As a General Electric employee working in business development in New Delhi, Dhruv Bhatia knew something about finance. Nonetheless, the 36-year-old felt he needed help navigating India’s increasingly crowded investment landscape. “There are so many more banks,” says Mr Bhatia. “You are constantly being bombarded.” So he signed up to iTrust, a Delhi personal financial advisory start-up.

In seeking help to sift through the vast number of mutual funds, insurance plans, mortgages, credit cards, savings schemes and bank loans that have emerged in recent years, Mr Bhatia is typical of the burgeoning Indian middle class. Rapid growth in the market of such products has created a need for financial education. This has spurred not only the creation of companies such as iTrust but also prompted established financial institutions to offer independent advice.