, he was able to capitalize on his growing company’s success by broadening his operations into new markets, such as telecommunications, power production, information technology, consumer products, and logistics. Reliance Industries is now the most profitable privately held business in India and is included on the Fortune 500 list.
Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata:
Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata or JRD Tata, who lived from 1904 to 1993, was born in Paris to parents of Indian and French descent. He received his aviation training in Europe and went on to become India’s first commercial airline pilot after completing his studies there. At the time of JRD Tata’s passing, TATA possessed close to one hundred distinct companies spanning a wide variety of industries.
Ardeshir Godrej:
Godrej Group, a multinational company with holdings in real estate, consumer items, security, household appliances, and industrial tools, was co-founded by Ardeshir Godrej (1868-1936), who passed away in 1936. After several unsuccessful attempts to make hand-crafted medical equipment, Ardeshir and his brother found success in the locksmithing industry. The Godrej Group was established in 1897, and its enterprises now collectively bring in more than $6 billion annually in sales.
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal:
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, an Indian entrepreneur who is 71 years old, got his start in the business by working for the steel company that was owned by his father. Later on, as a result of feuding within his family, he struck out on his own and established ArcelorMittal, which has since become one of the most successful steel manufacturers in the world (MT).
Ghanshyam Das Birla:
Ghanshyam Das Birla (1894-1983) was a prominent Indian businessman who established his first enterprise, which was a cotton and textile mill, in the early 1900s. He passed away in 1983. In 1919, Birla’s operations also involved the major production of paper and sugar. When he passed away, the Birla Group was already an international multi-sector corporation.
Dilip Shanghvi:
Dilip Shanghvi founded Sun Pharmaceutical in 1982 with a small investment of 10,000 rupees, which is roughly equivalent to $200. Shanghvi was extremely knowledgeable in his field due to his background as the son of a pharmaceutical dealer. This growth has been accomplished through slow expansion and a succession of acquisitions.
Azim Premji:
As the former chair of Wipro Industries (WIT), a global software and technology corporation that many have compared to Microsoft, Azim Premji, who is 76 years old, is believed to be worth $9 billion. As a result of this, Premji is often referred to as India’s version of Bill Gates, in addition to his informal title of “czar” of the Indian information technology industry.
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy:
An Indian entrepreneur named Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy, is credited with co-founding the information technology company Infosys (INFY) with an initial investment of just 10,000 rupees, which is equivalent to just a few hundred dollars in today’s currency. He served as the CEO of Infosys from 1981 until 2002, and then as its chair until 2011.
Shiv Nadar:
Shiv Nadar started HCL Infosystems with a few thousand dollars in 1976 to sell calculators and microcomputers. HCL quickly expanded its operations to Singapore and other parts of the Far East, and not long after this, the company recorded sales of more than one million rupees. As a result of HCL’s consistent expansion, Nadar is now a billionaire.
Mukesh Jagtiani:
Mukesh “Micky” Jagtiani is an Indian-Emirati businessman who currently lives in the United Arab Emirates and has spent the majority of his life outside of India. After completing his primary and secondary education in Mumbai and Beirut, he traveled to London to enroll in an accounting program but ultimately did not complete it. Soon after, while working as a cab driver, he launched his first business, which eventually developed into the retail and real estate megacorporation Landmark, which is currently headquartered in Dubai.