Two of the three Indian companies that feature in TIME news magazine’s list of 100 most influential companies in the world are Parsi owned/established — multi-business conglomerate Tata Group and the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, Serum Institute of India (SII). Reliance Industries is third on the list. While the Tata Group and Reliance Industries feature in the category "Titans,” SII is listed under "Pioneers.” This is the fourth edition of the annual TIME100 Most Influential Companies list, highlighting companies making an extraordinary impact around the world. Reliance appears in the list for the second time, the first being when its technology company Jio Platforms made it to the maiden list in 2021. The full list of 100 companies is published in the June 10, 2024 issue of the 101-year-old semi-monthly newsmagazine.
From l: N. Chandrasekaran, Adar Poonawalla, Mukesh Ambani: leading "influential companies”
"A lot can change and fast: only seven companies on this year’s TIME100 Companies list appeared in the 2023 edition,” editor in chief Sam Jacobs commented on how quickly influence can change in an introduction to the list. Other names among the 100 include diverse companies like Rare Beauty set up by singer/actor Selena Gomez and artificial intelligence start-up Anthropic.
TIME described Dr Cyrus Poonawalla-founded SII as the world’s biggest vaccine maker, "churning out billions of vaccines.” The company makes 3.5 billion doses every year, including vaccines for measles, polio, and most recently, human papillomavirus (HPV). "SII’s chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla says the company’s success can largely be chalked up to its private ownership. Not being beholden to shareholders allows it to keep vaccine prices low. Their malaria vaccine R21 /Matrix-M will cost $4 (Rs 224) a shot,” the publication said.
Speaking to TIME, Adar made a plea for global regulatory harmonization. "All countries (should) agree that if a vaccine is approved by an organization like the World Health Organization, which has a certain quality standard, then it should automatically be available to those who need it.” Speaking of profitability, he stated, "We are still quite profitable… but all of that profit is nothing
compared to what we need every year to invest in our capital expenditure, research and innovation for doing trials to develop new vaccines.” Adar spoke about the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in his business: "Even if AI can predict (the next pandemic strain) and do all of that in a matter of months, validating the AI’s modeling in real terms and real practice is going to be a challenge for all regulators before they can give you a stamp of approval.” Among other matters, Adar dwelt on the role SII played to alleviate Covid-19.
The newsmagazine’s profile on the Tata Group appreciated the "transformative leadership” and strategic vision of chairman N. Chandrasekaran that saw investments in tech manufacturing, AI and semiconductor chips. "In 2023, it became the first Indian company to assemble iPhones and is building another plant. In September, Tata announced a partnership with Nvidia to develop an AI cloud in India. And this year, it announced plans for the country’s first major semiconductor manufacturing facility.”
The magazine called Reliance "India’s Juggernaut.” "Reliance Industries has evolved into India’s most valuable company with a market capitalization over USD 200 billion (Rs 16.67 lakh crores),” they stated, adding that they have aligned their growth with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for a self-reliant India.”
The selection process involved nominations from various sectors, inputs from TIME’s global network of contributors and correspondents, outside experts and evaluations based on impact, innovation, ambition and success, stated news reports.