Ajay Seth, Finance Secretary.
| Photo Credit: ANI

The direct hit from tariffs introduced by Donald Trump’s administration on India could shave off between 0.2-0.5 percentage points from GDP growth, the country’s Finance Secretary Ajay Seth said on Wednesday (April 23, 2025).

“Now there is a sign of that…we grow about 6.5% in the current year,” said Mr. Seth, speaking at a Hudson Institute event on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington.

“Second order (effects) would be important,” said Mr. Seth, referring to concerns that trade turmoil would slow global growth.

He added that he expected potential growth rate of around 7% could be achieved over the next decade, though India needed to expand its economy at a rate faster than that to achieve its ambitious longer-term targets.

Mr. Seth also said that the delegation from India was in town for further negotiations on trade with the U.S. administration, though he declined to giver further detail on what meetings were planned.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has decided to review the financial statements of Gensol Engineering Ltd and BluSmart Mobility Pvt Ltd for the financial year 2023–24, following serious allegations of financial misconduct and governance lapses involving the two companies.
The move was confirmed by ICAI president Charanjot Singh Nanda, who said the decision was taken during a board meeting of the Financial Reporting Review Board (FRRB) on Wednesday.
Nanda told PTI that the FRRB decided to undertake a review of the financial statements and the statutory auditor’s report of Gensol Engineering and BluSmart Mobility for the financial year 2023-24.
The FRRB’s mandate includes assessing compliance with accounting standards, standards on auditing, and schedules II and III of the Companies Act, 2013. It also evaluates adherence to various guidance notes and RBI-issued master directions.
Gensol Engineering recently came under regulatory scrutiny after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) issued a market ban on the company’s promoters, Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi. The order, issued on April 15, alleged that the promoters siphoned off loan funds from the publicly-listed firm for personal gain, raising serious concerns about corporate governance and potential financial misconduct.
BluSmart Mobility, which operates a ride-hailing service, is also promoted by Anmol Singh Jaggi.
In case the FRRB identifies significant accounting irregularities during its review, the matter will be referred to ICAI’s Director Discipline for a detailed investigation. The findings may also be shared with relevant regulatory authorities.
Meanwhile, the ministry of corporate affairs said on April 21 that it will consider taking appropriate action against Gensol Engineering after examining Sebi’s order.
Under the Companies Act, 2013, the ministry has powers to act on corporate violations, which may include inspections by the Registrar of Companies or a probe by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in more serious cases.

Ola Founder Bhavish Aggarwal.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Ola Group, spanning ride-hailing, electric vehicles, and AI, now holds over 50% of all patents filed by India’s 117 unicorns.

India’s unicorns collectively hold only 229 patents, with Ola Group owning more than half, according to data from the Indian Patent Advanced Search (IPAS) System.

In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Ola Founder Bhavish Aggarwal shared, “Happy that Ola group @OlaElectric @Olacabs and @Krutrim have half of all granted patents for all Indian unicorns put together. Not happy with our number of 650 applied patents though. We will accelerate much much more in coming years!”

Sources close to Ola confirmed that the group has filed over 650 patent applications, with 180 already granted. This includes filings by Ola Electric, Ola Consumer, and Krutrim, with Ola Electric accounting for the lion’s share of about 70-80% of the total.

The report reveals that 101 of India’s unicorns have filed zero patents, spotlighting a heavy tilt in the startup ecosystem toward valuation and market capture rather than technology creation.

In this context, Ola Group’s IP portfolio stands out as an example of deep-tech commitment. Ola Electric, the EV arm, filed 205 patents in FY23 alone, making it India’s top patent filer in the electric vehicle sector. These patents span battery innovation, vehicle software, AI, safety systems, and more.

In FY23 alone, Ola Electric invested ₹507 crore in R&D, representing 19.3% of its annual revenue, a sharp rise from ₹175 crore the previous year. The company is set to further ramp up innovation spending, earmarking ₹1,600 crore for R&D between FY25 and FY27.

As stated in its IPO prospectus, “R&D and technology form the backbone of our business model.”

The group’s filings also extend globally, with patents granted and pending in the U.S., U.K., Japan, China, and Australia, positioning Ola as a global tech-driven company.