In FY25, 35 Indian companies surpassed Rs 1 trillion in turnover. However, India still lacks innovation-led global giants like those in the US, China, and Japan.

Why India needs ‘Large Start-ups’ (Scale-ups)?

• Higher Productivity: Large firms are engines of productivity. They can finance R&D, compliance, and infrastructure costs over larger output, improving efficiency.
• Innovation Capacity: Big enterprises possess patient capital, multidisciplinary talent, and higher risk-taking ability.
• Global Competitiveness: Scale-ups can build global brands, manage supply chains, and capture international markets.
• Employment Generation: Large firms create direct jobs and support supplier, service, and distribution ecosystems.
• Higher Tax Collection: E.g. Samsung and SK Hynix are estimated to pay $430 billion in taxes over the next three years, nearly half of South Korea’s national debt.

Key Challenges in India

• Domestic Centric Growth: Unlike global giants like Apple or Toyota, which build pricing power on brand and intellectual property (IP), India's model remains largely focused on export-oriented services, assembly, or re-exports.
• Skewed Profit Structure: Corporate profits remain concentrated in finance (41%) and commodities (19%) sectors.
• Weak Presence in Frontier Sectors: India lacks major firms in semiconductors, advanced technology, and high-end manufacturing.
• Structural Constraints: Low R&D spending (0.6% of GDP), inadequate deep-tech funding, regulatory uncertainty and fragmented markets hinder growth.