A company with a high ranking on this index is not necessarily fraudulent (that would be the "Criminal Enterprise Index"). Rather, it operates in the grey market—the Dhanda (hustle) economy.
The relies heavily on this setting. For the millennial viewer, the film serves as a nostalgia trip. It captures the desperation of a generation that grew up hearing about the wonders of the West but lacked the means to access them. The opening scenes, where Karan laments the daily struggles of a middle-class life in Mumbai—hard water, lack of privacy, and the soul-crushing commute—set the stakes. badmaash company index