Control, Complexity and Politics: Deconstructing the Adani Affair

This article analyzes the Adani Group's controversial rise to prominence in Indian markets, examining the company's heavy debt dependence, declining return on invested capital, and structural weaknesses that enabled the Hindenburg short-seller report. The author argues that Adani's vulnerabilities reflect broader systemic issues in Indian capital markets including family control dynamics, momentum-driven pricing, regulatory gaps, and interconnected banking relationships rather than a straightforward fraud scheme.