A future without promoters

India's corporate landscape is changing, and the economy is set to change with it, notes Amit Tandon

The unicorns and tech start-ups continue to grab eyeballs, even as an increase in institutionally-owned and -controlled companies  (defined here as the absence of an Indian promoter) is taking place virtually unheralded. This development too will transform the corporate landscape in equal measure and deserves attention. The Indian market and regulations, long accustomed to the presence of a “promoter”, need to prepare for a future without one.

There have been at least 183 control transactions between January 2017 and December 2020. If one removes real estate and infrastructure — primarily roads, this number adds up to 142. The numbers have gone