Newspaper Summary 300726

 AERA moots big overhaul of airport tariff structure

SWEEPING. Suggests higher use of non-aeronautical revenue to lower passenger charges

Rohit Vaid New Delhi

The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) has suggested increasing the use of non-aeronautical revenue (NAR) to offset airport charges in a move that could substantially reduce user development fee (UDF) and other aeronautical levies paid by passengers, sources told businessline. AERA has made these recommendations to the Civil Aviation Ministry.

POLICY REVIEW CALL AERA called for a review of the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP), 2016, provisions governing airport tariff determination, stating that the existing hybrid till mechanism, which allows only 30 per cent of non-aeronautical revenue to be used for cross-subsidising airport charges, may no longer be appropriate, given the maturity of India’s airport sector and its stronger long-term growth prospects. Sources said increasing the share of non-aeronautical revenue used for cross-subsidisation would reduce the aeronautical revenue requirement (ARR) of airport operators, thereby lowering airport charges recovered from airlines and passengers.

SINGLE TILL MODEL AERA said that if non-aeronautical revenue equals or exceeds an airport operator’s entitled revenue requirement, UDF and other aeronautical charges could become negligible or decline significantly. Initially, a single till model for airport tariff regulation was being followed in India before adopting the hybrid till framework under the NCAP, 2016, to provide a uniform regulatory framework while encouraging private investment in airport infrastructure.

Under the existing framework, only 30 per cent of the revenue generated from commercial activities, such as retail outlets, food and beverage services, advertising and vehicle parking is used to subsidise aeronautical charges, while the balance is retained by airport operators. However, AERA observed that the airport sector had evolved considerably since the introduction of the hybrid till mechanism, with lower business risks and improved traffic growth prospects.

Besides, the regulator has recommended that the government revisit the existing policy and either adopt a single till mechanism under which 100 per cent of non-aeronautical revenue is used to offset airport charges or, alternatively, increase cross-subsidisation to around 70 per cent under the existing hybrid till framework.

GLOBAL PRACTICES Further, sources cited international practices, noting that countries such as the UK, France and Spain follow the single till mechanism, under which the entire non-aeronautical revenue is used to offset airport charges. More than 50 per cent of the nearly 240 airports globally operate under the single till model, resulting in lower airport tariffs than those following the hybrid till framework. These recommendations, sources said, form part of AERA’s broader review of the airport economic regulatory framework and would require changes to the National Civil Aviation Policy before any revised tariff mechanism can be implemented.

Sustained oil price surge could pressure twin deficits: FinMin

Shishir Sinha New Delhi

With crude oil prices heating up again, the Finance Ministry has cautioned that a sustained rally could pressure both the fiscal and current account deficits, while simultaneously fuelling inflation and slowing economic growth. Oil prices jumped nearly 7 per cent on Wednesday as major airstrikes resumed in West Asia and dashed hopes for an early end to the US/Israeli war with Iran. During mid-trading session, Brent futures rose $5.84, or 6.9 per cent, to $89.93 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $5.34, or 6.7 per cent, to $84.60 a barrel.

RESILIENT EXPORTS Per the latest Monthly Economic Review, prepared by the Ministry’s Economic Affairs Department, even as geopolitical frictions persist and impact trade and cross-border capital flows, India’s external sector exhibits notable resilience. Strong export performance, a services trade surplus and consistent remittance flows strengthened the current account. Further, recent policy measures will provide an impetus to capital inflows in the near term, which, together with adequate foreign exchange reserves, are expected to reinforce the external sector’s resilience.

Nevertheless, “the recent resurgence in global oil prices, if sustained, could reemerge as a source of pressure on financing of both the fiscal deficit and the current account balance,” the Review stated. It added that while crude price fluctuations and potential El Nino weather patterns are being carefully monitored, the domestic inflation outlook remains cautious and structurally well-supported, anchored by active measures to support price stability, robust agricultural commodity procurement and targeted contingency plans in place.

Internationally, the IMF projects global headline inflation at a manageable 4.7 per cent for 2026, while the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee maintains an unchanged policy repo rate of 5.25 per cent with a neutral stance, forecasting FY27 CPI inflation at a manageable 5.1 per cent.

TOLERANCE BAND The Review noted the continued rise in retail inflation as it touched 4.38 per cent in June from 3.93 per cent in May. Though it is within the Reserve Bank of India’s tolerance band of 2-6 per cent, it is expected to go up. “Two factors underlie current inflationary pressures — unfavourable weather conditions and the transmission of elevated global fuel prices to energy commodities at the retail level,” it said.

Meanwhile, the core inflation indicates underlying inflationary trends stabilising around 3.9 per cent in June. Overall, according to the Review, despite heightened global uncertainties, India’s economic outlook remains underpinned by resilient domestic fundamentals, continued policy support and strengthening structural drivers of growth.

What CJP protests show

Shipra Baduni Rishika Arora

STUDENT ELECTIONS. Largely curtailed across college campuses India’s youth aren’t apathetic — they’re unheard

Last week marked a rare moment in contemporary Indian politics. The NEET protests achieved what many thought unlikely: sustained mobilisation by young people that forced real accountability. It’s worth celebrating as a democratic victory — but also worth reflecting upon. This moment challenges more than just governance failures — for years, the most persistent assumption about Indian youth has been that they are apathetic, absorbed in private ambition, indifferent to public questions. That diagnosis now looks difficult to sustain.

Evidently, young people care, and will act on what they care about. But it is worth asking why caring surfaces almost exclusively on the streets as episodic bursts, as opposed to the parliament, election booth, consultations, or municipality offices. Protest, instead of voting, contesting, or deliberation has become the adopted idiom of youth political participation.

But protest is a valve, it blows when pressure has nowhere else to go, and is best read as a symptom rather than a preference: the sign of a state that has failed to make a section of its citizens feel heard.

DEFINING DEMOCRACY Ambedkar described democracy as “a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience”. The phrase asserts that democracy is not primarily a machinery of elections but a condition of ongoing exchange between groups who must live together. Where that exchange breaks down, something antithetical to democracy has occurred, whatever the state of the formal procedures. The frustration visible on Delhi’s roads, in this sense, tells us that a crucial conversation is simply not happening.

Trace the life of a young person in India — from home, to school, to college, to adulthood and enfranchisement — and ask: where are the avenues for their frustrations to be heard? In a country with a youth population estimated at over 350 million, meaningful youth participation remains strikingly low.

Student elections have been suspended or curtailed across college campuses and States, eroding a pathway through which generations of public leaders once learned to organise, deliberate, and represent their peers. Even during the recent protests, JNU and Delhi University issued advisories discouraging students from joining.

Because young people aren’t treated as a constituency worth engaging in civic dialogue, we learn what they want only at the point of rupture — teaching them that institutions respond to disruption, not dialogue.

The state pours enormous resources into managing protests: paramilitary deployment, internet shutdowns, barricading, adjourning sessions, absorbing political damage. Almost nothing comparable is spent on the ordinary channels that would let young people participate in decision-making. Examples of these are not difficult to come across: Kerala’s Balasabhas have spent decades integrating children’s collectives into local government, creating regular opportunities for participation. Internationally, Finland’s Local Government Act obliges every municipality to constitute a youth council and gives it a formal say in planning, budgeting and monitoring.

A polity that hears its citizens routinely — because it trusts what they have to say is valuable, and worth acting upon — learns that trust once extended is repaid in kind, expressed in enthusiastic, self-motivated political engagement. Student representation with genuine remit, youth participation in committees and consultations, deliberate inclusion in pre-legislative processes, and civic education that treats students as citizens now rather than later — these can restore what Ambedkar thought democracy could not survive without: a productive dialogue that runs in both directions, where tangible commitments in the present overtake the flimsiness of future promises.

Shipra is the CEO and Rishika is a Programmes Officer at Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC).

India retains global dairy lead as milk production rises

Gayatri Sundaravadanan Chennai

Cow’s milk output is forecast to rise to 105.4 mt this year from 103.2 mt in 2025

India is set to strengthen its position as the world’s largest milk producer in 2026, with cow milk production forecast to rise to 105.4 million tonnes (mt) — up from 103.2 mt in 2025, according to the latest Dairy: World Markets and Trade report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The increase comes alongside a gradual expansion in the country’s dairy herd, with the number of cows in milk expected to reach 62.5 million head, the highest among all countries tracked by the agency.

The report estimates domestic milk consumption at 93 mt in 2026, reflecting the country’s continued reliance on a large domestic market to absorb rising output. India is second only to the European Union in total milk production. India is also expected to register steady gains across processed dairy products. Butter production is projected to increase to 7.44 mt in 2026 from 7.19 mt a year earlier, while domestic consumption is forecast to climb to 7.39 mt. The country remains the world’s largest butter producer by a wide margin, ahead of the European Union and New Zealand.

NON-FAT DRY MILK Production of non-fat dry milk is also forecast to edge higher to 7,90,000 tonnes in 2026 from 7,70,000 tonnes in 2025, with domestic consumption nearly matching production at 7,79,000 tonnes. Globally, the dairy industry is witnessing stronger momentum in export-oriented products. The USDA expects butter exports from the US to surge 40 per cent in 2026, while European Union’s butter exports are projected to rise 10 per cent as processors channel available milk towards higher-value dairy products. New Zealand is also forecast to post a record milk production of 22.5 mt, supported by improved farm profitability.

Notably, despite India’s growing presence in overseas dairy markets through cooperative major Amul’s international expansion, the USDA report does not discuss India’s dairy export prospects or outline any expectations for export growth. Instead, the report largely portrays India as a domestic consumption-driven market.

Ethanol push can deepen water woes

A NARAYANAMOORTHY

The issue of ethanol blending has occupied centre stage in India’s policy today. To reduce carbon emissions and cut down the huge crude oil import bill, the government has actively pushed the National Policy on Bio-fuels. The rollout of E20 fuel (petrol mixed with 20 per cent ethanol) has become a reality across the country. While the direct economic benefits of this programme are huge, a serious ecological problem looms in rural areas. As the government increases ethanol production capacity to meet its targets, will this policy worsen water scarcity?

THE BENEFITS The biggest benefit of the ethanol blending programme is reducing oil imports. India imports more than 85 per cent of its crude oil requirements, which is a huge drain on our forex reserves. In FY25, 234.3 million tonnes (mt) of crude oil were imported at $137 billion. At the 20 per cent blending level, India can save forex worth about ₹40,000 crore a year on its crude oil import bill.

Furthermore, there are environmental benefits as well. Ethanol contains oxygen that helps petrol burn completely, reducing the emission of harmful air pollutants like carbon monoxide and particulate matter from vehicles. This programme can also benefit farmers by creating a guaranteed market for rice, maize and sugarcane.

However, what is the cost of producing this fuel at the farm level? Unlike developed nations that use non-food crop residues and wood waste to make advanced bio-fuels, India relies almost entirely on primary agricultural crops, mainly sugarcane, paddy and maize. India’s annual sugarcane production is at around 455 mt. The juice and heavy molasses from this crop are used for distillation. Paddy, which has an annual production of 150 mt and maize, with a production of about 43 mt are now being diverted to distilleries. Even though the government states that only surplus or damaged grains are used, the large targets of the E20 mandate mean that millions of tonnes of food crops are being earmarked for fuel.

Data from the All India Distillers’ Association (AIDA) for the ethanol supply year 2025-26 indicates that grain-based ethanol accounts for around 67 per cent of the total supply, while sugarcane-based feedstocks contribute 33 per cent. The sharp contraction in kharif maize acreage of about 13 per cent this year across top-producing States may force the ethanol producers to rely more on rice. This raises serious questions about long-term food security and food prices.

WATER CONSUMPTION The real danger of India’s ethanol policy lies in the huge amount of water these crops consume. The agriculture sector presently consumes over 85 per cent of India’s available freshwater and crops that are used for ethanol are highly water-intensive. When we calculate the water needed to produce just one litre of ethanol from these crops, the numbers are alarming.

Data show that producing one kilogram of refined sugar from sugarcane requires about 1,600-2,100 litres of water. When converted into fuel, one litre of sugarcane-based ethanol has a water footprint of around 3,630 litres. The problem is even worse for paddy-based ethanol. Growing 1 kg of paddy requires 3,000-5,000 litres of water depending on the region. Since it takes about 2.5-3 kg of rice to produce one litre of ethanol, making just one litre of fuel from rice consumes up to 10,790 litres of water. Maize, though better, also requires about 4,670 litres of water per litre of ethanol.

This high level of water consumption is a threat to India’s depleting groundwater resources. Data from the Central Ground Water Board (2024) show that groundwater extraction is already at an alarming level in major agricultural States like Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu. The long-term projections by the Central Water Commission and the National Commission for Integrated Water Resources Development (1999) state that India’s total water demand will exceed supply before 2050.

The NITI Aayog report on Composite Water Management Index (2018) has also underlined the severity of water scarcity in different regions. By increasing the cultivation of water-intensive crops for ethanol, we will be emptying our aquifer storage much faster. Subsidised electricity for farming and guaranteed prices from distilleries will further encourage farmers to pump out groundwater for fuel crops.

PLAN CAREFULLY There is no doubt that ethanol blending will help the country’s economy by saving huge foreign exchange. But to prevent the ethanol mandate from creating a severe water crisis, we need careful, resource-centric planning. The policy should not be made by the energy ministry alone; it must be linked with the water resources and agriculture ministries.

First, instead of using water-heavy crops like paddy and sugarcane, the government must diversify the crops used for ethanol. Policy incentives must be given to low-water-consuming cereal crops (bajra, jowar, ragi) as they use only a fraction of the water that paddy or sugarcane consume. These can be grown on rainfed lands without draining groundwater.

Second, in areas where sugarcane and maize are used for ethanol, modern water-saving micro-irrigation technologies must be made compulsory as they save about 40-50 per cent of water in crop cultivation while increasing crop productivity. Government financial support, distillery licences and procurement prices must be linked strictly to the use of micro-irrigation. Similarly, distilleries must be forced to use Zero Liquid Discharge systems so that 100 per cent of the water used inside the factory is recycled and reused.

To conclude, a fuel policy that reduces air pollution or import bills but leaves behind dried-up wells and parched agricultural lands is completely unsustainable.

The writer is an Economist and former full-time Member (Official), Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, New Delhi. Views expressed are personal.

Deep depression to unleash rain over M.P., Gujarat, Maharashtra

Vinson Kurian Thiruvananthapuram

A rare deep depression over Central India is dragging a vast swathe of heavy to very heavy rainfall westwards, with the potential to unleash extremely heavy downpours over parts of Madhya Pradesh before moving into an already waterlogged eastern Gujarat and adjoining Maharashtra through the weekend.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall, with isolated spells of extremely heavy rain over West Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, after issuing a similar alert for Vidarbha and Chhattisgarh on Wednesday. Isolated heavy rainfall is also forecast over parts of North-West India.

GUJARAT AGAIN As the system advances west, the focus shifts to Gujarat and Maharashtra. IMD has forecast isolated heavy rainfall over east Gujarat on Thursday and Friday, extending to Saurashtra and Kutch on Friday and Saturday. Konkan, Goa and Madhya Maharashtra are likely to receive heavy rain for three days beginning Saturday, with isolated very heavy falls on Friday and Saturday. Marathwada is also expected to receive very heavy rainfall on Thursday.

RAIN CORRIDOR The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) paints an equally wet picture. Its latest guidance identifies a corridor stretching from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar through Malegaon, Dhule, Nandurbar, Rajpipla, Bharuch, Vadodara, Nadiad and Godhra as the zone most likely to receive the heaviest rainfall through Saturday.

The ECMWF also suggested that the departing deep depression could leave behind atmospheric conditions favourable for another rainbearing system to emerge from the Bay of Bengal, reviving widespread rainfall across Central India and parts of North-West and East next week. More intriguingly, the IMD’s numerical weather prediction models hinted at the possible development of a cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands during this period — an unusual prospect at the peak of the South-West monsoon.

MODEL ABERRATION The possibility warrants close attention. The current deep depression itself is an uncommon phenomenon over land during the monsoon. Just one category below a cyclonic storm in intensity, such systems rarely form at this time of the year because the prevailing monsoon circulation generally suppresses their development. They are far more typical during the transition months of May and October-November, when the monsoon is advancing or retreating.

The projected Bay system may yet turn out to be a model artefact. But if the signal persists and the cyclone materialises, it could reshape the remainder of this year’s monsoon, significantly altering rainfall patterns across large parts of the country through August.

‘Private SpaceTech Ecosystem crosses $870 million in funding’

Our Bureau Bengaluru

Driven by landmark orbital launches and growing interest from international institutional investors, India’s private spacetech sector has entered a mature new growth phase, according to a recent report by intelligence platform Tracxn.

Capital deployment into the sector surged from $43 million across 12 rounds in 2021 to a record $200 million across 53 rounds in 2025, maintaining powerful momentum into mid-2026.

ORBITAL LEAP The industry milestone comes on the heels of Skyroot Aerospace’s May 18 launch of its Vikram-1 rocket, which successfully deployed four payloads into a 450-km low Earth orbit. Following a secondary test flight scheduled for later this year, the company plans to commence full commercial operations, marking significant progress since the opening of the sector to private participation in 2020.

The milestone propelled Skyroot to become India’s first SpaceTech unicorn after closing a $50 million Series C round in May 2026. Skyroot now leads the country’s private space landscape with $150 million in total funding raised to date.

According to Tracxn’s data, late-stage funding made its debut recently, rising from $17 million in 2025 to $53 million year-to-date in 2026. Seed-stage capital has accounted for a large portion of all capital raised across 2025 and 2026 YTD, contributing $158 million, collectively. These include Skyroot Aerospace’s $50 million Series C, Digantara’s $50 million Series B, EtherealX’s $21 million Series A, Bellatrix Aerospace’s $20 million Series and AgniKul Cosmos’ $17 million Series C.

India’s top 10 funded SpaceTech firms have now collectively raised over $548 million. Beyond leader Skyroot Aerospace, key capital gatherers include:

• Pixxel ($96 million)
• AgniKul Cosmos ($76 million)
• Digantara ($67 million)
• Bellatrix Aerospace ($34 million).

Geographically, Bengaluru remains the epicentre of India’s private space ecosystem, securing $495 million across 106 funding rounds. Hyderabad follows with $205 million, while Chennai also shows significant activity.

Kerala deploys Annam.AI smart weather stations

V Sajeev Kumar Kochi

Kerala is leveraging home-grown AI innovation to build a smarter and more resilient agricultural ecosystem that directly benefits farmers and strengthens the State’s agricultural future.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar, has been roped in to deploy AI-powered smart weather stations, Annam.AI, across the State as part of the Kerala government’s 100-day action plan to strengthen climate-smart agriculture and improve farm-level decision-making.

Pushpendra Singh, Project Director of Annam.AI and Dean at IIT-Ropar, said the initiative is aimed at improving farmers’ access to reliable weather information, enabling better planning, reducing input costs and promoting informed farming practices.

The hyper-local weather intelligence system will provide accurate, real-time weather information, helping farmers make timely decisions on sowing, irrigation, crop protection and harvesting. It is expected to help them prepare for changing weather conditions, minimise crop losses and improve productivity.

Edited excerpts:

What role does Kerala play in building the larger national AI-driven ecosystem, and how will learning from the State shape agricultural intelligence for India? Kerala is uniquely positioned to lead India’s AI-driven agricultural transformation. Insights from Kerala will help India to:

• Understand how mixed, multilayer farms respond to hyper-local climate variations.
• Build advisory models for spices, plantation crops, fruits and vegetables.
• Develop disaster response algorithms for high rainfall, high risk regions.
• Create a national template for farm-level climate intelligence.
• Demonstrate rapid adoption of AI tools in states with strong governance.

Kerala’s learning will directly inform national rollouts of AI-powered weather networks, crop advisory systems and climate risk prediction models.

From a farmer’s perspective, what practical changes can Kerala’s farming community expect over the next few cropping seasons? Farmers can expect tangible benefits within a few seasons, including:

• More accurate rainfall and humidity forecasts for sowing and harvesting.
• Early warnings of crop diseases and pest outbreaks, particularly in pepper, banana, coconut and spices.
• Better irrigation decisions based on real-time soil moisture data.
• Reduced crop losses during extreme weather events.
• Improved post-harvest quality through timely temperature and humidity insights.
• Higher yields driven by AI-enabled interventions and more stable farm incomes due to reduced reliance on guesswork.

With Kerala’s strong digital culture and high youth participation in agriculture, AI-powered tools are likely to be adopted quickly.

Kerala has experimented with automated weather station networks in the past. How is Annam.AI’s smart weather station network different? Annam.AI’s smart weather stations represent a new generation of indigenous climate intelligence developed at IIT-Ropar. The stations monitor seven critical parameters — temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind speed, wind direction, solar radiation and soil moisture — all of which directly influence crop yields, pest incidence and post-harvest quality.

What sets the network apart is its AI-powered weather analytics. Delivering high-accuracy forecasts at a 3-km resolution, the stations enable village-level predictions and integrate seamlessly with Annam.AI’s advisory engine to generate real-time crop advisories, disease-risk alerts and disaster warnings.

India’s exports in April-July likely to grow 15%, says Piyush Goyal

Amiti Sen New Delhi

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India’s goods exports were growing robustly, and shipments in April-July 2026 were expected to post a growth of about 15 per cent over the comparable period last year.

On the India-US trade talks that slowed down after the US reciprocal tariffs were invalidated by the country’s Supreme Court, the Minister said it would come into operation as soon as the US ensured comparative advantage for India over Asean countries and some other neighbours.

TRADE NUMBERS Speaking at an event organised by Assocham on Wednesday, Goyal said that the latest trade numbers suggested a 15 per cent growth in goods exports in April-July 2026 (year on year). This would mean that exports in April-June could be around $170 billion, with shipments in July 2026 likely at about $40 billion.

“I expect this momentum to continue as we implement FTAs with more economies,” Goyal told reporters. Per the latest Commerce Department data shared earlier this month, goods exports in April-June 2026 posted 15.92 per cent year on year growth to $129.32 billion.

On the India-US trade pact, Goyal reiterated the government’s stand. “I had categorically expressed confidence that what was finalised with the US as first tranche of the BTA (in early February 2026) will come into operation as soon as US is able to ensure we get comparative advantage over countries in the neighbourhood and Asean region” he said.

SECTION 301 The Minister said that India had participated in the Section 301 probes initiated by the US against the country and some others. While tariffs had been imposed in the case of one probe, the result of the other one was awaited.

“As long we have comparative advantage on comparable duties, will continue to leverage US opportunity,” he said. Responding to questions on the US bipartisan Bill seeking to impose more restrictions on major buyers of Russian energy, which could include India, the Minister said he would not comment on speculation.

India’s wealth boom gets bigger and younger; 3,040 now make the rich list

Our Bureau Mumbai

India’s rich are getting richer, wealth is increasingly concentrated among a handful of families and individuals, and a younger generation of entrepreneurs is rapidly reshaping the country’s wealth hierarchy, according to the 2026 edition of the 360 ONE Wealth Creators List.

The 2026 list identifies 3,040 wealth creators with a net worth of more than ₹425 crore, compared with 2,013 wealth creators with a net worth above ₹500 crore in the inaugural 2025 list. Together, these individuals now control ₹104 lakh crore, up from approximately ₹100 lakh crore previously, highlighting the continued expansion of private wealth in India.

YOUNGER WEALTH The changing age profile of India’s wealthy is another standout trend. The median age of wealth creators has fallen to 57 years in 2026 from 63 years in the 2025 edition, signalling that wealth is being created faster and at a younger age. The list now features 285 wealth creators under the age of 40, up sharply from 143 in 2025. Collectively, they hold ₹14.5 lakh crore, accounting for 14 per cent of the total wealth.

The surge reflects the growing influence of technology, fintech, quick commerce and other new-age businesses. The data suggest that India’s wealth landscape is no longer dominated solely by legacy industrialists, with a younger generation of entrepreneurs and heirs rapidly climbing the ranks.

CONCENTRATION OF WEALTH One of the most striking trends is the growing concentration of wealth. In 2026, the top 10 individuals account for nearly 19 per cent of the total wealth, while the top 100 control 46 per cent, illustrating how a small group continues to dominate India’s wealth landscape.

RISE OF BIZ FAMILIES The Ambani heirs, Anant, Isha and Akash Ambani, occupy the top three positions, each with wealth exceeding ₹2.75 lakh crore, highlighting the increasing significance of inter-generational wealth transfer.

Another major development is the rise of India’s business families. The Top 100 Families collectively command wealth of ₹76.5 lakh crore, equivalent to more than $800 billion. India now has 12 business families with wealth exceeding ₹1 lakh crore each, a club that barely existed a decade ago. The findings underscore how family-owned businesses continue to play a defining role in India’s wealth creation story.

GENDER DYNAMICS AND SECTORS The report also highlights the growing role of women in wealth creation, with their representation increasing to 738 women (24 per cent of the list), compared with 540 women in the previous edition. Notably, women under 40 have a higher average wealth than men in the same age group, signalling a changing gender dynamic.

Sectorally, pharmaceuticals, financial services and information technology remain among the biggest wealth generators. However, the report identifies renewable energy, electric vehicles, quick commerce and digital businesses as the next engines of wealth creation. The rise of companies such as Zepto, Ola Electric and renewable-energy firms suggests that India’s next generation of billionaires may emerge as much from innovation-led sectors as from traditional industries.