BluSmart raised ₹978Cr for EV rides — the founders spent ₹262Cr on apartments instead

BluSmart was launched in 2019 by brothers Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi as India's first 100% electric ride-hailing service. It operated a premium model — well-maintained EVs, polite drivers, surge-free pricing — in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. At its peak it ran a fleet of 8,700 electric cars, claimed to be India's largest all-EV fleet. The company raised millions from marquee investors including BP Ventures, Deepika Padukone's family office, MS Dhoni's family office, and Ashneer Grover.

The business model was asset-heavy: BluSmart leased its fleet from Gensol Engineering, a listed solar and EV leasing company also controlled by the Jaggi brothers. In July 2024, BluSmart raised ₹200 crore in fresh funding. But the company also took a ₹978 crore loan from state lenders including IREDA to purchase vehicles. The monthly burn exceeded ₹20 crore, and the company was already defaulting on debentures.

In April 2025, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued an interim order accusing the founders of diverting at least ₹262 crore from the ₹978 crore loan to buy luxury apartments and golf equipment. SEBI stated there was a 'complete breakdown of internal controls and corporate governance norms' and that the founders treated company funds as a 'piggy bank'. The Jaggis resigned from Gensol's board, and both CARE Ratings and ICRA downgraded Gensol to default status. Gensol's share price crashed nearly 90%.

BluSmart halted all operations across the three cities in April 2025. Hundreds of employees and an estimated 10,000 driver partners were left unpaid. Customers were told to wait 90 days for wallet refunds. Gensol sold off approximately 3,000 EVs to recover cash. The CEO and CTO resigned in the month before the shutdown. The collapse also threatened state lender IREDA, which had financed the vehicle purchases.