From left: Inder Jaisinghani and Anil Rai Gupta.
Jaisinghani: Mexy Xavier/Forbes India; Gupta: Madhu Kapparath/Forbes India
This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of India’s Richest 2025. See the full list here.
India’s infrastructure buildout and buoyant property sector have lifted demand for everything from cement to electrical equipment. Two list members in the latter category have prospered amid the boom, with their wealth more than doubling over five years: Inder Jaisinghani, who runs Polycab, a maker of wires and cables in Mumbai; and Vinod and Anil Rai Gupta, the mother and son behind Delhi-based Havells, a popular brand of electrical fixtures.
As sales continue to surge, the imminent entry of two new players in the country’s $25 billion electricals market is expected to spark more intense competition—dimming investors’ outlook on the incumbents. While Jaisinghani’s family fortune nearly flatlined this year, the Guptas’ net worth shrank by close to a fourth, in line with the fall in Havells’ shares.
Kumar Birla.
Aditya Birla Group
In February, Kumar Birla’s Aditya Birla Group signalled its interest in the sector with plans to spend 18 billion rupees ($203 million) over the next two years through its listed cement arm UltraTech Cement to build a wires and cables plant in the western Indian state of Gujarat, where it can source copper, a key raw material. It’s slated to be completed by the end of 2026. The move “aligns with our vision of providing comprehensive solutions to our end customers in the construction sector,” Birla, the group’s chairman, said in a statement.
The project is a strategic fit for the group that counts property developers and contractors as customers, having already established a strong presence in the construction market through its nationwide network of 4,400 building materials stores, Uttam Kumar Srimal, senior research analyst at Mumbai-based Axis Securities, wrote in a March report. However, he cautioned, the move into a noncore line of business “raises concerns among investors.” Srimal expects UltraTech’s revenue to jump by more than a third to 96.3 billion rupees in 2027 from 71 billion rupees last year.
Gautam Adani.
Sumit Dayal/Bloomberg
Then in March, Gautam Adani’s flagship Adani Enterprises announced its own plans for the sector through its newly created Praneetha Ecocables. The equal joint venture between Adani Enterprises’ subsidiary Kutch Copper and Gandhinagar-based textile manufacturer Praneetha Ventures will make wires and cables as well as metal products.
Mumbai-based financial services firm Motilal Oswal estimates industry sales will grow at a compound annual rate of 13% to reach 1.6 trillion rupees in 2030 from 900 billion rupees in 2025, driven by more private sector spending and the government’s continued infrastructure push.