Presented By
India Leasing Summit
2026
Building India’s Asset-Light Economy
19 August 2026 | Mumbai
The Leasing Conversation India Needs Now
India Leasing Summit 2026 brought together leaders from across the leasing ecosystem to explore what it will take for leasing to become a mainstream way of accessing assets in India.
From the shift from ownership to usage and the rise of EV leasing to residual-value intelligence, technology, regulation, capital and talent, the Summit brought together diverse perspectives on the next decade of Indian leasing.
Key Themes from India Leasing Summit 2026
From Ownership to Usage
The conversation moved beyond the traditional perception of leasing as a financing or tax-optimisation product towards leasing as a way to access and use assets without taking on the full risks of ownership.
The Rise of Asset-Light Business Models
As businesses prioritise capital for growth, leasing can enable access to depreciating and technology-intensive assets without tying up capital in ownership.
EVs Are Reshaping Leasing
Battery technology, residual values, range and asset obsolescence are creating new opportunities for specialised leasing models and usage-linked structures.
Residual Value Is at the Core
Understanding asset life cycles, depreciation and residual values emerged as a critical capability for lessors as leasing moves beyond traditional vehicle financing.
Unlocking Retail & SME Leasing
Awareness, distribution, regulatory clarity and access to credit information remain important factors in expanding leasing beyond large corporates.
Technology, Talent & Governance
Scaling leasing will require technology-enabled operations, specialised talent, stronger ecosystem partnerships and governance frameworks that can support sustainable growth.
These themes recur across the Summit’s keynote and two panel discussions.
Keynote | Why India’s Leasing Moment Has Finally Arrived
Suvajit Karmakar
Country Managing Director – India & Asia Sub-Regional Director, Ayvens
The Summit opened with a keynote exploring what leasing really means, why usage-based models are gaining relevance globally, and why India could be entering a new phase for leasing.
The keynote challenged the conventional perception of leasing as primarily a tax-efficient financing structure. Instead, leasing was positioned around the right to use an asset, with the lessor taking greater responsibility for asset lifecycle, technology obsolescence and residual-value risks.
The conversation highlighted three forces accelerating the shift towards usage-based models:
- Faster technology cycles and asset obsolescence
- Increasing sustainability and compliance requirements
- A growing preference among businesses to deploy capital towards growth rather than depreciating assets
Panel 1 | Building India’s Asset-Light Economy
Moderated by Manish Kankani
Founder & CEO, Qualtech
The first panel examined how the transition from ownership to usage is unfolding across asset classes and what it means for the future of leasing in India.
The discussion brought together perspectives from corporate car leasing, equipment leasing, EVs, residual-value management and the wider automotive ecosystem.
Manish Kankani
Founder & CEO
Qualtech
Panellists
Suvajit Karmakar
COuntry Managing Director and Asia Sub-Region Director
Ayvens
Dipankar Sen
Chief Leasing Officer
Orix India
Sameer Malhotra
Director & CEO
Shriram Automall
Brijesh Mitra
Chief Business Officer
Mizuho RA Leasing
Sandeep Divakaran
Co-Founder & CEO
Exponent One
Shishir Mishra
Automotive & Financial Services Leader
Former Stellantis & ToyotaFinancial Ser
The conversation explored:
From financing to asset expertise
Leasing requires understanding an asset’s lifecycle, technology, depreciation and residual value — not simply structuring capital.
The changing economics of ownership
Businesses are increasingly looking at how they can access assets while preserving capital for their core growth priorities.
EVs and the new leasing opportunity
Battery technology, depreciation and changing vehicle economics are creating new questions around how EVs should be leased and priced.
The residual-value ecosystem
As more leased assets return to the market, remarketing, inspection, valuation and secondary-use ecosystems become increasingly important.
The role of OEMs
OEMs can play a significant role in supporting leasing through asset knowledge, lifecycle understanding and end-of-life ecosystem development.
EVs Are Reshaping Leasing
Battery technology, residual values, range and asset obsolescence are creating new opportunities for specialised leasing models and usage-linked structures.
The Summit’s Compendium identifies the asset lifecycle and residual-value ecosystem as recurring themes across the panel.
Panel 2 | Making Leasing Growth Exponential in the Next Decade
Moderated by Varun Upadhyay
Leasing Product Head, Cholamandalam Finance
The second panel moved from the opportunity to the structural changes needed to scale leasing across India.
The discussion brought together leaders from equipment leasing, EV leasing, mobility, credit and leasing businesses to examine the barriers that need to be addressed for leasing to move beyond its current niche.
Varun Upadhyay
Leasing Product Head
Cholamandalam Finance
Panellists
Viraf Bodhanwala
Executive Director and COO
Leasing India
Sachin Chandra
SVP & Head of Product
Vertelo
Tarun Lawadia
Founder & CEO
Pumppumpum
Ila Singal
Chief Credit Officer
Drivn
Shrirang Tambe
Founder & CEO
Origa Leasing
Shumant Bhattacharya
VP & Head of Products
Electronica Finance
The conversation explored:
Awareness & Distribution
How can leasing become a product customers understand and actively consider at the point of purchase?
Capital & Risk
What will it take to make leasing accessible across more customer segments and asset classes?
Residual-Value & Asset Intelligence
How can better data and ecosystem collaboration improve confidence around asset risk?
Regulation & Compliance
How can greater clarity between leasing and lending support wider adoption?
Talent
How does the industry build the next generation of professionals who understand leasing as a distinct business?
Technology
How can technology and AI reduce operating costs, improve asset monitoring and support leasing at scale?
The Compendium identifies awareness, regulatory parity, fragmented residual-value data and talent as some of the recurring barriers discussed across the Summit.
Closing Address
Sandeep Gambhir
CEO, Vertelo
The Summit concluded with a closing address that brought together the day’s central themes — the movement from ownership to access, the opportunity created by changing asset economics, and the need for strong governance as the industry scales.
The closing conversation reinforced that the leasing opportunity extends beyond vehicles. New asset classes, secondary markets, OEM partnerships, asset lifecycle management and usage-based models can all contribute to a broader leasing ecosystem.
But growth also needs discipline.
The closing message was clear: business models can evolve, but governance cannot become secondary.
India Leasing Excellence Awards 2026
The Summit concluded with the India Leasing Excellence Awards, recognising organisations contributing to the evolution of India’s leasing ecosystem.
Award Winners
Leasing Solution & Proposition Excellence
Tata Capital
Institutional Leasing Leadership
Mizuho RA Leasing Pvt. Ltd.
Last Mile Mobility Leasing Leader
ALT Mobility
EV Leasing Company of the Year
Vertelo
Asset Lifecycle Excellence
Ayvens
Leasing Company of the Year
Orix
What the Summit Leaves Behind
India Leasing Summit 2026 highlighted a market at an important point of transition.
Leasing penetration remains relatively low, but the opportunity is expanding across vehicles, EVs, IT equipment, office infrastructure, machinery, furniture and other specialised assets.
The discussions also made one thing clear: scaling leasing will require more than capital.
It will require asset intelligence, residual-value capabilities, ecosystem partnerships, technology, distribution, talent, regulatory clarity and strong governance.
The Summit did not attempt to prescribe a single future for Indian leasing. Instead, it brought together the perspectives, opportunities and open questions that will shape the industry’s next decade.
India Leasing Compendium 2026
Award Winners Building India's Asset-Light Economy
Inside the Compendium
- The state of Indian leasing
- Keynote: Why India’s Leasing Moment Has Finally Arrived
- Building India’s Asset-Light Economy
- Making Leasing Growth Exponential in the Next Decade
- Cross-Summit Insights
- Technology and the Future of Leasing
- Industry Perspectives
- The Road Ahead: The Next Decade of Indian Leasing
The Compendium was specifically positioned as a reference document connecting the Summit’s keynote, panel discussions and closing address rather than simply reproducing the event proceedings.
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