The oldest MNCs in India

They have been in business for more than 75 years in India - and are still going strong. India's oldest multinationals have not only survived the ups and downs of the country's history, but have also thrived despite all odds.

A Castrol team at one of the early motorsport events in India.

In early 1890s, when Charles Wakefield, was working at Vaccum Oil (which was eventually called Mobil), he was planning to launch his own automotive lubricant company. He launched Castrol in 1909, and within a year in 1910, Wakefield decided to launch his first offshore operation in India.

GSK established trading links with India in 1919.  The company looked at India as an investment for the long term. It started manufacturing here way back in the 1950s and indigenised very early.

An ad for Dalda.

The iconic yellow bar of Sunlight soap hit the shores of Kolkata in 1888. Made by Lever Brothers, the soap consignment landed in India with the intention of making washing clothes simpler for Indian women. Thus began the story of the biggest FMCG company in India.

Siemens's Express Delivery service where mechanics on cycles went around repairing electrical equipment in the late 1960s.

Siemens is best known for building the first direct telegraph line connecting London and Calcutta. That line also laid the foundation of German multinational's association with India.

SKF celebrating its 75th anniversary in India. SKF says the biggest proof of its involvement in India is the automobile aftermarket, where it commands almost 50 per cent of the market.

Standard Chartered Bank opened its first Indian branch in Kolkata in 1858 and a decade later shifted its operation to Bombay, the emerging new trade centre in those days.

GE set up nuclear reactors at Tarapore. From setting up the country's first hydropower plant to pioneering the BPO industry, GE India has many firsts to its credit.

An old Philips 'two-in-one', radio-cum-cassette player, circa 1980s. In 1930, Indian subsidiary incorporated as Philips Electricals Co Ltd. Trying hard to adjust to a changing environment, Philips got some things right and some things wrong.