New Delhi, Jan. 23 -- Markets rarely announce their next market leaders in advance.

They emerge slowly, through numbers that improve quietly, through balance sheets that strengthen year after year, and through businesses that begin to matter a little more to the economy than they once did.

India's market in 2026 is likely to be far more discerning than it was during the liquidity-fuelled years of the past decade. Capital is no longer cheap. Growth is no longer enough on its own. Balance sheets, return ratios, cash flows, and predictability are back in focus.

This shift matters because leadership in the coming years will not be about who can grow the fastest for two quarters, it will belong to businesses that can sustain growth over lon...