Why Has India Failed To Create Next Gen Business Icons?

Bangalore: As Rattan Naval Tata leaves the Tata Sons to his successor in 2012, the Indian business scene remains much the same as it was in the 1990s, when N R Narayana Murthy, Azim Premji, K V Kamath, Deepak Parekh, Sunil Mittal or Anand Mahindra emerged as business icons, all witnessing the socio-economic revolution and the steady and slow economic growth.

But where are India's new business icons?

The number of companies listed on the BSE increased from 1,268 in January 2001 to 2,802 in January 2012 and their market capital surged from 6.4 lakh crore to 53 lakh crore. Yet, there are no next-generation new faces showing up in the Indian business world.

Some are there who made enormous wealth over these years; but, being wealthy may not always give anyone iconic status; as Kavil Ramachandran, a professor at Indian School of Business, Hyderabad says, "Business icons are those whose presence and influence have gone far beyond their business. They have acquired some kind of statesmanship, have high individual credibility and are very widely respected."

Malini Goyal of Economic Times gives five reasons why India has failed to produce next generation business icons.

Read on for the 5 Probable Reasons Why There are No New Business Icons in India: