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- Deloitte India’s Romal Shetty aims to dethrone EY and claim the title of “India’s #1 professional services firm.“
- In fact, he told The Economic Times that they plan to hit $5 billion in revenue by the end of the decade.
- And, oh! It’s also targeting startups and 75 million MSMEs as potential clients.
- So what is Deloitte’s playbook?
First, can Deloitte India dethrone EY?
Deloitte India ranks as the 6th-largest Deloitte member firm globally.
In consulting alone, it ranks #3, trailing only the US and UK.
Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?
But in India? Not Deloitte, but EY has been the undisputed king of the professional services market.
EY India’s revenue is unmatched, having reported:
- $1.38 billion (₹13,400 crore) in FY24
- $1.54 billion (₹15,000 crore) in FY25 (estimated)
- FY26 figures are yet to be disclosed
Here is Deloitte India’s revenue:
- $1 billion (₹10,000 crore) in FY24
- $1.29 billion (₹12,500 crore) in FY25 (estimated)
- $1.50 billion (₹14,500 crore) in FY26
Looks like the gap is clearly narrowing, driven by Deloitte’s faster growth rate (29% vs 12%).
Industry analysts told ET that if these current bets pay off, Deloitte could realistically overtake EY in a couple of years.
Yes, the race is heating up.
Tech consulting beats audit services
Before the mandatory audit rotation changed the game, Deloitte audited a large chunk of India’s top-listed companies.
But today? Technology consulting drives nearly two-thirds of Deloitte India’s revenue.
Its tech consulting business has grown from ₹250 crore to ₹9,300 crore in just 9 years.
And it’s not just tech…Other business lines are booming too:
- Tax revenues have doubled in the last 3 years (especially its highly respected M&A tax practice)
- Corporate finance revenues have grown 3x+ (strategy, transaction advisory, value creation, PMI, deal support)
Deloitte’s next big bold bet…
Winning India’s startups and MSMEs.
For decades, the Big 4 have largely played at the top end of town, serving listed giants, multinationals, and large conglomerates.
Meanwhile, startups, founder-led businesses, and MSMEs? That was the turf of small & mid-sized firms.
Under Project Bharat, the firm is expanding beyond boardrooms…and going after India’s next wave of business builders:
- Startups
- Founder-led businesses
- Family-owned MSMEs
- Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities
Its pitch? Helping ambitious businesses with:
- Fundraising support
- M&A advisory
- Succession planning
- Governance frameworks
- IPO readiness
Big question?
But how do you serve India’s massive MSME market at scale and at prices they can afford?
Deloitte’s answer: an 80% machine-led and 20% human-validated delivery model.
At a fraction of traditional advisory costs.
Through its upcoming digital marketplace, E-Vardhan, Deloitte plans to offer AI-assisted solutions for SMEs, including:
- GST compliance
- Inventory optimisation
- Tax opinions
And here’s the surprising part:
Deloitte may even invest in some of these businesses.
For mid-sized advisory firms, this could mean one thing…A Big 4 giant entering their home turf?
Hiring 50,000 people
In an era of AI-driven layoffs…Deloitte is doing the opposite.
While global consulting firms face cooling hiring markets, Deloitte India is planning to add 50,000 professionals over the next 4 years, aiming for a 100,000+ headcount.
Hiring is increasingly focused on Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, unlocking new talent pools across India.
Globally, Deloitte employs 470,000+ people, nearly one-fourth of Deloitte’s global workforce.
So yes, India is becoming one of its biggest strategic hubs.
Also read: Deloitte’s Romal Shetty says: India’s next biggest job creator? GCCs
Big focus on AI workflows
Instead of reducing headcounts, Deloitte has trained 30,000 employees in AI skills.
AI is now deeply embedded in the firm’s operations.
Tasks that once took 100 hours…Now take 70 hours or less.
FYI: Its internal AI tools are expected to save 60,000 hours in audit work alone.
Deloitte expects automation to eliminate 30% of manual effort across the entire firm within the next 2 to 3 years.
Right now, products, software platforms, and tech-enabled offerings only make up about 5% of Deloitte India’s revenue. They want to push that to 40% to 45% by letting AI do the heavy lifting.
Their army of 100,000 human professionals? They’ll focus purely on high-margin strategic advisory work.
Also read: Big 4 India gets bigger: Revenue surged to ₹38,800Cr & to surpass ₹45,000 crore
Wrapping up…
Deloitte India is expanding the boundaries of what a global consulting giant can look like.
If Romal Shetty’s $5 billion playbook succeeds by the end of this decade, local accounting firms could face a massive wake-up call…
