Fortune India Magazine - August 2015

In this issue

The lead story of our August 2015 issue revolves around one of the finest young entrepreneurs seen by India in the last decade. OLA, THE NEW-AGE taxi aggregator, is conducting a fascinating experiment: It is testing the limits of the idea of mobility. Bhavish Aggarwal, who founded the company barely four years ago and has since raised nearly $700 million, is considered to be among the best of a generation of young entrepreneurs.

Bhavish believes that Ola is less about taxis and more about getting things—goods, services, and of course, humans—from point to point. And that he has so far just tapped into the ‘humans’ part. Bhavish’s willingness to try other things is a peculiar characteristic of the digital world. But digital pioneers believe that strong underpinnings of technology allow them to flit from one business to another. The idea of core competence, which still holds some sway in the non-digital world, doesn’t really matter. How would you describe Amazon: as a technology company or a retailer? Senior editors Kunal N. Talgeri, Tanmoy Goswami, and Rajiv Bhuva write an in-depth story on Bhavish’s bold bets (page 56).

Elsewhere, deputy editor T. Surendar’s story (page 86) on Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya, Baron of Moseley, begs the question why he isn’t more visible in the Prime Minister’s Make in India effort.

That’s part of a package of stories on Indians influencing industry in other countries—global Indians, if you will. They include the likes of Adnan Chilwan, heading one of the world’s largest Islamic finance organisations; Romesh Wadhwani, who promised Prime Minister Modi that he would create 25 million jobs in India in five years; and Binod Chaudhary, Nepal’s only billionaire.

Elsewhere, we look at how Indra Nooyi is faring after she shifted Pepsico’s focus from sugary drinks to healthier options.