CNN-News18 Indian of the Year: Nykaa, Zoho, and Swiggy among frontrunners for top prize

India has become a hotspot for startups. Digital acceleration, combined with innovation and disruption, global investor interest and Government policies have enabled a strong start-up ecosystem in India. Startups hold the key to the growth of the Indian economy, and there are several unicorns India boasts of today.

CNN-News18, through its marquee Indian of the Year awards — the 12th edition — will recognise those Indians who, through their grit and determination, have brought pride to the country.

This year’s nominations in the startup category reinforce the fact that dreams do come true, when passion couples with innovation and strategy.

Here's a look at this year's nominees in the startup category:

Falguni Nayar of Nykaa successfully disrupted a brick-and-mortar industry by taking the digital route to sell beauty products. Nykaa became a profitable unicorn and successfully went public in 2021.

Zerodha founders Nithin and Nikhil Kamath own India's first 'discount brokerage' firm, making trading barrier-free for the first time since it was founded in 2010. The startup hasn't raised a penny in funding, is profitable, and the founders still own a significant percentage in the company.

Physicswallah is the success story of a YouTube channel turning into a unicorn edtech startup. Its founders, Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari, use ‘shayari’, memes and pop culture to make learning more accessible. Along the way, they built a profitable unicorn.

Zoho, founded by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas, is bootstrapped, profitable, and offers complete business operating solutions. A firm believer in rural empowerment, Vembu relocated to Tenkasi in Tamil Nadu, where he is actively involved in setting up schools and other societal initiatives.

Finally, we have the common food aggregator service Swiggy. Its founder Sriharsha Majety built an entirely new category — grocery delivery platform Instamart — from scratch, while also growing the core food delivery business.

The CNN-News18 Indian of the Year awards, presented in partnership with RP-Sanjiv Goekna Group and Reliance Industries Limited, will be announced on Wednesday, October 12, starting at 6 pm.