YEAR OF GROWTH, RESILIENCE AND TRANSITION

FY24 showcased India Inc.’s resilience, with strong revenues, green strides, and digital growth. Both private firms and CPSEs delivered record profits, smart capex, and bold transformations across sectors

- BY ASHISH SINHA

It's safe to say FY2023-24 wasn’t a walk in the park. The world was still reeling from the aftershocks of a pandemic, and if that wasn’t enough, geopolitical tensions between global powerhouses ramped up. Trade routes got tangled, investment flows faced turbulence, and global business sentiment took more than a few knocks. Yet, through all this, India Inc. stood tall.

That's the spirit captured in the BW Real 500 list, one of India’s most definitive rankings of corporate strength and stamina. Even as oil, metal, and agri-commodity prices spiralled and production costs tightened the noose on margins, India’s top companies didn’t just hold the fort—they charged ahead. Revenues climbed, strategies adapted, and resilience became the buzzword of the year.

Interestingly, the top 50 companies alone contributed a massive 70 per cent of the total income of the top 500 non-financial companies. Take it a step further, and you'll find that just the top 15 per cent of the pack accounted for 48 per cent of the entire income pie—showcasing the power of India’s corporate elite.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Here’s how we got there. The BW Real 500—our annual deep dive into India’s best-performing listed companies—was developed in collaboration with Astrum Management Advisory. The 2025 edition focuses solely on publicly listed firms, ranked by total income for FY2023-24.

Why income?