Until last week, BluSmart was being celebrated as the future of clean mobility in India.
And now, the same cabs are being repainted in Uber Green.
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What went wrong in these few days that converted a ₹3000 crore dream into a cautionary tale? For Indian families in the US, watching this play out, this story is not just about cabs. It is about trust, governance, and why startups we wish for sometimes turn against us.
BluSmart arrived in 2019 like a fresh breeze—clean, electric, and moral. No rude drivers, no petrol smell, no surge pricing.
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It framed itself as the “better alternative” to Ola and Uber. And it succeeded—particularly in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.
But behind this shiny, green promise was a mess that few could see. BluSmart was inextricably linked to another firm, Gensol Engineering, which provided all the EVs and charging points.
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Both firms had the same co-founders—Anmol and Puneet Jaggi. That’s where the lines began to blur.
In March, two rating agencies lowered Gensol’s credit rating. When they requested loan documents, Gensol forged them—yes, actually forged bank documents.
They omitted the two big lenders—IREDA and PFC—and instead submitted fake documents assuring all was well. With that single falsity, the floodgates opened.
Gensol attempted to sell 2997 EVs to yet another firm by the name of REFEX that would lease it back to BluSmart. However, even REFEX pulled out, fearing that BluSmart might default on lease repayment.
And then came the resignations. Top leadership at BluSmart began quitting rapidly, without much explanation.
Around the same time, ride numbers were declining, cash was depleting, and investors were withdrawing. BluSmart was burning more than ₹20 crore each month, without any actual strategy to become profitable.
It went from worse to worse when SEBI initiated a full-fledged probe. They discovered ₹262 crore had been diverted—not into the company, mind you, but into luxury apartments, golf courses, spas, and even into a new startup venture called “Third Unicorn.”
That’s money for electric cabs. Redirected to a posh flat in DLF Camellias and shopping at Titan. And the worst part? This was not covert. It was out in the open for anyone willing to look closely enough.
SEBI has now prohibited Jaggi brothers from occupying important positions in any listed company. A forensic audit is in progress, and BluSmart has suspended operations.
Their EVs are being repainted and integrated into Uber’s green fleet. It’s a surprise no one could see coming.
At this juncture, the question is no longer “how did this happen?” but “how was it allowed to happen?” Two companies under the same founders, sharing resources, concealing risks, and running without independent controls.
This wasn’t bad luck—it was bad governance. And that stings, particularly for Indians overseas who want to believe in India’s startup narrative.
A lot of expats and NRIs looked at BluSmart as a beacon of hope—a cleaner, smarter India. This is a betrayal of that hope.
The worst part is, the technology worked. The concept worked. But the people behind it let the system down.
If BluSmart had constructed more robust firewalls between itself and Gensol, the tale would have been different.
If investors, regulators, and even customers had posed more challenging questions sooner, perhaps the indicators would have been more evident.
Today, this whole incident could deter investment from India’s EV ecosystem. And that is a loss not only for one firm—but for an entire generation of climate-responsible innovation.
There’s still a thin hope for redemption, but not without total transparency and a new model of leadership. BluSmart’s tale isn’t finished—but for now, it’s a cautionary story.
