IndiGo founders fly into Hurun's top-10 self-made entreprenuer list

Their entry directly into the top three comes amid one of the most tumultuous periods for the airline in recent times

IndiGo promoters Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal on Wednesday made a strong debut in Hurun India’s Top 200 Self-made Entrepreneurs 2025 list, securing the third position with a valuation of ₹2.2 trillion.

 

According to the report titled IDFC FIRST Private & Hurun India’s Top 200 Self-made Entrepreneurs of the Millennia 2025, the founders of IndiGo parent InterGlobe Aviation ranked just behind Eternal’s Deepinder Goyal, who topped the list with a valuation of ₹3.2 trillion, and Avenue Supermarts founder Radhakishan Damani, valued at ₹2.9 trillion.

 

Their direct entry into the top three, which comes amid one of the most tumultuous phases for the airline in recent times, underlines the scale and profitability of India’s aviation sector.

 

India’s largest airline, IndiGo, which accounts for over 60 per cent of the country’s domestic air traffic, recently found itself at the centre of a crisis, cancelling thousands of flights starting early December. The airline has already refunded tickets worth more than ₹800 crore.

IndiGo tops several categories

Despite the crisis, the company topped several categories in the Hurun list, including revenue and profitability among the 200 firms featured.

 

According to the report, InterGlobe Aviation led the revenue table with ₹84,098 crore, ahead of Avenue Supermarts at ₹59,482 crore and Eternal at ₹21,320 crore. In terms of profitability, InterGlobe topped the list with profits of ₹7,258 crore, followed by Avenue Supermarts at ₹2,707 crore and Groww at ₹1,824 crore.

 

InterGlobe was also the second-largest employer among the companies listed, with a workforce of 42,887, trailing only Avenue Supermarts, which employed 90,280 people. The airline was the highest spender on employee benefits as well, with expenditure of ₹7,473 crore, followed by Paytm at ₹3,288 crore and Eternal at ₹2,558 crore.

IndiGo operational crisis

The airline’s operational crisis brought parts of India’s aviation sector to a standstill. On December 5 alone, IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights, leaving many passengers stranded and disrupting pricing across the industry.

 

Amid the cancellations, airfares on other carriers to key destinations such as Mumbai, Pune, and Hyderabad surged sharply, with ticket prices on some routes climbing into lakhs, routes that are usually priced between ₹4,000 and ₹7,000.

 

The disruption began after revised flight duty time limitation (FDTL) rules came into effect on November 1. These rules increased mandatory rest hours, restricted night duties, and mandated 48 hours of weekly rest for flight crew.

 

The airline is also under scrutiny from the civil aviation ministry over the widespread disruptions. Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu has said that no airline, regardless of its size, will be allowed to cause hardship to passengers. Challenges for IndiGo do not appear to be easing anytime soon, with the ongoing fog season further affecting operations in North India. On Monday alone, the airline cancelled more than 100 flights from New Delhi.