Together with its share buyback worth Rs 16,000 crore completed in January this year, TCS shareholders will receive a record Rs 30,250 crore from their company in FY21.

The earnings are, however, expected to be down around 2 per cent on a sequential basis due to pent-up demand getting exhausted and the adverse impact of rising metals and energy prices on consumer goods and manufacturing companies.

Tata group companies have outperformed the broader market over the past four years, under the chairmanship of N Chandrasekaran. However, the group's fortunes rely heavily on the performance of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) now, as compared to the past. The combined market capitalisation of the group's listed companies has nearly doubled in the last four years, against a 77 per cent rally in the benchmark Sensex during the period. The overall market value of 16 key group firms - excluding listed subsidiaries of such entities - stood at Rs 16.8 trillion as of Friday. This was close to 2x the Rs 8.45 trillion as of February 21, 2017 - the day Chandrasekaran took charge as chairman of Tata Sons.

India Inc's quarterly net profit reached a record high of Rs 1.64 trillion in the third quarter ended December 31, 2020, mainly due to gains from higher commodity prices and a big swing in banks' earnings. The combined net profit of 3,323 listed companies that have declared results so far was up 68.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY). In comparison, earnings were up six times (534 per cent) in the second quarter and 6.5 per cent in the corresponding period last year.

Market cap of government companies has remained unchanged in the past 8 years.

BSE-listed companies' market capitalisation reached Rs 197.7 trillion on January 21, against India's nominal GDP of Rs 190 trillion during 12 months ended December 2020.

Over the three-month period, Airtel's stock price has rallied from Rs 432 to Rs 540, while Vodafone Idea has risen from Rs 9.2 to Rs 11.8 per share.

This is first time in 25 years that a benchmark equity index in India is trading at a P/E multiple of 40x or higher.

Tata Sons stake in the group's listed companies is now worth Rs 9.28 trillion, up 34.4 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. In comparison, the Government of India's stake in listed central public sector undertakings (PSUs) is currently valued at Rs 9.24 trillion

The growth was led by family-owned companies and business groups with presence in pharmaceuticals, information technology services, and consumer products.

Rs 1,000 now buys $13.5 against $14 a year ago.

Some analysts see more upside in FMCG stocks given the performance gap between the sector and the market.

There is positive correlation between crude oil prices and Indian equities and investors can expect more upside after the recent rally in Brent crude price.

Not surprisingly, equity investors are bidding-up stock prices across sectors and the broader market is now more valuable than pre-Covid levels.

While Bangladesh's per capita GDP in dollar terms is expected to grow 4 per cent in 2020 to $1,888, India's, on the other hand, is expected to decline 10.5 per cent to $1,877 - the lowest in the last four years.

This year, the combined net profit of 24 index companies, which have declared their June-20 numbers, has declined by 37 per cent year on year, while their revenues, including other income, is down by 21 per cent YoY so far.

The combined profit before tax of 748 companies, which have declared their results for Q1FY21, is down 46 per cent YoY. Their net sales went down by a quarter as the Covid-19 lockdown led to a sharp fall in economic activity.

The current valuation is 38 per cent higher than the 10-year average of 22x and over 50 per cent higher than the 20-year average of around 20x.

In three of the past four years, 10-year returns have been 10 per cent or lower, making equity unattractive, compared to other asset classes.

The combined weight of IT companies in the benchmark Nifty 50 index is now at a five-year high of 15 per cent as these companies continue to outperform the broader market.