Interviews

Talking about the unique projects the company handles in precision engineering, Kaustubh Shukla, Chief Operating Officer, Industrial Products Group, Godrej & Boyce, discusses with POWER TODAY how they will introduce advanced processes in RE

Today the energy needs of the country are majorly met by burning fossil fuel. More than ever, there is a need of capacity building by means that can provide long term clean, green, cheap source of power.

Clean units when it comes to exhaust pollution (emissions). In the past, it had been a typical Western Europe issue, nowadays it has become a global topic. So clean diesel engines and high efficient pumps have been the most important part of the growth and it will be for the next 5 years with all the regulations worldwide.

In terms of clarity of vision and rationale, our 3 stage nuclear energy programme is unparalleled. Yet, for various reasons, the Indian nuclear power sector has not achieved its true potential. For decades, we had to develop indigenous technology, prove it, mature it and then scale it from 220 MW to 550-700 MW in the recent years. Later, shortage of Nuclear fuel put limitations to the rate and scale we could have grown.

The industry is in a bad shape at present. The demand for agriculture pumps has fallen by about 30 per cent this year. This is mainly due to monsoon playing truant and even as some places have experienced rains, mostly they were unseasonal, inflicting heavy losses on farmers.

Indigenous supplies by Multinationals/ local players in India cater to 90 per cent of the pumps and valves requirement of Indian customers. Multinational companies keep bringing in newer technologies/ designs for local manufacture and take care of the advanced needs of the customers.

Punjab Renewable Energy Systems Pvt. Ltd. (PRESPL) was formed under aegis of Bermaco Group in March, 2011 and is a well established player in the clean energy space and performs various activities relating to development and maintenance of energy plantation, biomass aggregation and supply chain anagement for IPPs, and process industries viz.

BIOTECH has successfully installed around 52 waste-to-electricity projects, 260 institutional plants and more than 30,000 family size kitchen waste treatment biogas plants with financial assistance from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, and with the active co-operation of the local bodies.

My journey with Anchor began in 2007 when the erstwhile Matsushita Electric Works, now Panasonic Corporation, acquired a majority stake in Anchor. I was part of the pioneering four member team deputed from Japan to lead Anchor´s transformation and growth, as part of the Panasonic Group. I was Sales & Marketing Director for Anchor till 2011.