Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, May 12: In a sudden bureaucratic shake-up, the Union government has appointed Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), following the abrupt termination of Rameshwar Prasad Gupta from the post.
The Department of Personnel and Training announced that Sarangi will hold the additional charge until a regular appointment is made or until further orders. An IAS officer of the 1994 Odisha cadre, Sarangi was appointed MNRE Secretary only last month, after serving as Director General of Foreign Trade.
Gupta’s removal came just a month before the end of his tenure, with no official reason cited. However, the opposition Congress party has linked the sacking to the recent controversy involving the Adani Group, which has been indicted by US authorities over alleged bribery related to SECI-backed solar projects.
“The public sector SECI was indicted on November 20, 2024, by US authorities in a chargesheet against Gautam Adani and his associates. Rs 2,029 cr in bribes were allegedly promised to Indian officials for securing power purchase agreements,” said Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. He claimed that Gupta’s removal was an attempt to shield the Modi government from the fallout of the ‘Modani MegaScam.’
SECI and Adani Group have so far not responded to queries regarding the allegations. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had earlier named SECI in its indictment concerning alleged bribes worth $250 million in exchange for solar project deals in Andhra Pradesh.
This is not the first time SECI has been under scrutiny. Last year, it barred Reliance Power and its subsidiary from participating in its tenders over fake bid submissions, a ban that was later stayed by the Delhi High Court.
As the nodal agency for India’s renewable energy ambitions, SECI is mandated to tender 20 GW of clean energy projects annually and has plans to build 10 GW of solar capacity on its own while going public by FY27. The leadership shake-up comes at a critical time for the agency’s credibility and mission.