Welcome to another Friday, chief!

In today’s edition — BluSmart, a Delhi-based ride-hailing app that promised a greener, cleaner alternative to Uber has crashed. The culprit is not market forces or a competitor, but the underhand dealings of its founders. It’s a reminder that having big ambitions alone won’t carry a startup. What matters as much is integrity, strong execution, and a commitment to solve some real problems.

Unicorns Draining on Delivery Route

Vishwas Ved

An image of a city in disarray, with uniformed gladiators on bikes zigzagging through traffic to deliver a few cans of Coke before your pizza gets cold, might seem familiar and contemporary — but it’s more sepia-toned than you think.

Back in the late 90’s, there was Kozmo.com, a New York-based startup that promised free 60-minute delivery within Manhattan and about a dozen other cities. 

The dotcom-era darling of investors seemed like the future, until it fell flat on its face because it overestimated the internet’s ability to overcome the constraints of time and space.

John Coates, in The Hour Between Dog and Wolf, paints the aftermath:

“The people who paid the price for this act of folly, besides the investors, were the scores of bicycle messengers breathlessly running red lights to meet a deadline. You would see groups of these haggard youngsters outside coffee bars (with appropriate names like Jet Fuel) catching their breath. The company went bankrupt, leaving behind a question asked about this and countless similar ventures: What on earth were the investors thinking?”

Eerily relatable in the current Indian context, right?

Fast forward to now. 

In India, waiting for 60 minutes for your deliveries is way beyond the acceptable range because Swiggy delivers snacks in minutes, and Zomato shows up with dessert even before you've finished your meal.

Clearly, the sharpest of minds and the deepest of pockets have come together to solve the existential crisis of our midnight cravings.

‘Villain’ of the Fairy Tale

This fairy tale of quick-delivery business was progressing well until the ‘villain’—Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal—said focusing on delivering quickly is not enough. 

"Are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls? Is that the destiny of India?" he said recently, raising a bigger question about the direction of India’s startup ecosystem.

The backlash, as expected, was instant and loud.

Founders, investors, and keyboard warriors said he was out of touch, anti-innovation, and even ‘uncool’.

Goyal’s words did seem more directed at the likes of Swiggy, Zomato and Zepto for their focus on the speed of delivery, but his broader point was that most startups today prioritise valuation over value creation. 

Another Startup Goes Belly Up

Consider BluSmart, a Delhi-based ride-hailing app that was supposed to be the next big thing that shut down due to financial mismanagement. 

The startup promised a cleaner, greener Uber minus surge pricing. But then the plot took a turn when Sebi accused co-founder Anmol Jaggi of misappropriating company funds to buy luxury real estate. 

It abruptly suspended operations, grounding some 8,500 cars, leaving thousands of drivers in the lurch, and freezing customer funds parked in the company’s app. (Read an incisive take by The Core on BluSmart.) 

What this failure highlights is that glossy pitch decks and greenwashing alone aren’t enough to create a sustainable startup. 

Looking Beyond Speed

While no business can thrive without a financial strategy and proper management, what’s truly needed is a focus on solving the real problems facing the country, such as affordable medical devices and cost-effective machinery for water purification.

Take the example of Agnikul Cosmos, an Indian private aerospace manufacturer and commercial launch service provider. The startup aims to develop and launch its own small-lift launch vehicle. Or consider Niramai Health, which is using AI to fight breast cancer. 

These startups are moonshots with real, national impact though they rarely make headlines.

Final words

India doesn’t need less innovation; it needs better innovation that creates jobs with dignity, and makes things the world needs. The food-delivery revolution is a great start, not the ultimate thing.

What the country needs now is the patience to build not just unicorns that bring convenience, but unicorns that are of some consequence as well.

Because if the legacy of India’s startup boom is just about faster delivery of samosas and glitzy IPOs, history might club us with Kozmo.com, under a footnote titled: ‘What on earth were they thinking?’

3,521%

The United States has announced imposition of substantial new duties reaching up to 3,521% on solar imports from four Southeast Asian nations, supporting domestic manufacturers whilst creating challenges for the nation's renewable energy development. The duties follow a year-long trade investigation that claims that solar manufacturers in Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand were receiving unfair government subsidies and selling products to the US below production costs.

—Coming Soon: .Bank.in The RBI has asked banks to move their net banking websites to the exclusive internet domain ‘.bank.in’. In a circular, the central bank has asked banks to complete the process by October 31, 2025. The change in domain was announced to curb online fraud and boost public confidence in digital banking. This initiative was announced on February 7, 2025, as part of efforts to enhance the cybersecurity framework in the financial sector, especially in light of the rising incidents of digital payment fraud.

—PAN freeze of kin. The trading windows of immediate relatives of those involved in insider trading will also be closed, the Sebi said in a circular. The changes come a week after the regulator suspended Gensol Engineering and its promoters from trading in the markets after it found that funds borrowed for business purposes were misappropriated and faulty and fake disclosures about the loan default were made to credit rating agencies. 

—Tax relief for EV buyers. The Gujarat government has rolled out a 5% vehicle tax exemption for buyers of fully electric vehicles until March 31, 2026, to boost their sales. The initiative was announced in the recent state budget. Under the new scheme, a person buying an electric vehicle will be required to pay just 1% as vehicle tax. For instance, a vehicle with a base price of ₹12.49 lakh, which previously attracted a tax of ₹74,940, will now only require ₹12,490 in vehicle tax, resulting in savings of ₹62,450.

—Trump ready for truce with China. The US seems ready to blink first in the trade standoff with Beijing, as US President Donald Trump conceded that the 145% tariffs Americans currently pay for most imported goods from China will “come down substantially, but it won't be zero”. The American President insisted that he would be “very nice” with Beijing during the upcoming negotiations, but insisted that China would ultimately be forced to agree to some sort of agreement to bring down the massive taxes that upended decades of US trade policy and sparked global economic turmoil..

ICYMI | Taxman Cometh... for Your Snacks

Missed last week's update? GST sleuths go full Sherlock on your biryani order, sniffing out a packaging charge that might just disrupt the food-delivery apple cart; and Hajmola is facing an identity crisis: is it a digestive tablet or candy? The answer could swing its tax fate from 12% to 18%.

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