India’s corporate landscape in 2025 was shaped by dramatic rises, regulatory crackdowns and high-stakes boardroom battles, turning a handful of business leaders into national talking points. From young startup founders minting unprecedented wealth to seasoned entrepreneurs facing severe regulatory and legal challenges, these five figures dominated headlines and defined the year’s biggest business narratives. Together, their stories reflect the shifting realities of India Inc, where ambition, innovation and scrutiny now go hand in hand.
Noel Tata
Noel Tata, half-brother of former chairman Ratan Tata, dominated corporate discourse in 2025 as the Tata Trusts faced their most turbulent governance dispute in years. The confrontation peaked on October 28, when Noel and his supporters blocked Mehli Mistry’s return to the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust. Mistry’s exit exposed a significant internal divide and was widely interpreted as Noel firmly asserting his authority following Ratan Tata’s exit. Since the Trusts hold a 66 per cent stake in Tata Sons, the decision was seen as a pivotal moment in the post-Ratan Tata era, placing Noel at the core of strategic leadership within India’s most powerful business group.
Peyush Bansal
Peyush Bansal stayed in focus as Lenskart’s IPO emerged as one of the year’s most scrutinised public offers. Analysts also questioned the quality of Lenskart’s maiden net profit in FY25, noting that it was significantly supported by non-core income. The sizeable Offer For Sale portion added to concerns that early backers were exiting rather than contributing to future growth.
Lenskart’s much-anticipated Rs 7,278-crore IPO failed to live up to expectations when it hit the Indian stock market in November 2025. Despite strong demand in the primary market, the issue was subscribed 28.26 times, the shares made a muted debut, reflecting weak investor enthusiasm on listing day.
On November 10, the stock opened below its issue price on both exchanges – around Rs 395 on the NSE and Rs 390 on the BSE, compared with the IPO price of Rs 402 per share. This meant Lenskart became one of the few large public offerings of the year to list at a discount despite heavy oversubscription.
Bansal also benefits from a sizable retail following. Beyond Lenskart, Bansal serves as a judge on the Indian edition of Shark Tank and has built an Instagram audience of more than 900,000 followers.
Aadit Palicha & Kaivalya Vohra
Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra emerged as India’s youngest self-made billionaires in 2025, according to the M3M Hurun India Rich List. The Zepto co-founders, aged 22 and 23, boasted net worths of Rs 4,480 crore and Rs 5,380 crore respectively, a meteoric rise credited to their fast-commerce model that has disrupted urban retail.
Their company Zepto, founded in 2021, secured its place as a key player in the quick-commerce market, scaling rapidly and gaining trust among Indian consumers. Their success reflects how technology, bold execution and youthful leadership have compressed wealth-creation timelines in India’s startup ecosystem.
However, it garnered media interest as certain videos and photos uploaded by social media users went viral, exposing the unhygienic consumer goods, delivered, irrespective of whether they were packaged or not by Zepto cafe.
Jaggi Brothers And BluSmart Downfall
The Jaggi brothers, Anmol and Puneet Singh Jaggi, shocked India’s business community in 2025 when market-regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued an interim order barring them from securities markets over allegations of fund diversion and mis-use of investor money intended for company operations.
The fall of BluSmart and its parent, Gensol Engineering, is rooted in serious governance lapses, including allegations of financial misconduct by the promoters. These include diverting public funds, particularly EV loan allocations from IREDA and PFC, for personal purposes, misusing term loans intended for EV purchases, and engaging in questionable transactions with related entities such as BluSmart. The concerns have triggered SEBI scrutiny and raised doubts about the company’s operations, signalling a major setback for the rapidly expanding EV taxi platform.
Significant funds earmarked for business operations, notably Rs 663.89 crore from IREDA and PFC for procuring 6,400 EVs for BluSmart, were allegedly diverted towards personal luxury and other unrelated expenditures.
Subsequently the brothers resigned from their positions at Gensol Engineering, triggering widespread concern about corporate governance, financial propriety, and accountability within India’s renewable energy and EV startup sectors.
Their dramatic fall from grace, who were once tagged among promising entrepreneurs, made them one of 2025’s most talked-about business newsmakers.
Byju Raveendran
Byju Raveendran, once celebrated as the poster child of India’s ed-tech boom, saw 2025 become perhaps the darkest chapter in his corporate journey. BYJU’S, once valued at $22 billion, collapsed under mounting debt, lawsuits, and allegations of fund diversion. A US bankruptcy court held Raveendran personally liable for over $1.07 billion in the BYJU’S Alpha case, citing fraudulent concealment of funds.
With insolvency proceedings in India and global investors writing off significant investments, Byju’s downfall offered a cautionary tale about debt-fuelled growth, aggressive expansion, and the perils of unchecked scale, making Raveendran one of the most controversial figures in Indian corporate news this year.
On Thursday, however, a US bankruptcy court has overturned BYJU’s earlier $1 billion damages ruling against Byju Raveendran, allowing a new phase of proceedings in January 2026 to determine whether any damages are owed.
The reversal came after Raveendran argued he was not given adequate time to appoint US counsel. The case stems from allegations by lenders, including GLAS Trust, that $533 million from a 2021 loan was diverted, which are claims the founders deny, insisting the funds were invested in Think & Learn.
Raveendran now plans further legal action, saying no liability has been established and accusing creditors of misleading courts.
Vidit Aatrey
After getting the e-commerce platform Meesho to Dalal Street to get listed on the Indian benchmark indices, Vidit Aatrey also became one of the top newsmakers in the country in December.
Starting initially as a WhatsApp reseller, Meesho is the first new-age horizontal e-commerce marketplace to list in India and it expects zero commission and is an asset-light model. The company has not just managed to stay apart from heavyweights such as Amazon and Flipkart in the country but has also dominated them.
The firm made a strong market debut on December 10, listing on the NSE and BSE at a significant premium above its IPO price. The stock opened at Rs 162.50 on the NSE, representing about 46.4 per cent above the issue price of Rs 111 per share, while the BSE listing was at Rs 161.20, up 45.23 per cent, making it one of the most successful IPO listings of the year.
The company’s IPO raised Rs 5,421.20 crore, attracting broad investor interest and enjoying a high subscription rate during the offer period. Ahead of listing, Meesho shares were trading at strong premiums in the grey market, signalling robust expectations among investors.
Post-listing, analysts noted that Meesho achieved one of the largest listing gains among big-size IPOs in 2025, second only to a few other large offerings, underscoring solid demand for technology-driven consumer stocks. Its stock performance also pushed its market valuation significantly higher following listing.
Meesho’s business model which is centred on value-led online shopping with low costs and deep penetration into tier-2 and tier-3 markets also gave it a different profile than peers that compete primarily on quick commerce or premium offerings. This zero-commission marketplace strategy and focus on affordability were seen by some analysts as differentiators in the crowded Indian e-commerce space.
India Inc’s Year
In a year defined by volatility, ambition and reckoning, these business figures captured both the promise and the vulnerabilities of India Inc. Their journeys starting from boardroom victories and blockbuster listings to regulatory setbacks and courtroom battles, underscored the shifting contours of corporate power in 2025.
If Noel Tata’s consolidation of influence reflected the enduring significance of legacy institutions, the meteoric rise of young founders like those at Zepto and Meesho illustrated the speed with which new-age enterprises can reshape markets.
At the same time, the crises surrounding BluSmart’s promoters and Byju Raveendran served as sharp reminders of the consequences of weak governance and unchecked expansion. Together, their stories offered a panoramic view of an economy where innovation and scrutiny increasingly coexist, and where leadership is tested not only by opportunity but by accountability.
