MAM
MS Dhoni invests in Khatabook, India’s fastest growing fintech startup
Khatabook, that is revolutionizing the accounting process in India for small businesses, today announced a strategic partnership with international cricketer and former India captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The legendary cricketer will not only invest in Khatabook but also become its brand ambassador.
Dhoni’s decision to invest in Khatabook comes at a time when the firm has crossed 2 crore registered merchants on its app. The partnership is a natural fit between the company that has built immense trust and reliability among its fast-growing merchant base and a globally respected sportsperson with over a billion fans.
The firm has set aggressive growth targets for expansion across smaller towns and villages. Khatabook is aiming to onboard another 2 crore merchants over the next 12 months. The firm plans to use proceeds from the latest equity investment to expand its product portfolio and double down on its technology and capabilities.
Talking about the new partnership, Ravish Naresh, co-founder and CEO Khatabook said, “We are thrilled to welcome Mahi to the Khatabook family. He embodies the spirit of true sportsmanship and entrepreneurship – the ability to adapt, evolve and be a leader, focusing on a larger cause beyond his success. These are the qualities that have made him one of the most-loved captains of Indian cricket. At Khatabook, we aspire to build the same level of trust, agility and reliability among our merchants and business partners and be a true partner to them in their journey. To us, this partnership seemed like the most natural fit, and we look forward to setting new milestones together as we build financial solutions for a billion Indians.”
Commenting on this association, MS Dhoni said, “There are many new-age companies in the country, only a few like Khatabook, are making a difference at the grassroots level. Having grown up in small-town India, I saw friends and family struggle with outdated modes of doing business and tracking finances. Khatabook has had an outsized impact on the lives of India’s small merchants and retailers. I am very excited to join them at a crucial point in their journey, as they work towards achieving their goal of transforming the way India does business.”
Talking about the company's plans to amplify its market leadership through this association, Ved Prakash, VP Marketing, Khatabook said, "Khatabook's initial growth came organically and we currently have a market penetration of 25-30%. Now the idea is to drive trust and reliability at a large scale. This is why doing our brand campaign with Dhoni is a great fit. With this, we are poised at strengthening brand awareness, creating category and increasing penetration by 50-60%. We will now focus on deepening our relationship with the merchants by creating more use cases and cementing relatability with the brand."
Delighted about the association, Arun Pandey, Rhiti Sports CMD, said “Khatabook has revolutionized the ways mid and small scale merchants have been doing business in our country, particularly eliminating human errors in day to day accounting transactions. Khatabook and MS Dhoni represent change and are catalysts of transformation. This makes them a perfect fit.”
Today, merchants across 5000+ Indian cities use the Khatabook app. From Kirana stores to mobile recharge shops, garment dealers and jewelers, Khatabook serves over 500 types of businesses in India at present. It supports 11 languages and has recorded cash transactions worth over Rs. 3.7 lakh crore in the last one year. The app has also organically acquired merchants in Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Having completely automated the traditional business ledger process in the country, the app is helping 2 crore Indian merchants each save over 700 productive working hours in a year.
MAM
Brands push beyond compliance as trust takes centre stage
ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026 spotlights shift from legal checks to credibility.
MUMBAI: In a world where a disclaimer can be legally sound yet socially suspect, brands are learning that compliance may tick boxes but trust wins markets. At the inaugural ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026, a panel on “Beyond Compliance: The New Currency of Trust” unpacked a growing industry reality: the gap between what the law permits and what consumers accept is widening and fast.
Moderated by Meenakshi Ramkumar of National Law School of India University, the discussion brought together leaders across law, marketing and academia to examine how brands must evolve in a digital ecosystem increasingly shaped by scrutiny, scepticism and speed.
Ramkumar set the tone by highlighting a critical shift, advertising today operates in the same digital space that fuels misinformation, scams and fake news, making credibility harder to establish. “The challenge is not just about what brands do, but the broader context of low institutional trust,” she noted, adding that when violations go unchecked, trust erodes not just in brands but in the regulatory system itself.
This vacuum, she said, has given rise to consumer activism from boycotts to social media backlash as a parallel accountability mechanism.
For Amit Bhasin, Chief Legal Officer at Marico, the distinction was clear, legal compliance is non negotiable, but insufficient. “Compliance is the minimum threshold. The real challenge is staying aligned with changing consumer expectations,” he said.
He pointed to how advertising narratives have evolved from traditional depictions of gender roles to more shared responsibilities reflecting a broader societal shift. “Earlier, it was fine to show one person doing the household work. Today, that may not land well. Consumers expect brands to reflect reality,” Bhasin observed.
He also highlighted internal debates where campaigns that may be legally permissible are still rejected for being culturally insensitive, noting that responsible advertising often requires asking uncomfortable questions before the public does.
If compliance is the baseline, reputation is the battlefield.
Bhasin noted that reputational risk has become a far greater concern than legal exposure, particularly in an era where campaigns can be dissected within hours online. “Earlier, a controversial ad might invite a newspaper editorial. Today, within hours, you’re at the centre of a storm,” he said.
Brands, he added, now evaluate campaigns through a dual lens legal viability and reputational vulnerability with the latter often proving more decisive.
From a healthcare perspective, Satish Sahoo of Cipla Health underscored the complexity of operating within fragmented yet stringent regulatory frameworks, spanning drugs, food, cosmetics and Ayush. “Anything under a drug licence is the most tightly regulated,” he said, adding that this necessitates proactive, not reactive, compliance.
He shared an example from the oral rehydration salts (ORS) category, where Cipla resisted the temptation to position products aggressively despite competitive pressure. “Our product is WHO compliant, and our communication reflects that. We chose not to blur the lines, even if others did,” he noted.
The long term payoff, he suggested, lies in credibility built over consistency, not quick wins.
Yet, as Harsha N of National Law School of India University pointed out, even perfect compliance does not guarantee trust. Drawing from historical and modern examples from exaggerated product claims in the 1800s to contemporary environmental and health advertising, he argued that legal frameworks often lag behind consumer expectations. “A brand can be fully compliant and still be perceived as misleading,” he said, citing instances where fine print disclosures fail to reach or convince the average consumer. He added that larger companies carry a disproportionate responsibility to set ethical benchmarks, even in areas where the law remains silent.
The conversation also turned to digital advertising, where the challenge extends beyond content to how ads are experienced. From algorithmic targeting to personalised messaging, brands now operate in an environment where regulation struggles to keep pace with technology.
Sahoo noted that social media has amplified awareness, with influencers and consumers increasingly scrutinising product claims and calling out inconsistencies. “Awareness has gone up dramatically. People are questioning what goes into products and what brands are saying,” he said.
The role of self regulatory bodies such as Advertising Standards Council of India also came under the spotlight.
Harsha acknowledged that while SROs play a crucial role, they are not immune to criticism, particularly around perceived conflicts of interest and enforcement gaps. “SROs have a higher threshold of responsibility not just to interpret the law, but to anticipate societal expectations,” he said.
He added that failures in self regulation often push the burden back onto government intervention, underscoring the need for stronger, more proactive oversight.
One of the more nuanced debates centred on whether building trust comes at a cost. While Sahoo acknowledged that quality and compliance can increase costs, he argued that companies must absorb them as part of their long term strategy.
Bhasin, however, framed the challenge differently not as cost, but as competitiveness in a market where not all players play by the same rules. “The real tension is when others cut corners and you choose not to,” he said.
The panel concluded with a call to embed trust into business metrics.
Sahoo suggested that organisations must go beyond revenue targets to include consumer equity and trust based KPIs, ensuring that ethical considerations are not sidelined in the pursuit of growth. “Trust sounds abstract, but it can translate into measurable consumer equity,” he said.
As the discussion wrapped up, one message stood out: the rules of advertising are being rewritten not just by regulators, but by consumers themselves. In an ecosystem where attention is fleeting and scepticism is high, brands that merely comply may survive, but those that build trust are the ones that endure.
