India's 10 most reputed companies

Companies increasingly compete for market share and mindshare in all corners of the world.

Having a strong and favourable reputation with consumers plays a critical role in helping a company to differentiate itself from its rivals.

Each year, Nielsen Corporate Image Monitor measures reputation of the 40 leading companies in India across sectors and serves as an important indicator of the strength of the corporate brand.

It represents the views of 1,790 people from different walks of life, including policy makers, influence groups, the financial community, investors, corporate peers and the general consumer, across the top seven metros.

"The Corporate Reputation Index is a testament to a brand's reputation, by people that matter most to it.

"For stakeholders, this implies they feel the brand is reliable, and sustainable in difficult times" said Dinesh Kapoor, Executive Director, Nielsen India.

To know which companies made it to the top 10 list, read on. . .

RANK 1: Aditya Birla Group

• Key person: Kumar Mangalam Birla (Chairman)
• Employees: 136,000 (as of 2012)

The Aditya Birla Group is a multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai.

It operates in 33 countries.

The group deals in viscose staple fibre, metals, cement, viscose filament yarn, branded apparel, carbon black, chemicals, fertilisers, insulators, financial services, telecom, BPO and IT services.

. . .

RANK 2: Tata Motors

• Key people: Ratan Tata (Chairman Emeritus); Cyrus Pallonji Mistry (Chairman); Ravi Kant (Vice Chairman) and Karl Slym (Managing Director)
• Employees: 59,759 (as of 2012)

Tata Motors Limited is a multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Mumbai and a subsidiary of the Tata Group.

Its products include passenger cars, trucks, vans, coaches, buses and military vehicles.

It is the world's eighteenth-largest motor vehicle manufacturing company, fourth-largest truck manufacturer and second-largest bus manufacturer by volume.

. . .

RANK 3: LIC

• Key person: D K Mehrotra (Chairman)
• Employees: 115,966 (as of 2010)

Life Insurance Corporation of India is the largest insurance group and investment company in India.

Headquartered in Mumbai, the Life Insurance Corporation of India currently has eight zonal Offices and 113 divisional offices located in different parts of India.

. . .

RANK 4: ITC

• Key person: Yogesh Chander Deveshwar (Chairman)
• Employees: 29,000 (as of 2012)

ITC Limited is an Indian public conglomerate company headquartered in Kolkata.

About 25 per cent of the company is owned by British corporation, British American Tobacco.

The company's diversified business includes fast moving consumer goods, hotels, paperboards, paper and packaging and agri business.

. . .

RANK 5: Infosys

• Key people: K V Kamath (Chairman); S Gopalakrishnan (Co-Chairman); S D Shibulal (CEO & MD)
• Employees: 155,629 (as of 2012)

Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational provider of business consulting, technology, engineering, and outsourcing services.

It is headquartered in Bengaluru.

. . .

RANK 5: Wipro

• Key person: Azim Premji (chairman)
• Employees: 140,000 (as of 2012) in 54 countries

Wipro Limited is an information technology consulting and outsourcing service company located in Bengaluru.

Wipro's subsidiary, Wipro Enterprises Ltd., offers consumer care, lighting, healthcare, and infrastructure engineering.

. . .

RANK 7: RIL

• Key person: Mukesh Ambani (chairman and managing director)
• Employees: 23,166 (as of 2012)

Its other segments include textile, retail business, special economic zone development and telecom/broadband business.

. .

RANK 8: HUL

• Key people: Harish Manwani (Chairman); Nitin Paranjpe (CEO and MD)
• Employees: 17,000 (approximately as of 2012)

Hindustan Unilever Limited is India's largest consumer goods company.

Based in Mumbai, the company is owned by the British-Dutch company Unilever.

Its products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products.

. . . 

RANK 9: Tata Steel

• Key people: Cyrus Pallonji Mistry (Chairman); Hemant M Nerurkar (Managing Director)
• Employees: 81,622 (as of 2012)

Tata Steel Limited is an Indian multinational steel-making company headquartered in Mumbai.

A subsidiary of the Tata Group, it is the 12th-largest steel producing company in the world.

Tata Steel has manufacturing operations in 26 countries, including Australia, China, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Thailand and the United Kingdom,

. . .

RANK 10: SBI

• Key person: Pratip Chaudhuri (Chairman)
• Employees: 292,215 (as of 2012)

State Bank of India is a multinational banking and financial services company based in India.

It is a state-owned corporation with its headquarters in Mumbai.

As at December 2012, it had assets of $501 billion and 15,003 branches, including 157 foreign offices.