However, according to Forbes' latest India rich list, those gains were uneven as seven lost more than a billion and six gained at least that.

Naazneen Karmali, India editor of Forbes Asia, said: “India‟s cooling economy got a welcome boost when the government ended months of policy paralysis by relaxing rules for foreign investments in key sectors like retailing, insurance and aviation. The much-needed measures perked up sentiments in what was otherwise another year of corruption scandals, this time in mining allocations, dubbed 'Coalgate‟. However, the gains in the stock market were partially eroded by a weakening rupee which fell by 8%”.

For the fifth year in a row, Mukesh Ambani retains the top spot with a net worth of $21 billion, despite his fortune falling for the third year in a row. His Reliance Industries remains India‟s most valuable company. Lakshmi Mittal holds on at No.2 with $16 billion, down $3.2 billion since last year as shares of his Arcelor Mittal, the world‟s largest steelmaker, were under pressure due to rising costs and slumping demand in Europe. Azim Premji founder of information technology company, Wipro, is ranked No. 3 on the list with a net
worth of $12.2 billion, lower by $800 million from a year ago.

The biggest dollar gainer was pharma tycoon Dilip Shanghvi, who broke into the top 5 for the first time with a $2.5 billion jump, as shares of his Sun Pharmaceutical soared. His net worth is $9.2 billion. Fellow pharma entrepreneur, Wockhardt's Habil Khorakiwala, who rejoined the billionaires ranks, was the year's biggest percentage gainer with a net worth of $1.8 billion.

There are now 61 billionaires in all, 4 more than last year. Among them are the Hinduja brothers who debut with an estimated $8 billion fortune. While 3 of the siblings are not Indian citizens, their expanding business ties to India made them candidates this year.

They are also the richest of the 11 newcomers to the list. The youngest newcomer is 40-year old Ranjan Pai (No. 63), credited with turning his Manipal Group into a global brand in education, who enters the list with $975 million.

The minimum net worth to make the list increased from $370 million last year to $460 million this year.

The top ten richest in India are:
1) Mukesh Ambani; US$21 billion
2) Lakshmi Mittal; $16 billion
3) Azim Premji; $12.2 billion
4) Pallonji Mistry; $9.8 billion
5) Dilip Shanghvi; $9.2 billion
6) Adi Godrej; $9 billion
7) Savitri Jindal; $8.2 billion
8) Shashi & Ravi Ruia; $8.1 billion
9) Hinduja Brothers; $8 billion
10) Kumar Birla; $7.8 billion

Forbes said that the list was compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from the families and individuals, stock exchanges, analysts and India‟s regulatory agencies. The ranking lists family fortunes, including those shared among extended families. Public fortunes were calculated based on stock prices and exchange rates as of Oct. 12. Private companies were valued based on similar companies that are publicly traded.