Flipkart, a Walmart-owned ecommerce website, has built a Rs 17,000 crore Employee Stock Ownership Plan (Esop) pool, putting it at the top of the list of Indian tech companies that have given employees stock options. The homegrown e-tailer was followed by Oyo, Zomato, Paytm and Nykaa. More companies executed buyback programmes, rewarding staff, making it a record year for Esops across Indian startups. Between July 2020 and November this year, around 40 Indian firms bought back Esops valued Rs 3,200 crore. Following their initial public offerings on Indian exchanges earlier this year, consumer tech companies Zomato and Nykaa delivered a bonanza for investors and employees. They’ve had the industry’s largest Esop pools.