At $28.6 billion, Tata Group remains most valuable Indian brand, thanks to IPL sponsorship

Tata Group is India's most valuable brand.

India's most valuable brand, Tata Group, saw its brand value shoot up 9 percent on sponsorships in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Group has bagged IPL's title sponsorship rights for five years worth Rs 2,500 crore, the highest ever in the league's history.

The conglomerate with a brand value of $28.6 billion, has retained its title as India’s most valuable brand, according to a report by Brand Finance, a brand valuation consultancy. The report said that Tata Group has become the first Indian brand to near the $30-billion mark in terms of brand value.

“Its brand prominence has ascended meteorically, propelled by strategic Indian Premier League sponsorships, aeronautical rebranding endeavours, and an expansive footprint bolstered by the flourishing retail domains of Westside and Tata Consumer products,” said Savio D’Souza, senior director of Brand Finance.

A distant second in the ranking is IT firm Infosys, which too clocked a 9 percent jump in brand value to $14.2 billion in 2024, despite a global slowdown in IT services.

The report noted that the recent headwinds, including the geopolitical tensions and the rise of artificial intelligence, have created challenges in the IT sector. Decision-makers are hesitant to commit to long-term contracts, putting pressure on revenues and impacting order sizes and tenures across the brands operating in the industry. But brands like TCS and Infosys have maintained their positions as most valuable IT brands. TCS has a brand value of $19.2 billion.

Despite industry challenges, HCL Tech saw its brand value increase 16 percent to $7.6 billion, solidifying its position as a top performer. Other major players, however, faced headwinds. Wipro's brand value declined by 8 percent to $5.8 billion and Tech Mahindra saw a 10 percent erosion to $3.1 billion. LTIMindtree recorded a 4 percent increase in brand value to reach $2 billion.

In the overall 2024 brand rankings, HDFC Group jumped to the third spot with a brand value of $10.4 billion, following the merger with HDFC Ltd.

“Emerging into a major voice for the Global South, India is presenting itself as a differentiated leader of the 'Global South' by setting the narrative of 'development, self-reliance and autonomy'. India is today a vital cog in global geopolitics, both with its hard and soft power. India is now hard to ignore. Brand Bharat is blooming. In the past year, India has become one of the most viable destinations for manufacturing, engineering services, knowledge hub for R&D and continues to be the flagbearer of IT services. As a result, formidable brands such as Tata, Infosys, SBI, Airtel, Reliance, Taj Hotels, L&T, MRF all continue to punch well above their weight on the global stage,” said Ajimon Francis, managing director of Brand Finance India.

Structural reforms and regulatory improvements in the banking sector have enhanced the brand values of leading public sector banks with the category posting double-digit growth in brand value.

State Bank of India (SBI) retains its position as the second most valuable bank in India, with a brand value of $6.9 billion, while ICICI Bank made a significant leap with a 33 percent surge in brand value to reaching $4.5 billion.

IndiGo has taken flight as the most valuable airline brand ranked in India this year, with a 26 percent increase in brand value, and has emerged as the country's first airlines brand to surpass the $1-billion mark in brand value. Air India, having overcome the initial challenges, also showed positive growth with a 6 percent rise in brand value to $386 million, while Vistara maintained its upward trajectory with a healthy 55 percent growth.