Startup Scams and the New Age Raavana’s: India’s Endless Fraud Playbook

As Raavana’s effigies burn across India this Dussehra, we are reminded of the triumph of good over evil. But while the demon king of Lanka was slain millennia ago, his spirit endures—in corporate boardrooms, in startup hubs, in banks that repeatedly fund illusions. Today’s Raavana’s do not wield swords. They wield spreadsheets, valuations, and public money.

The collapse of BluSmart and Gensolillustrates this modern incarnation. Once showcased as pioneers of clean mobility, they now sit in insolvency court. Hundreds of crores in public money have evaporated. Allegations swirl around the Jaggi brothers: luxury flats at DLF Camellias, shopping binges, even a ₹26 lakh golf set purchased with funds meant for electric vehicles. A venture dressed in the halo of climate responsibility has been stripped to reveal yet another case of private enrichment at public expense.

And yet, BluSmart and Gensol are not aberrations. They are inheritors of a long tradition of financial deceit—Raavana’s who reinvent themselves for each economic age.

Raavana Through the Ages

Financial scandals in India have always mirrored the political economy of their time.

During the license-permit raj, the villains were industrialists who flourished by exploiting political connections, import quotas, and patronage.

In the liberalisation era, new avatars emerged. Harshad Mehta, the “Big Bull” of Dalal Street, manipulated banking loopholes to inflate stock prices in 1992. His scam devastated markets, much as BluSmart and Gensol have shaken confidence in India’s green mobility dream. A decade later, the UTI scam of 2001 crippled investor trust, while millions of small savers were left exposed.

In the 2000s, the IT boom produced its own Raavana. Satyam Computers’ Ramalinga Raju admitted in 2009 to inflating profits by over ₹7,000 crore—India’s “Enron moment.” He wore the mask of an innovator until the facade collapsed.

Each time, regulators promised reform. Each time, the cycle resumed. And now, in the 2020s, the startup economy has given us its own breed of financial predators—disruptors on paper, siphoners in practice. If Harshad Mehta was the Big Bull of Dalal Street, BluSmart may well be remembered as the “Harshad Mehta of ESG startups.”

The Startup Scam Playbook: Inflate, Pledge, Default, Escape

The contours of the scam are depressingly familiar. First, craft a compelling narrative: promise to solve climate change, revolutionise rural access, or democratise finance. Then, pump valuations through media buzz and investor fear of missing out. Use this inflated paper wealth as collateral to raise further loans. And when reality inevitably punctures the bubble, default—leaving public sector banks and small investors holding the losses.

BluSmart and Gensolfollowed this script to perfection. They are merely the most recent actors in a drama that India has been forced to watch for over a decade.

A Decade of Corporate Raavana's

India’s financial history since 2010 reads like an epic of recurring betrayals:

1. Nirav Modi & Mehul Choksi (2018): Defrauded Punjab National Bank of ₹13,000+ crore before fleeing.
2. Vijay Mallya (2016): Defaulted on ₹9,000 crore in Kingfisher loans, still living in London luxury.
3. Jatin Mehta (2014): Winsome Diamonds defaulted on ₹7,000 crore. Reportedly in St. Kitts.
4. Sandesara Brothers (2016): Sterling Biotech scam worth ₹5,383 crore. Declared fugitives.
5. Rakesh & Sarang Wadhawan (2019): HDIL–PMC Bank collapse, losses of ₹6,500 crore.
6. Vikram Kothari (2018): Rotomac Pens loan fraud of ₹3,695 crore. Arrested.
7. Nirmal Singh Bhangoo (2016): PACL Ponzi scheme worth ₹49,100 crore. Still under probe.
8. Anil Ambani (2019): Reliance Communications defaulted on ₹45,000+ crore; bankruptcy followed.
9. ABG Shipyard (2022): Loan fraud of ₹22,842 crore.
10. IL&FS Executives (2018–21): Collapse with over ₹91,000 crore in exposure.
11. Future Retail (2023): Defaults and insolvency of over ₹5,000 crore.
12. BluSmart & Gensol (2025): Defaults of ₹729 crore and rising.

(*Data sourced from published reports; accuracy and updates may vary.)

The details differ, the magnitude varies, but the plot is identical: public money looted, banks crippled, accountability evaded.

The Accountability Vacuum

What is striking in the BluSmart–Gensol case is not only the alleged siphoning of funds but the effortless continuity of its promoters. Anmol Singh Jaggi is reportedly in Dubai. Puneet Singh Jaggi is preparing a new electric mobility venture. Co-founders, having obtained clean chits, are already running parallel businesses.

Meanwhile, banks are left with distressed assets and worthless equity. Insolvency professionals face a Catch-22: sell the fleet and extinguish the company’s future, or retain it and bleed creditors further.

This is not simply mismanagement. It is structural rot: an ecosystem where the costs of failure are borne by the public, while the benefits of deceit are privatised.

Burning the Right Effigies

Dussehra or Vijayadashmi is meant to remind us that dharma prevails over adharma. Yet the Raavana’s of today wear no crown. They are cloaked instead in the language of sustainability, innovation, and disruption. They are feted at conferences, profiled glowingly in the media, and granted sainthood until the crash comes.

If India is to truly honour the spirit of Vijayadashami, it must confront these Raavana’s head-on. That means:

• Proactive and independent regulation of startup and corporate financing.
• Consequences that are real and visible, irrespective of a promoter’s reputation or sector.
• Full transparency in insolvency proceedings, with promoter histories made public.
• Above all, a cultural reset where integrity is valued above hype, and founders are measured not by narratives but by governance.

Otherwise, the cycle will persist. As one effigy burns, another Raavana is already drafting a pitch deck, rehearsing his Series A, and preparing to don the halo of innovation.