Eternal founder Deepinder Goyal bags EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2025

An 11-member jury selected Deepinder Goyal for what it described as his focus on innovation, operational excellence and long-term thinking

• Deepinder Goyal wins EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 in India
• He will represent India at the global awards in Monte Carlo
• Winners' companies employ 2.8 lakh people and earn ₹4 lakh crore

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Deepinder Goyal, founder of Eternal Ltd., has been named the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2025, with the jury citing his role in reshaping India’s consumption patterns through consumer-technology businesses and building long-term shareholder value.

The award, now in its 27th year in India, was presented at a ceremony in Mumbai by Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, who felicitated Goyal along with other category winners. Goyal will represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in Monte Carlo in June 2025.

An 11-member jury selected Goyal for what it described as his focus on innovation, operational excellence and long-term thinking, as well as for generating employment for thousands of young and gig workers and enabling a wider entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Other winners across categories included Abhishek Lodha of Lodha Group (Energy, Real Estate and Infrastructure), Ajay Bhardwaj of Anthem Biosciences (Life Sciences and Healthcare), Gopal Vittal of Bharti Airtel (Entrepreneurial CEO), Jasbir Singh of Amber Enterprises (Manufacturing), Karan Bhagat of 360 One WAM (Services), Pranav Goel and Uttam Digga of Porter (Start-up), Sunil Vachani of Dixon Technologies (Business Transformation), and Vir S Advani of Blue Star (Consumer Products and Retail).

The 2025 cohort of winners together clock nearly Rs 4 lakh crore in revenue, command a combined market capitalisation of over Rs 22 lakh crore and employ close to 2.8 lakh people, according to EY India.

Veteran banker Uday Kotak, currently chairman of GIFT City, was conferred the Special Jury Award for his contribution to India’s banking and financial services sector and for mentoring generations of entrepreneurs.

Speaking at the event, Piyush Goyal said India’s entrepreneurial energy had become one of the country’s key growth drivers over the past decade. He highlighted India’s demographic advantage — with 65% of the population under 35 — and cited macroeconomic indicators including 8.2% real GDP growth in Q2 FY26, inflation trending downward, foreign exchange reserves of $725 billion and historically low banking sector NPAs.

The minister also pointed to $80 billion in foreign direct investment inflows in FY25 and reforms such as the consolidation of 29 labour laws into four codes, tax and compliance rationalisation, and the conclusion of free trade agreements providing preferential access to 38 nations. Trade with Australia and the UAE, he said, has doubled since the FTAs came into force.

Rajiv Memani, chairman and CEO of EY India, said the current phase of accelerated reforms, deeper global integration and rapid AI adoption was creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs. “Our 2025 winners represent the very best of Indian entrepreneurship,” he said, adding that their businesses reflect bold ideas, execution and sustained innovation.

With the Monte Carlo finals scheduled for June, Goyal will now join entrepreneurs from around the world in vying for the global title.