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More Indian companies are quietly knocking on the public market’s door. The confidential DRHP (Draft Red Herring Prospectus) route is quickly becoming the go-to for firms that want to test investor appetite while sidestepping the scrutiny of early hype. The benefits include flexibility in timing, insulation from negative sentiment, and the ability to pivot before committing fully. But with SEBI tightening listing norms and investor expectations sharpening post-tech IPOs, stealth doesn’t mean stress-free. The stakes are just as high. Here"s how companies are navigating these quieter seas.
Ekta Kapoor. Image: Mexy Xavier
Few figures have shaped Indian pop culture as significantly as Ekta Kapoor. But behind the barrage of melodrama and subsequent memes lies a businesswoman who played the long game, disrupting an industry ruled by patriarchy, hierarchy, and conventional storytelling. Kapoor’s journey—from early failures to turning Balaji Telefilms into a content powerhouse—was guided not by market research but by instinct, defiance, and belief. Whether it’s putting women front and centre in saas-bahu sagas or launching ALTBalaji in a crowded streaming market, Kapoor built an empire by trusting her gut, long before that was cool.
Illustration: Chaitanya Dinesh Surpur Images: Getty Images, Shutterstock
What if you could trade beliefs the way you trade stocks? Welcome to the curious and growing world of opinion trading platforms, where users bet on real-world outcomes, from election results to sports scores. There are startups such as Probo which allow users to trade on real-world events—from politics to entertainment—offering both engagement and financial incentives. However, with legal ambiguities and ethical dilemmas surrounding gambling and speculative trading, the road ahead remains unclear. Read on to know how Forbes India"s Samar Srivastava spent a day in the opinion trading field and to understand if India can create a regulatory model that protects users without stifling this bold new format.
Illustration: Chaitanya Dinesh Surpur
India’s small finance banks are undergoing a pivotal transformation. FY26 could be a decisive year as the RBI’s revised priority sector lending norms free up nearly ₹41,000 crore in capital, giving SFBs much-needed flexibility to diversify. After years of riding on the back of microfinance, many SFBs are now rethinking their business models amidst rising bad loans and a sluggish rural credit ecosystem. As several banks eye universal licences, the push for broader customer trust, improved cost of funds, and scalable, stable growth has never been stronger. But challenges remain. How SFBs navigate these crossroads will determine whether they can graduate from niche players to mainstream lenders.
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Long before Rapido became a household name in the bike-taxi space, investor Kunal Khattar saw something in the team that others overlooked—resilience, a deep understanding of India’s tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and the willingness to get their hands dirty. In this investor spotlight, Khattar, founder of AdvantEdge, explains why he wrote Rapido’s first cheque, betting on execution over excitement. It’s a revealing look at what seasoned VCs look for beyond valuations, especially in a market as chaotic and complex as India’s.
Image: Bajirao Pawar for Forbes India
Tesla’s long-awaited entry into India has turned heads and raised eyebrows. Slumping sales in the US and the European Union have prompted Elon Musk to explore new markets for his cars. However, the Model Y’s $ 70,000 starting price, nearly double its cost in China, has sparked a debate over whether the company misjudged the Indian market. While Tesla enjoys strong brand cachet, its current pricing puts it in niche luxury territory, far from the mass EV play India needs. The question arises: Is this a prelude to deeper engagement or a branding exercise with limited commercial ambition? While Tesla aims to tap the world"s third-largest car market, we examine how the price of its renowned Model Y compares in different countries.
First Published: Jul 19, 2025, 10:00
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