<div><em>Lupin replaces Tata Power in the Sensex. <strong>Sutanu Guru</strong> on how changing names in the 30 members Sensex is also about rise and fall of corporate fortunes</em></div><div> </div><div><div>In the frenetically mad world of Dalal Street, this piece of news was expected for a month. But today, the Bombay Stock Exchange completed the formalities. The pharma company Lupin has replaced the utility Tata Power in the elite list of 30 companies that constitute the Sensex. For those looking for some gossip, Adani Power, whose promoter Gautam Adani is often used to attack the so called pro business credentials of prime minister Narendra Modi, has been dropped from the BSE 100 Index!</div><div> </div><div>Coming back to Lupin and Tata Power, the change was in the offing for a while and was announced by the exchange in the third week of May. In many ways, it is a routine thing and merely reflects, at a very basic level, that in terms of market capitalization, Lupin is now a more valuable company than Tata Power. At another level, the change also reflects the relentless change in corporate fortunes and the structure of the Indian economy when economic reforms were unleashed in 1991. Till then, the Sensex was dominated by some multinational corporations and traditional brick and mortar companies controlled by leading business families of the day. In the 1980s, the one player which gate crashed into this cosy club was Reliance Industries promoted by the late Dhirubhai Ambani. The company continues to be a member of the 30 company Sensex list of elites. </div><div> </div><div>But it was only in the 1990s that corporate fortunes started changing rapidly and dramatically. This was reflected in the changing names in the Sensex. New age sectors like financial services, IT, Pharma and telecom grew at phenomenon rates. These sectors also threw up new corporate powerhouses. It is around this time that now big names like Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Axis Bank, Dr Reddy’s, Cipla, Sun Pharma and Lupin started emerging and flourishing as big new corporate players. Virtually all of them have found a place at some time or other in the Sensex. Back in the 1980s, both India Inc and the Sensex were dominated by names like Singhania, Birla, Tata, Bajaj, Mafatlal, Podar, Modi and the like. Most of them have faded out from the top leagues and the new stars are promoters and CEOs of the later entrants to the Sensex. Two decades ago, hardly anyone knew about Sunil Bharti Mittal and Bharti Airtel. Now, they are household names.</div><div> </div><div>If you look at the Sensex as it stands today, you will be tempted to come to the conclusion that some traditional business families have managed to survive the onslaught of competition from new comers. For instance, Bajaj Auto lost the number position in the two wheeler industry to Hero Motor Corp (originally Hero Honda), but is still there in the Sensex. The Tata group just lost Tata Power from the Sensex, but Tata Motors, Tata Steel and TCS are very much there. And the Aditya Birla group run by Kumarmangalam Birla is there with Hindalco. Group company Grasim too has been there in the Sensex till recently. </div><div> </div><div>Then again, the Sensex also reflects the sudden rise and fall in corporate fortunes, at least relatively speaking. Back in 2008, when the Indian and the global economy were booming and it looked like the good times would never end, some prominent names to be found on the elite Sensex were DLF ( at one time the promoter K. P Singh had become the richest Indian!), Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, L&T, Maruti Udyog, Reliance Communications and Reliance Energy. The last two companies were jewels in the crown for Anil Ambani, who had split from his elder brother Muksesh Ambani in 2005. That Anil Ambani companies have not lived up to the early hype and expectations is no state secret. And they have lost their places in the Sensex. </div><div> </div><div>Without a doubt, more changes are inevitable. A time will come when relatively new companies like SnapDeal, Flipkart, Ola cabs and others will be listed in the stock exchange. Who knows, they might be the new boys to join the elite club of Sensex companies. </div><div> </div></div>
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