India's Top Family Run Businesses

India has the highest percentage of family businesses in Asia, accounting for 67 percent of the listed companies with market capitalization of more than $50 million, reveals a recent survey conducted by global financial services major Credit Suisse. The report stated that 663 out of 983 listed Indian firms were family businesses and they account for half of all corporate hiring. Family businesses in India account for 46.8 percent of the total market capitalization, it said. The study, however, found that the family-controlled businesses were delivering impressive investor returns and have been crucial sources of wealth and job creation. Here is the list of the top listed family run companies.

1.Reliance Industries

Founded by Dhirubhai Ambani in 1966 as Reliance Commercial Corporation, Reliance industries is the largest private sector conglomerate company in India. The company was divided between the founder's two sons, Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani in 2006. In September 2008, Reliance Industries was the only Indian firm featured in the Forbes's list of "world's 100 most respected companies". In 2010, the company occupied the13th position in the Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings. However the company's petrochemicals, refining, oil and gas-related operations form the core of its business, other segments of the company include textiles, retail business, telecommunications, and special economic zone (SEZ) development. Reliance Retail has moved into the fresh food market as Reliance Fresh. Almost 23,365 employees work in the Reliance industries. The company operates 24-hour call centers, monitors the company's fiber-optic network on giant video screens, and updates data services provided to mobile-phone subscribers.

2.Tata Consultancy services

Top IT exporter Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) comes second in the list and the company belongs to the most powerful and well-known family in India- the Tatas. Originally a priestly family in Navsari, they have been active in industry and philanthropy since nineteenth century. The Tata Group, founded by Jamsetji Tata, is one of the largest private employers in India. It began as the "Tata Computer Centre", for the company Tata Group whose main business was to provide computer services to other group companies. One of the company's' first assignments was to provide punch card services to its sister concern, Tata Steel (then TISCO). It later bagged the country's first software project, the Inter-Branch Reconciliation System (IBRS) for the Central Bank of India. In 1981, Jamsedji Tata stepped down as Tata Industries chairman, naming Ratan Tata as his successor. The company also provided bureau services to Unit Trust of India, thus becoming one of the first companies to offer BPO services. The Tata Family was one of the first to embrace changes in the 20th century entering the service industry with Tata Consultancy Services in 1968.

3.Bharati Airtel

Bharti Airtel popularly known as Airtel was founded by Sunil Bharti Mittal in 1995. It is an Indian telecommunications company that operates in 20 countries across South Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands. It operates a GSM network in many countries, providing 2G or 3G services depending upon the country of operation. Airtel is the fifth largest telecom operator in the world with about 230.8 million subscribers across 19 countries at the end of June 2011. The company is the largest cellular service provider in India, with over 171.85 million subscribers as of August 2011. Airtel is the 3rd largest in-country mobile operator by subscriber base, behind China Mobile and China Unicom. The company has its headquarters in New Delhi. Its main products are fixed-line and mobile telephony, broadband and fixed-line internet services, digital television, IPTV and network services. The company recently announced that Shravin Bharti Mittal, 23, one of twin sons of Sunil Bharti Mittal, is the manager of Bharti's international operations in Africa. Sunil and his brothers own 32 per cent of the company and are therefore worth something like Rs 20,000 crore.

4.Wipro

Headquartered in Bangalore, Wipro technologies is a global information technology services company which was founded by M.H. Hasham Premji in 1945. After M.H Hasan Premji's sudden death, his son Azim Premji had to leave Stanford University to take care of the company which he struggled to convert it into Wipro technologies. Recently Rishad Premji son of Azim Premji is promoted as the Vice President of Wipro. Wipro provides outsourced research and development, infrastructure outsourcing, business process outsourcing (BPO) and business consulting services. The company operates in three divisions: IT Services, IT Products, Consumer Care and Lighting. According to an annual survey conducted by Brand Finance and The Economic Times in 2010, Wipro is 9th most valuable brand in India. Azim Premji is the chairman of the company.

5. Jindal Group

Jindal Group was founded in 1952 by OP Jindal. After OP jindal's death in 2005 in a helicopter crash much of his assets were transferred to his wife, Savitri Jindal, the widow of OP jindal. She was ranked as the 19th richest Indian person by Forbes. Naveen Jindal is the Managing Director of Jindal Steel and Power limited. Naveen's elder brother Sajjan Jindal is currently the head of ASSOCHAM, an influential body of the chambers of commerce, and the head of JSW Group, part of O.P. Jindal Group. The company manufactures and sells sponge iron, mild steel slabs, ferro chrome, iron ore, mild steel, structural, hot rolled plates and coils and coal based sponge iron plant. Jindal steel and power limited is also engaged in power generation. Jindal Group has manufacturing outfits across India, US and Indonesia offices across the globe.