Tata remains India's most valuable brand: Brand Finance

With a brand value of $15 billion, Tata remains India's most valuable brand and the truly global megabrand originating in the country, according to a study by brand consultant Brand Finance.

Apple, Samsung, Google, Microsoft, Verizon are the top five brands globally while Tata is the world's 65th most valuable brand, according to the Brand Finance India 100 report, released today.

State-run lender State bank of India (SBI) is second on the India list but its brand value has increased by a whopping 64 per cent in the past one year.

Others in the list of top 10 brands in India included Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Bharti Airtel Ltd (Airtel), Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), Infosys Ltd (Infosys), Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T), HCL Technologies Ltd (HCL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC).

One interesting fact that emerged in the study is that there is a new breed of Indian brands following in Tata's footsteps. Brands like Micromax, Flipkart and Royal Enfield are in the list of top 100 Indian brands.

Twenty per cent of the brands in this year's Brand Finance India 100 list are new entries. They are from e-commerce, pharma, auto, telecom, heavy engineering and banking sectors.

The new entrants in the top 100 list include Essar (11th rank with brand value of $2,747 million), United Spirits (22nd rank:  $1,337 million), Marico (36 rank: $725 million), and Future Retail (43 rank:  $493 million).

The other brands include Berger Paints, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Micromax, Nerolac, Shree Cement, Aircel, IndusInd Bank, Voltas, TVS Motor, Royal Enfield, Pidilite, Flipkart, Dr Reddy's Lab, Sun Pharma, Sun TV and Piramal Enterprises.

''There is increasing competition for places in the Top 100. Emerging sectors like e-commerce, telecommunications, technology companies, banking services are particularly competitive. Staying in the premier league of brands will require a world beating product or service, differentiation and a strong vision and mission, including a strong ethical stance. Royal Enfield, Flipkart, Micromax and Sun Pharma are all potentially world beating powerhouse brands.'' Ajimon Francis, CEO, Brand Finance India said.

The overall increase in brand value at 4 per cent in 2014 was a little slow, according to the report.

The Brand Finance India 100 is an annual study conducted by leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance. India's biggest brands are put to the test and evaluated to determine which are the most powerful and most valuable.