< The 2014 All-India Research Team

Total Appearances: 4

Analyst Debut: 2011Repeating at No. 1 on this lineup is Rohit Chordia, who also earns his first appearance on the Consumer/Staples list, as a runner-up. The Kotak Securities analyst is advising investors to buy Bharti Airtel of New Delhi and Mumbai-based Idea Cellular, India’s No. 1 and No. 3 mobile carriers, respectively, by revenue and subscribers. He expects the market shares of these industry incumbents to benefit from improving competitive intensity in the country’s wireless market, explaining that smaller operators “face stretched balance sheets and do not have the capability to continue with disruptive pricing tactics and invest in expanding and improving their networks.” Bharti and Idea are also well-positioned for the surge in wireless Internet adoption, which is happening on the back of the wireless industry’s investing in data networks and creating supply. “India lags behind most markets on data adoption, and the growth runway on this aspect is long, in my view,” says Chordia, 34. Another positive for these companies is the prospect of further consolidation in the market, given that “the challengers have no long-term business case” in an industry where economies of scale are crucial, he adds.