IF ONE WANTS TO TAKE A health check on corporate India, and hence get a glimpse of how the broader economy is looking, there are few better places to do that than the Fortune India 500 (FI500) listing of India’s largest corporations. Over the years, this list has demonstrated the ups and downs of India Inc, the challenges faced by companies in the wake of policy changes, and the way forward for the economy. This year’s listing, the ninth by Fortune India, takes a deep dive into the state of the country’s largest companies after what has arguably been a momentous fiscal year.

The FI500 has always been a mix of stories of success and failure, challenges and opportunities, and it’s no different this time. This year, in the following pages, we bring you stories of companies from diverse sectors which have either been able to succeed in facing business headwinds squarely or are in the process of executing their own plans for growth. There are also stories of rampant mismanagement and misdemeanour—like that in financial services company Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services—where the government had to step in and take control and appoint an entirely new management team to stem a possible contagion effect on the country’s financial system.