Govt terminates SECI CMD RP Gupta's tenure with 'immediate effect'

New Delhi: The Appointments Commitee of the Cabinet (ACC) has terminated the tenure of the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), RP Gupta, with immediate effect, an order dated May 10 said. His term was expected to come to an end next month.

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In a notification, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said, "The Appointments Commitee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved termination of services of Shri Rameshwar Prasad Gupta, IAS (GJ: 87) (Retd.) as Chairman and Managing Director, Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd., Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, with immediate effect."

The notice did not mention the reasons behind "immediate termination of services."

Gupta is retired IAS Officer of 1987 Batch, Gujarat Cadre. He joined as Chairman & Managing Director of the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) on June 15, 2023. Before joining SECI, he worked in the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change as Secretary. He has also worked with NITI Aayog, Ministry of Coal. He graduated in Aerospace Engineering from IIT, Kanpur. He began his career in Rajkot and subsequently worked in Gandhinagar, Bhavnagar, Dangs, Kutch, Mahesana, and Vadodara.

The termination of SECI CMD with immediate effect without another candidate in line to assume charge means that the post will not have a full-time occupant until an appointment is made. The government has not floated any vacancy for the post so far. PSU Watch reached out to Gupta and SECI for a comment but did not receive a response.

SECI is a Navratna PSU and is one of the Renewable Energy Implementing Agencies (REIAs) of India. It is primarily responsible for floating tenders for setting up solar, wind and hybrid projects and selecting successful bidders through a competitive bidding process. SECI has been tasked with tendering 20 GW of Renewable Energy (RE) projects every year to attain India's target of putting in place 500 GW of non-fossil fuel power generation capacity by 2030. In an interview with PSU Watch in September 2024, Gupta had said that the company is planning a foray into RE power generation and plans to put in place 10 GW of green power generation capacity by 2030. SECI also has plans to go public by FY2726-27.

Over the last year, SECI's name has appeared in a few controversies. The US DoJ issued a five-count criminal indictment order in November 2024, accusing Adani Group’s chairman Gautam Adani and several of his business associates and former officials of Azure Power of indulging in bribery to secure contracts with power distribution companies for sale of power. The order mentioned SECI as well.

In November, SECI debarred Reliance Power and its subsidiary Reliance NU BESS from participating in any of its future tenders for three years for submitting a fake document in a tender floated by the state-run entity in June 2024. However, in December 2024, SECI withdrew its order following the Delhi High Court's stay on the company's debarment. Earlier this month, Reliance Power Ltd's subsidiary Reliance NU Suntech Private Ltd signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with SECI.

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