- By Ridam Sharma
- Fri, 14 Feb 2025 02:12 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Indian Companies Caught in Controversies: The controversies not just only affect the reputation of a company, but also lead to the disruption of the socioeconomic dynamic of India. Controversies are not new in the business landscape of India, many Indian companies have faced significant controversies, which led to public backlash and regulatory scrutiny. From corporate to governance, no business sector got saved from the wrath of controversies.
List of Indian Companies Caught in Prominent Controversies:
Satyam Scandal
The most famous scam was the Satyam Scandal, which was one of the biggest accounting scams in India. It was committed in 2009 by Ramalinga Raju the founder and chairman of Satyam Computer Services. He confessed to misrepresenting accounting practices. This case shocked the market and also put India's image at stake in the worldwide market. Later, after the revelation, it led to investor lawsuits and widespread calls for corporate governance reform.
Kingfisher Airlines
Kingfisher Airlines once known as a leading luxury carrier, faced a downfall due to too many reasons. From inability to pay dues and frequent flight delays and cancellations to unpaid employee salaries and legal proceedings, all of these combined tarnished its image and led to massive losses. Later, Mallya left India on 2 March 2016 after saying he wanted to move to Britain to be closer to his children.
Tanishq
The companies have also faced feuds due to their brand endorsements, which did not sit well with Indian consumers. The jewellery brand, Tanishq's 'Love Jihad' controversy. Tata Group’s Tanishq ad was taken down because as per social media trolls the company was subtly promoting Love Jihad by showing a Hindu girl happily married into a Muslim family.
Eros Now
The OTT platform Eros Now faced backlash for promoting explicit content through social media posts. One of the posts also had a tagline stating: "Do you want to put the 'ratri' in my Navratri?” also featuring a woman in a saree. The tagline faced brutal criticism for hurting the audience’s sentiments, which led to the deletion of many such posts by the brand.
Brightcom Group
Brightcom Group is not a new entry in the world of controversies. It has changed names quite a few times now. It has also flipped business strategies but nothing worked. And now the company has been under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for hiding impairment losses, misleading shareholding patterns, wrongly capitalising R&D costs and many more.
Fair & Lovely Controversy:
Hindustan Unilever faced widespread criticism across the nation for promoting the idea of fair skin and societal standards of beauty through its popular product Fair & Lovely. They later rebranded it as "Glow & Lovely" due to brutal public backlash.
Startup Scams:
Issues like financial deception, founder disputes, and unethical business practices were faced within the Indian startup ecosystem, which included big startup giants like Byju's, BharatPe, and GoMechanic. This controversy led to many viral memes and boycotting trends.
Adani Group Controversy:
A report by Hindenburg Research made headlines in the nation, as it accused the Adani Group of stock manipulation, accounting fraud, and other corporate governance issues. This report led to significant market volatility and investigations by regulatory bodies on the Adani Group.
As we step into the digital era, companies facing criticism over unresolved customer complaints and poor services are normal. However, it has also given rise to cyberattacks and data breaches that have also impacted companies. Such instances should be an eye-opener for the country to highlight the importance of ethical conduct, transparency, and accountability in the Indian corporate sector.