Uday Kotak's words of wisdom, India's role in in encouraging the transition to renewable energy, and more--stories that piqued the interest of our readers this week
1) CEO of the year
In 2020, a year or so before sustainability became a buzzword, Tata Power had already taken its bold step. The company targeted to become net zero by 2050. Importantly, it decided not to add more conventional [read coal-based] power capacity. This was at a time when sustainability had yet to come into the mainstream. ESG investing was still in its infancy. In an announcement later, Tata Power advanced its net zero timeline to 2045. Under Praveer Sinha, CEO and managing director of Tata Power, the company has aimed to significantly enhance its renewables capacity by 2030 and position itself for a net-zero world. Meet our Forbes India Leadership Awards winner for CEO of the year.
2) Make in India
At one point, very early on after he came back from the US, Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala had thought he might need to get into politics to bring about the kind of changes he wanted to see in India. He quickly abandoned that idea and instead joined the electrical engineering faculty at IIT-Madras. He’s a graduate of IIT-Kanpur, with a PhD from America’s University of Maine. The 70-year-old is also a Padma Shri awardee for achievements in wireless telephony and mobile banking to solar equipment and battery swapping for electric vehicles. He’s our FILA winner for Ecosystem Enabler. Here’s his story.
3) A successful stint