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Economic Times
11-06-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
India's Big 4 - The 'century' should begin by creating them
TIL Creatives Representative AI image India's rise in sectors such as steel, telecom, software, and automobiles—underwritten by targeted government support—has propelled it into global leadership. Tax incentives powered the IT revolution, protective duties nudged manufacturing, and industrial policy nurtured the auto sector. As we enter India's century, as many experts are calling it, the logical next frontier is professional services. But one sector remains conspicuously underdeveloped: advisory and consulting. Today, India's advisory ecosystem is dominated by foreign-origin professional firms, essentially member firms of large global consulting firms. These firms, collectively forecast to earn over ₹45,000 cr in FY25, operate across multiple areas such as public sector mandates, infrastructure planning, digital governance, and transaction advisory. This also leads to royalties flowing abroad and profit-sharing with global entities while IP creation in India suffers. Meanwhile, despite depth in talent and global experience, no Indian-origin firm has scaled anywhere near this level. This imbalance persists because artificial barriers, such as restrictive pre-qualification requirements, no additional Governmental support, which results in Indian professional services firm not being able to scale quickly. Also Read: Panel may be set up for creating India's 'Big Four' Prime Minister Narendra Modi has highlighted the need for Indian firms to scale global heights in advisory and consulting. The direction is clear: 'India's decade' of growth must evolve into India's century, and that requires not just manufacturing and software, but homegrown advisory and audit powerhouses. National Security & Data Sovereignty: As geopolitical volatility intensifies, allowing foreign firms to handle critical government and infrastructure advisory poses security vulnerabilities. If sensitive data and frameworks are stewarded outside India's jurisdiction, risk multiplies. Similarly, there could always be a risk of global firms not adhering to India's interests, as was seen in case of recent global geopolitical challenges. IP Creation & Domestic Capability: Global consulting firms retain proprietary methodologies and tools, paying royalty fees abroad that drain domestic IP development. This stifles our ability to innovate India-centric advisory models tailored to our economic complexity. Artificial Barriers to Entry: Qualification criteria in large tenders are skewed–past experience with international clients, global network affiliation, or high turnover gatekeep Indian firms. This perfectly engineered disqualification cycle keeps domestic firms Knowledge Transfer: Indian affiliates of foreign firms largely function as execution arms, not strategy centers. Most domestic value creation, leadership power, and profits remain locked overseas. Also Read: We will have our big four in India soon: Goyal To correct the structural imbalance in India's professional services sector, the government must adopt an enabling and strategic approach. Key recommendations include:Reserve public consulting contracts below ₹10 crore for Indian-origin firms, with at least 40% of overall annual advisory procurement value allocated to them. This ensures meaningful access and market development for homegrown Pre-Qualification (PQ) norms that favour high global turnover or international affiliations. Capability, sectoral expertise, and team quality—not revenue size—should drive Indian firms in digital-era sectors. A portion of AI, cloud, energy transition, and BFSI reform projects should be earmarked for domestic consultants, backed by performance-linked incentives or partial State-Level Tiering and PQ Criteria: State governments must revise tender rules that exclude domestic firms through arbitrary revenue thresholds or legacy international credentials. Instead, eligibility should be based on team quality, relevant experience, and outcome track records. Launch a ₹10,000 crore 'Professional Services Growth Fund', seeded by Government organizations such as SIDBI and LIC, to help Indian firms expand globally through acquisitions in ASEAN, Africa, and the Gulf. Launch a 'National Quality Framework' for Consulting: Regulators like SEBI, RBI, and IRDAI should develop clear Indian-origin firm accreditation standards, and issue guidance encouraging clients to engage certified Indian consultants. Brand and elevate Indian consulting globally through an 'IndiPro Global' campaign—akin to Make in India—anchored by DPIIT and joint audits in large PSUs and listed companies, ensuring Indian firms get equal mandates alongside foreign networks. Even the Chamber of Tax Consultants had previously highlighted the necessity. Create a government-backed 'audit-tech stack', open to all registered audit firms, enabling technology parity with global Trade Deals to Open Markets for Indian Firms: if UK or US firms can access Indian public procurement, Indian firms should be allowed into their government or regulatory projects. Indian qualifications should be recognised abroad as part of trade measures, collectively, will help India create globally competitive, credible, and sovereign professional-service institutions. (The author is CEO & MD of Primus Partners)
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
India's Big 4 - The 'century' should begin by creating them
India 's rise in sectors such as steel, telecom, software, and automobiles—underwritten by targeted government support—has propelled it into global leadership. Tax incentives powered the IT revolution, protective duties nudged manufacturing, and industrial policy nurtured the auto sector. As we enter India's century, as many experts are calling it, the logical next frontier is professional services. But one sector remains conspicuously underdeveloped: advisory and consulting. Today, India's advisory ecosystem is dominated by foreign-origin professional firms, essentially member firms of large global consulting firms. These firms, collectively forecast to earn over ₹45,000 cr in FY25, operate across multiple areas such as public sector mandates, infrastructure planning, digital governance, and transaction advisory. This also leads to royalties flowing abroad and profit-sharing with global entities while IP creation in India suffers. Meanwhile, despite depth in talent and global experience, no Indian-origin firm has scaled anywhere near this level. This imbalance persists because artificial barriers, such as restrictive pre-qualification requirements, no additional Governmental support, which results in Indian professional services firm not being able to scale quickly. Also Read: Panel may be set up for creating India's 'Big Four' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh: Unsold Furniture Liquidation 2024 (Prices May Surprise You) Unsold Furniture | Search Ads Learn More Prime Minister Narendra Modi has highlighted the need for Indian firms to scale global heights in advisory and consulting. The direction is clear: 'India's decade' of growth must evolve into India's century, and that requires not just manufacturing and software, but homegrown advisory and audit powerhouses. Why India must build its own National Security & Data Sovereignty: As geopolitical volatility intensifies, allowing foreign firms to handle critical government and infrastructure advisory poses security vulnerabilities. If sensitive data and frameworks are stewarded outside India's jurisdiction, risk multiplies. Similarly, there could always be a risk of global firms not adhering to India's interests, as was seen in case of recent global geopolitical challenges. Live Events IP Creation & Domestic Capability: Global consulting firms retain proprietary methodologies and tools, paying royalty fees abroad that drain domestic IP development. This stifles our ability to innovate India-centric advisory models tailored to our economic complexity. Artificial Barriers to Entry: Qualification criteria in large tenders are skewed–past experience with international clients, global network affiliation, or high turnover gatekeep Indian firms. This perfectly engineered disqualification cycle keeps domestic firms small. Limited Knowledge Transfer: Indian affiliates of foreign firms largely function as execution arms, not strategy centers. Most domestic value creation, leadership power, and profits remain locked overseas. Also Read: We will have our big four in India soon: Goyal How do we create our own Indian Big 4s To correct the structural imbalance in India's professional services sector, the government must adopt an enabling and strategic approach. Key recommendations include: Reserve public consulting contracts below ₹10 crore for Indian-origin firms, with at least 40% of overall annual advisory procurement value allocated to them. This ensures meaningful access and market development for homegrown players. Reform Pre-Qualification (PQ) norms that favour high global turnover or international affiliations. Capability, sectoral expertise, and team quality—not revenue size—should drive eligibility. Prioritise Indian firms in digital-era sectors. A portion of AI, cloud, energy transition, and BFSI reform projects should be earmarked for domestic consultants, backed by performance-linked incentives or partial co-funding. Reform State-Level Tiering and PQ Criteria: State governments must revise tender rules that exclude domestic firms through arbitrary revenue thresholds or legacy international credentials. Instead, eligibility should be based on team quality, relevant experience, and outcome track records. Launch a ₹10,000 crore 'Professional Services Growth Fund', seeded by Government organizations such as SIDBI and LIC , to help Indian firms expand globally through acquisitions in ASEAN, Africa, and the Gulf. Launch a 'National Quality Framework' for Consulting: Regulators like SEBI, RBI, and IRDAI should develop clear Indian-origin firm accreditation standards, and issue guidance encouraging clients to engage certified Indian consultants. Brand and elevate Indian consulting globally through an 'IndiPro Global' campaign—akin to Make in India—anchored by DPIIT and MEA. Mandate joint audits in large PSUs and listed companies, ensuring Indian firms get equal mandates alongside foreign networks. Even the Chamber of Tax Consultants had previously highlighted the necessity. Create a government-backed 'audit-tech stack', open to all registered audit firms, enabling technology parity with global players. Use Trade Deals to Open Markets for Indian Firms: if UK or US firms can access Indian public procurement, Indian firms should be allowed into their government or regulatory projects. Indian qualifications should be recognised abroad as part of trade diplomacy. These measures, collectively, will help India create globally competitive, credible, and sovereign professional-service institutions. (The author is CEO & MD of Primus Partners )
India Today
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- India Today
Tata, Mahindra driving EV surge in India. Will global giants plug in?
Indian drivers seem to have acquired a taste for electric vehicles — the share of EVs in overall car sales is gradually increasing, and two Indian carmakers hold more than half of this share. From 2.6 per cent of the total passenger cars sold in May 2024, the share of EVs crossed the four per cent mark for the first time in May 2025, according to the Federation of Automobile Dealers IS BEHIND THE EV PUSH?The EV market is mostly driven by three major automobile manufacturers that together hold 87.4 per cent of the market share. In May 2025, Tata Motors had the highest share at 35.4 per cent, JSW MG Motors had a 30.6 per cent share, and Mahindra & Mahindra held 21.4 per cent of the EV market share. Notably, Maruti Suzuki, the biggest carmaker in India, is not in the EV race. In contrast, JSW MG Motors is not focusing on internal combustion engine car sales. Given the limited car choices for Indian consumers, will this rise attract foreign carmakers like Tesla? If so, will that be more beneficial for customers, or a bigger threat to domestic carmakers, or both?Speaking to India Today, FADA President CS Vigneshwar said the group welcomes the entry of leading global EV original equipment manufacturers like Tesla as a 'critical catalyst for expanding consumer choice and elevating technology benchmarks within India's rapidly electrifying passenger-vehicle market'.advertisementHe added that any new entrant seeking sustainable success must adopt an India-centric strategy: invest in local research and development, manufacturing, and supply-chain ecosystems; understand price-sensitive Indian consumers; and align product portfolios with the real-world needs of the country's diverse IN INDIAUnder the new EV policy aimed at promoting Make in India, foreign carmakers will have to establish local production units to benefit from India's import subsidy regime, without which, they will incur a 70 per cent customs global companies like Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen have shown interest in the Indian EV market and are exploring possibilities under the new scheme to invest in local production. Tesla, which was in talks about setting up production in India, is now only looking to expand Watch
Time of India
03-06-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's historic space mission pushed to June 10
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads India's Shubhanshu Shukla is set for his maiden space flight as part of Axiom Space 's fourth commercial mission to the International Space Station , has now been pushed back for lift-off onboard SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on June Shukla, the mission pilot for the Axiom-4 mission, the other crew include Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary, marking both European nation's first travel to the International Space Station in history and the second government-sponsored human spaceflight mission in over 40 US astronaut Peggy Whitson will be the commander of the Axiom-4 mission."I am really, really excited to go into microgravity and experience spaceflight on my own," Shukla, who goes by the nickname 'Shuks', said at a press conference in docked, the astronauts plan to spend up to 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting science, outreach, and commercial Ax-4 astronauts will perform around 60 scientific studies and activities representing 31 countries during their 14-day stay at the is set to conduct exclusive food and nutrition-related experiments developed under a collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation ( ISRO ) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), with support from experiments aim to pioneer space nutrition and self-sustaining life support systems vital for future long-duration space has lined up a set of seven experiments for Shukla, who will also participate in five joint studies planned by NASA for its human research has drawn up plans to focus on India-centric food for carrying out experiments on the ISS, including sprouting methi (Fenugreek) and moong (green gram) in microgravity will also expose the seeds to the macrobiotic conditions and bring them back to earth where they will be cultivated in plants not just once but over January, Shukla said he also planned to capture his experiences on board the ISS through pictures and videos which can be shared with all the "'Bharatvaasis' back home.""I want them to share this thrilling experience through my eyes, for I truly believe that, even as an individual travelling to space, this is the journey of 1.4 billion people," he said he planned to take certain items from different parts of the country with him to the ISS during the 14-day mission and even expressed hope to serve Indian food to astronauts in the orbital said the experience on the Axiom Mission 4 would be very well utilised on the Gaganyaan mission which is planned for 2027. ISRO is spending Rs 550 crore on the Axiom-4 mission.
Indian Express
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
IPL 2025 final: From 11 ‘RCB-flavour' shots to beer buckets, here's what's on offer at Bengaluru's restaurants and pubs tonight
It is the fourth outing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL final on Tuesday, and restaurants and pubs in Bengaluru are upbeat with exciting deals, offerings and experiences. From stadium-like experiences with in-house commentary to cocktails themed around RCB players, restaurant and pub owners are throwing out a red carpet welcome for fans on Tuesday night. BYG brewski, Hennur, we will have a 'larger than life' stadium-like experience with live streaming supported by surround speakers. Additionally, the brewery is also curating India-centric cocktails on the occasion of the IPL finals. 'We are going to live-stream the match to provide a larger than life experience to the fans, coupled with in house commentary by an emcee to complement it. In the wake of the patriotic sentiments across India over the last few weeks, we are offering curated cocktails to mark the diversity, vividness and pride of India for the IPL final night,' Ajay Gowda, co-founder and partner of BYG Ventures that owns brands including BYG brewski, Jollygunj, and Bob's Bar told The Indian Express. RCB and Punjab Kings will battle it out to end their 17-year-long title drought when they clash in the IPL 2025 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad at 7.30 pm. At Jollygunj, J P Nagar, fans will get a chance to avail 11 different shots, a tribute to the 11 RCB players and their personalities. 'We will have spicy flavours that suit fiery players in the team, Indian mint and vanilla flavours for players who are cool-headed and flavours that are timeless, suiting the likes of Virat Kohli,' Gowda said. SOCIAL, owned by Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality, will be live-streaming the match across its Bengaluru outlets with exciting IPL offers, including beer buckets (1+1 offer) on all brands. Additionally, they are also offering a 1+1 deal on select cocktails across all outlets. New pub 404 by ToF in Tavarekere is offering free shooters, and an extra free beer at the bar counter during an over when a player hits '4,0,4'. Additionally, they are also offering two flavours of Geist beer at discounted prices. The Yard at Doddanekundi has planned outdoor screenings with a massive screen. They are hitting it out of the park with their exciting Boundary Beer offers, where diners can buy three beers and get one free, or buy six beers and get two free. Visitors can also opt for unlimited beers from the first ball to the last for just Rs 1,999 per person. Adding to the excitement is their special IPL menu — a quirky take on regional favourites inspired by the teams. From Punjabi Butter Chicken Fries and Rajasthan Royal Rajma to RCB Battered Prawns, Delhi Wale Tom Uncle's Maggi, and the cheeky Overseas Players, there is a wide range of offerings for the final battle.
