For Anvitha Prashanth and Pranav Prashanth, partners at Perpetual Capital, impact investing is not a trend riding the ESG wave. It’s an integral part of the way they deploy capital. “We are an early-stage fund, looking at pre-seed, pre-Series A companies,” says Pranav. “Impact really plays a key role in our thesis. That’s why we felt we fit in so well with the Perpetual Capital Hurun India Impact 50.”
Anvitha adds context to this placement. “We’re primarily a family office focused on long-term, conviction-based investing. Impact is a big part of our portfolio. Even beyond that, when a consumer company comes into the room, we look at sustainability. That aligns well with where we want to go.”
For them, the report is not ambitious. It validates a belief they have held since day one: that India’s growth story should not reflect the excesses of the old industrial economies.
“The best part of this list is seeing the largest listed companies taking ESG seriously and working towards achieving sustainable development goals,” says Anvitha. “Sustainability is a top-down approach, not a bottom-up approach. Seeing these companies leading by example shows that as India Inc grows, we can grow sustainably. We don’t have to grow the way other countries have, where per capita carbon emissions are out of control. India can grow sustainably.”
Commenting on why this shift has occurred, Anvitha says that the shift towards clear sustainability commitments is driven by two clear forces. “One is external compliance, whether that is local regulations or requirements from the Nordic, European or US markets where companies source or raise capital. The second is the push at the consumer level,” she explains.
It refers to a structural reality. “A lot of consumption in India happens in the top 20% of the country’s population. Eighty percent of them don’t have that level of disposable income. So, if those 20% become more aware, they automatically push the companies they consume from to take that into account.”
Pranav sees it reflected on earth. “We are seeing more companies that really care about their stakeholders, the local communities affected by operations or those who benefit from employment and education. This is very positive work. India Company looks very positive.”
Interestingly, Impact 50 does not change their investment philosophy, but rather reinforces it. “For us, it’s a little different, because it’s always been part of the thesis,” says Pranav. “We believe India is going to grow in a sustainable way. That’s why we’ve been investing in this line. We’re also seeing larger venture capital firms looking at ESG as a core practice pattern. So for us, having ESG as a strong foundation helps throughout the capital raising chain.” In other words, sustainability is no longer peripheral. It improves financing capacity.
One of the most unexpected findings for Pranav came from a traditional, high-impact sector. “I was really surprised by the mining industry. There are seven companies on the list, which is the highest representation. It shows that they are making an active effort to modernize and offset the by-products of their operations. This has been a very impressive factor.”
Anvitha had a geographic takeaway. “I was surprised by the number of companies from Bangalore and Mumbai. We assume that sustainability-led companies are concentrated in some startup hubs, but the amount of participation from both cities was huge.”
But they say the biggest proof point lies in performance metrics. “One of the highlights for me was Persistent Systems reaching carbon neutrality,” says Pranav. “For a company of this size, continuing to deliver growth and revenue for shareholders, it shows that you can scale and remain carbon neutral. They are setting an example.”
It also refers to JSW. “They use 102% renewable water, which means they are actually putting 2% back into the local ecosystem. Seeing big companies like JSW and Persistent Systems proving that growth and profits don’t have to conflict with sustainability was a takeaway for me.”
For Perpetual Capital, real transformation is not about theories of corporate social responsibility, but about structural change. When sustainability becomes embedded at the top, when compliance converges with consumer demand, and when capital rewards responsible expansion, influence ceases to be a narrative tool and becomes a business lever.
As Anvitha sums it up, “As India grows, we can grow sustainably.” For a country still writing its growth blueprint, this may be the most important learning of all.
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