Oh SPAC!

Welcome back to this brand new edition of the Ostara Newsletter!  This month, we shine the spotlight on the much-talked about SPACs. 2021 was a tumultuous year for SPACs in general and Electric Vehicle (EV) companies that participated in this SPAC-mania, in particular. Read on as we give you a round-up of the rise and […]

The Emerging Opportunity in Micro-mobility

Micro-mobility: a quick overview Micro-mobility vehicles refer to a range of small, lightweight vehicles operating at a speed of not more than 25 km/h (15 miles/h) and considered ideal for commuting within a 10 km range. These vehicles include e-bicycles (e-Bikes), e-kickscooters, skateboards and others. These vehicles do not require the rider to be licensed or insured, and are uniquely adaptable […]

Introducing Hydrogen

Source: Sintef Hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and nonpoisonous gas under normal conditions on Earth. It typically exists as a diatomic molecule, meaning each molecule has two atoms of hydrogen; this is why pure hydrogen is commonly expressed as “H2” Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, accounting for 90 percent of the universe […]

The Driving Force

Wishing all our readers a Happy Diwali and a great year ahead!  In this edition of “All About EVs”, we discuss the driving force of the electric vehicle, the Electric Motor. The global electric motor market is expected to grow from an estimated USD 113.3 billion in 2020 to USD 169.1 billion by 2026, at a […]

Mobility-as-a-Service (M-a-a-S)

MaaS is an innovative concept that combines different transport modes to offer consumers the possibility to get from A to B in a flexible, personalized, on-demand and seamless way, through a single interface.  In recent years, the concept of Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) has been gaining popularity. The rise of Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) platforms, shared and networked vehicles, and other […]

EVs and the Energy Grid

I must admit that I get excited just at the thought of non-polluting, noiseless electric delivery vehicles and passenger cars plying the roads, especially in a city like Bangalore where traffic jams challenge all your senses almost equally. No carbon emissions in the city! How great would that be! But before we get too excited […]

Battery-as-a-service for Electric Mobility

India has about 330m* motor vehicles on its roads today, ~83% of which are two-wheelers (2W) and three-wheelers (3W), which have also been among the fastest growing segments over the past decade. Average trip lengths in India tend to be shorter than those in the developed world, primarily due to higher urban densities. If we overlay these factors […]

The EV Powertrain Edition

EV powertrains for India and similar emerging markets of South Asia, Africa & South America have to be built super-rugged to perform well in tough weather, road and usage conditions. Not just that, they also have to compete in price and performance with fossil fuel vehicles, in order to see accelerated customer adoption. All of these pose interesting challenges […]

On Indian EV Policy and Last-Mile Logistics

This month we take a look at one of the most important drivers for EV adoption in India – the policy framework. India has shown foresight in its policy making for electric mobility, and we hope the execution can keep up as well. We also shine the spotlight on one of the leading use-cases for EVs […]

The Indian EV Opportunity

Editors Note! Picture this. You are stuck in a jam, at a seemingly unending traffic signal, on your bike and your lungs slowly absorb the rising fumes from the idling vehicles around you. You mentally run through your list of peeves: adulterated fuel sold in fuel stations, rush-hour congestion, lack of effective road planning and […]

Mukund Ranganathan

Partner

Marquee deals

Mukund Ranganathan

Partner

Mukund is a seasoned investment banker with 27 years of experience in advising companies on M&A and capital raising transactions. He has served most recently as Joint Managing Director at Motilal Oswal Investment Banking, where he worked from June 2014 to January 2021. During his career, he has facilitated over 70 strategic financial transactions including Motherson Sumi’s acquisition of PKC Group (Finland), sale of Aurangabad Electricals to Mahindra CIE, Siemens’ sale of Bangalore Airport, sale of Spicejet, Aegis’ acquisition of PeopleSupport (USA), sale of Air Deccan among others. Mukund has extensive experience in raising private equity funding as well as in the capital markets including IPOs, follow-on offerings, GDRs and ADRs for L&T Finance, Indostar, Dixon Technologies, Bharat Financial Inclusion, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, GAIL, etc.

Mukund has earlier worked for 9 years at Edelweiss Financial Services and started his career in 1996 with a 9-year stint at Morgan Stanley. Mr. Ranganathan holds a B.Tech degree in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Madras (1994) and a PGDM from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (1996).

Vasudha Madhavan

Marquee deals

Vasudha Madhavan

Founder & CEO

Vasudha is the founder of Ostara Advisors (formerly Dhruva Advisors) and is one of the first investment bankers in India to specialise in Electric Mobility, having advised clients in this space since 2017. She made her all-India M&A League Table debut in the top 20 in October 2018.

In 2023, Vasudha was felicitated by India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) as one of the “Women leaders driving energy sector in India” 

Vasudha has over 21 years of experience in Corporate & Investment Banking; with leading organizations like Citibank and ICICI Bank, as well as in boutique investment banking, based in Mumbai and Bangalore. Vasudha is responsible for having set up and expanded the ‘Private Equity & Hedge Fund’ coverage vertical for Citibank, India. She has also been part of Citibank’s Risk Management team for mid-size corporates, managing the bank’s lending decisions to a portfolio of companies in ITES, auto components, facilities management services, logistics, diversified manufacturing etc.

Vasudha is also a mentor at Aspire for Her, a unique organisation that enables women to join and stay in the workforce, through campus engagement, mentorships and skilling workshops. Their vision is to impact 1 million+ women and add $5B to India’s GDP through increased participation of women in the workforce by 2025.

Vasudha earned her MBA in Finance from XLRI, Jamshedpur, India and her Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, India. She is also a certified Advanced Scuba Diver and enjoys photography, having held several solo and group exhibitions of her work.

R. 'Shanx' Ravisankar

Industry Expert – Financial Technology and Cloud Solutions

Shanx is a founding member and former CEO of Oracle Financial Services Software, (formerly known as i-flex Solutions, the company was acquired by Oracle in 2006). Shanx retired in 2011 as the Chief Operating Officer, Oracle Financial Services Global Business Unit (FSGBU). As a technology leader, he has also been profiled in leading trade and industry publications. In 2008, Shanx was selected as one of the 50 Outstanding Asian American business leaders. This accolade celebrates Asian business leaders and recognizes their pivotal roles in Corporate America. Shanx is an engineering graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, and has an MBA in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India.
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