Ambani richest Indian for fifth year

The corruption scandals and red tape that have hampered India's recent growth took their toll on some of the country's richest in 2012, Forbes magazine's latest rankings showed, though the total worth of the wealthiest 100 inched up in a turbulent year.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of telecoms giant Bharti Airtel Ltd and Gautam Adani, chairman of the power-focused Adani Group, dropped out of Forbes' annual list of the 10 richest Indians, as uncertainty and controversy gripped their industries.
The fallout from a telecoms scandal that saw 2G licences sold illegally in 2008 has rumbled on through this year as the government has grappled with how to re-auction the airwaves.
India's power and coal industries have been plagued by shortages and delays in mining approvals, due in part to greater scrutiny in the aftermath of accusations the government allocated coal blocks to private companies at below-market prices.
Savitri Jindal, chairwoman of power and steel conglomerate Jindal Group, saw her wealth fall $1.3 billion in the year as Jindal Steel and Power subsidiary is alleged to have benefited from those allocations.
The company has denied allegations that it was unduly favoured in the allocation process.
In the 12 months since Forbes released its 2011 list, India's GDP growth rate has slumped to 5.5 percent from 8 percent.
Mukesh Ambani was India's richest man for the fifth straight year, with wealth of $21 billion, Forbes said, even as his Reliance Industries Ltd lost about 7 percent of its market value. ArcelorMittal chairman Lakshmi Mittal was ranked second despite losing $3 billion in net worth since last October.