Davos/New Delhi: Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Pradip Kumar Das participated in a high-level panel discussion at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Davos 2026 on “Scaling Solar Where It Matters: India’s Lessons on Rooftop, Agriculture and Decentralized Energy for the Global South.” The session was preceded by a keynote address by the Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi.
The discussion highlighted India’s growing global leadership in distributed solar solutions and their increasing relevance for emerging and developing economies. Addressing the panel, Das noted that the adoption of decentralised renewable energy systems enhances overall efficiency, helps reduce government subsidies and Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses, and significantly lowers costs, thereby improving affordability.
Responding to a query on risks associated with new and emerging renewable energy segments, Das emphasised that while such segments are often perceived as high-risk, robust project design and prudent risk management can substantially mitigate these challenges. He cited IREDA’s strong financial track record, with a cumulative write-off of only Rs 149 crore over more than 38 years of operations, despite having financed projects worth approximately Rs 1.81 lakh crore since inception. This, he said, reflects the strength of IREDA’s appraisal and monitoring frameworks.
Das further highlighted that IREDA finances 70–80 percent of project costs under the Rooftop Solar and PM-KUSUM schemes through the aggregator model, playing a critical role in accelerating access to clean energy across rural India.
Thanking Union Minister Pralhad Joshi for providing IREDA the platform at the World Economic Forum, Das said the opportunity enabled India to showcase its renewable energy growth through a mature ecosystem, while underlining IREDA’s pivotal role in driving the country’s clean energy transition. Referring to Maharashtra’s progress in agricultural solarisation, he stressed the importance of creating an enabling ecosystem that de-risks the sector and attracts patient global capital, offering valuable lessons for other countries pursuing renewable energy development.
(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)