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- Deloitte India aims to dethrone EY and claim the title of “India’s #1 professional services firm” by 2028.
- In fact, Romal Shetty, CEO of Deloitte South Asia, 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 MSMEs, eating the lunch of small and mid-sized firms.
Could Deloitte India overtake EY?
Deloitte India ranks as the 6th-largest Deloitte member firm globally.
In pure consulting, ranks even higher…trailing only Deloitte 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.
Their revenue game 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
But looks like the gap between EY and its next biggest competitor, Deloitte, is closing fast.
Because, Deloitte India’s revenue has climbed from:
- $1 billion (₹10,000 crore) in FY24
- To an estimated $1.29 billion (₹12,500 crore) in FY25
- And now to $1.50 billion (₹14,500 crore) in FY26
The next goal? Reach $5 billion within four years.
Industry analysts told ET that if these current bets pay off, Deloitte could realistically overtake EY in just 12 to 15 months.
Yes, the race is heating up.
Tech consulting beats audit services
For decades, Deloitte India has built its brand on audit and assurance.
Before 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 target
Traditionally, the Big 4 focused on large corporates, while mid-sized firms dominated startups and MSMEs.
Well, that may be changing.
Under Project Bharat, Deloitte is expanding aggressively into:
- 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
But how will Deloitte successfully crack India’s 75 million MSMEs?
By shifting to an 80% machine-led and 20% human-validated delivery model, at a fraction of the traditional cost.
Through their upcoming digital marketplace, E-Vardhan, Deloitte plans to offer affordable AI-assisted offerings for SMEs…helping them with GST compliance, inventory optimization, and 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.
Deloitte India to hire 50,000 employees
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
AI is reshaping Big 4’s 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.
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.
Looks like a huge productivity jump.
Also read: Big 4 India gets bigger: Revenue surged to ₹38,800Cr & to surpass ₹45,000 crore
Wrapping up…
Deloitte India isn’t necessarily trying to beat its main rival, EY.
It’s more about expanding the boundaries of what a global consulting giant can look like.
By deploying AI to lower their costs, they are bringing elite corporate playbooks to local founders in smaller towns to help them raise money, clean up governance, and launch IPOs.
If Romal Shetty’s $5 billion playbook succeeds by the end of this decade, local accounting firms could face a massive wake-up call…
