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Even as the chorus of the company’s turnaround seems to be gathering momentum, it appears that co-founder Ritesh Agarwal’s one-trick pony continues to be financial engineering.

A debt-heavy global pivot to modest motels and accounting-led profits define the company now heading to Indian public markets.
For one of the world’s largest and shrewdest investors to entirely skip putting money in the country is a sign of how quickly the nature of the Indian startup ecosystem has changed.
The challenges of running a budget hotel chain in India forced the decade-old company to quietly shift its focus to a travel management platform for corporate travellers. Now it must face challenges of another kind.