Roti, Kapda, Makaan: Hurun Top 200 Entrepreneurs List Shows India Is Not All About Tech

India’s startup story is often told through the lens of lending, algorithms and venture capital. But the IDFC FIRST Private & Hurun India Top 200 Self-made Entrepreneurs of the Millennia 2025 tells a more grounded story —one rooted as much in everyday consumption as in code. Strip away the buzzwords, and the list makes a clear point - India’s biggest wealth creators are still building businesses around the consumption story.

While technology-enabled companies feature prominently, the sectoral data shows that traditional and consumption-led businesses continue to anchor value creation.

Retail alone accounts for 20 companies on the Top 200 list, with Avenue Supermarts (DMart) remaining the most valuable retail company at Rs 2.97 lakh crore, despite a year-on-year dip in valuation. The scale is staggering — DMart employs over 90,000 people, more than any other company on the list — underscoring how physical retail continues to dominate daily Indian life.

Housing and real estate, long considered cyclical and capital-heavy, are also making a strong showing. The real estate sector has expanded to 10 companies on the list, up from five last year. Firms such as M3M India reflect how urban housing demand continues to translate into large-scale enterprise value, even as startup narratives tilt the digital landscape.

Vedant Fashions, the company behind Manyavar, also features among the Top 200, highlighting how branded ethnic wear has become a national business rather than a seasonal one. Fashion and consumer goods companies may not have moved at tech-speed, but the list shows they build durable value.

To be clear, tech is not absent. Software & services has grown to 28 companies, showing the strongest year-on-year increase. Financial services remains the single largest sector with 47 companies.

Even in developing healthcare —arguably a modern necessity rather than a traditional one — the story is infrastructure-led rather than purely tech-driven. The sector accounts for 27 companies, with players like Max Healthcare Institute and Medanta reflecting India’s expanding need for physical hospitals, beds, doctors and diagnostics, and not just platforms.

The cumulative value of all 200 companies now stands at Rs 42 lakh crore, a 15% increase over last year. That growth is being driven not just by screens and servers, but also by supermarkets, homes, hospitals and clothing brands. In other words, beneath the allure of the startups, India’s wealth story remains deeply physical.