Who are India’s newest billionaires?

AT FIRST GLANCE the Indian names on the billionaires list compiled by Hurun Report, which tracks such things, reinforce the image of the powerful growing more so. At the top, to no one’s surprise, was Mukesh Ambani (worth $83bn), followed by Gautam Adani ($32bn). Both owe their riches to industrial conglomerates (centred, respectively, on petrochemicals, and ports and power plants). Both have a knack for navigating India’s obstreperous courts and bureaucracy. Both operate mainly in Maharashtra and Gujarat, the industrial heartlands in the west of the subcontinent.Yet look more closely and the rich list reveals India’s changing economy. Mr Ambani’s wealth has soared because of Jio, his firm’s digital subsidiary which runs a huge telecoms network and has become an e-commerce prospect. Other members of the billionaire list increasingly represent the businesses of India’s future, including drugmaking and technology, rather than heavy industry. They come from across the country. And their ranks are swelling fast.