CAN BLUSMART BE RESCUED FROM THE GENSOL SAGA?

An Innovation Derailed

- BY PUNITA SABHARWAL

In a jolt to India's electric mobility ambitions, EV ride-hailing startup BluSmart suspended services across Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru in April 2025. The company—once hailed as a trailblazer in clean, shared transport—blames the halt on external financial turbulence. But behind the scenes, a more tangled tale of corporate misgovernance is unfolding.

BluSmart's sudden collapse is being seen as collateral damage in the wider fallout of Gensol Engineering Ltd., a partner that supplied its electric vehicles. The trigger: a Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) probe that unearthed a massive fund diversion scandal tied to one of BluSmart's own co-founders.

Gensol's Fall from Grace

Founded as a solar EPC and consulting firm, Gensol Engineering evolved into EV leasing and rapidly expanded. But that growth was marred by reckless borrowing—over 1,000 crore by 2024—and alleged financial misconduct.