FE Leadership Awards | FM to toast India Inc’s best

The Union Budget, due in February, will be her tenth in a row, a record no other finance minister has matched. With it just round the corner, India Inc will be listening closely as the FM outlines the next steps for growth and shares her priorities for the year ahead. If the Indian economy has shown remarkable resilience in the face of strong global headwinds, much of the credit goes to Sitharaman.

Despite an energy shock, steep US tariffs and rising inflation, India continues to grow at a brisk pace, helped by a series of well-timed policy moves. The GST rate revisions and income tax cuts announced in 2025 have kept consumption demand buoyant, while tax relief for foreign portfolio investors buying into government securities has signalled that India is serious about a competitive tax regime.

Her steady stewardship has been just as important. Even as she has cut taxes and stepped up public investment in roads, railways and ports, Sitharaman has kept the government on a credible path of fiscal consolidation, earning the confidence of investors and rating agencies alike. It was her landmark corporate tax cut of 2019 that made India one of the more competitive destinations for manufacturing investment.

The FE Leadership Awards, selected by a seven-member jury led by Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman, Aditya Birla Group, recognise those who are not merely navigating change but driving it. As industries are disrupted and markets redefined, leadership has never been more demanding. The jury included Arundhati Bhattacharya, president and CEO, Salesforce South Asia; Cyril Shroff, managing partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas; Sanjay Nayar, founder, Sorin Investments; Amit Chandra, chairman, Bain Capital; Rajiv Memani, chairman and CEO, EY India; and Manish Kejriwal, founder and managing partner, Kedaara Capital.

The winners, led by Mahindra & Mahindra’s Anish Shah as CEO of the Year and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries as Company of the Year, are trailblazing leaders and organisations that have reimagined their businesses for a changing world. They span India’s established champions and its new frontiers, from Sarvam AI, winner of the Emerging Entrepreneur award, to Skyroot Aerospace, the Standout Innovator.

JSW Group’s Parth Jindal won the Young Turks award for building well beyond an inherited legacy, from paints to electric vehicles and Titan’s Ashok Sonthalia was chosen CFO of the Year. Resilience defined the Standout Unicorn award for Falguni Nayar’s Nykaa, Hindustan Unilever won the Sustainability award and ABB India the MNC of the Year. Bella Casa Fashion & Retail was adjudged the MSME of the Year.