Latest news with #Chalasani
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Implement revised local sourcing norms for wind turbines immediately: Suzlon Group's Chalasani
As India plans to have 500 GW non-fossil energy capacity by 2030, wind energy is expected to contribute a fifth of that target. Yet, with only 4% of its 1.1 TW (Tera Watt) wind potential tapped, the sector's true challenge lies not in potential, but in execution said J.P. Chalasani, CEO, Suzlon Group, one of India's largest renewable energy companies, in an interview. He said policy reform, cybersecurity, and indigenous R&D were crucial for the success of the wind energy sector in the country. 'Revised List of Models and Manufacturers (RLMM) reforms are a start. Implementation can not wait,' he emphasised. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) recently revised its RLMM guidelines, mandating local sourcing of critical components like blades, gearboxes, generators, and towers. RLMM guidelines must mandate this not just for new models, but for all existing listings as well, he stated. The revised RLMM guidelines were also to strengthen cybersecurity norms. 'It is a strategic shift—but over a year late. The guidelines must now be implemented swiftly and without dilution,' he pointed out. Stating that India's wind manufacturing ecosystem was more than ready, he said, 'We have over 20 GW turbine manufacturing capacity, but only 20% is utilised. Our blade capacity is 28 GW, including 11 GW from independent manufacturers. Generator capacity is 17 GW—yet underutilised.' The new policy, if enforced, could restore local content levels to 75% by 2026 and 85% by 2028, he stated. Emphasizing the danger of cyber threat to the wind turbines and the grid Mr Chalasani said, 'Wind turbines are not just machines—they are grid-connected, data-exchanging systems. A single breach can ripple into a national grid failure,' he warned. 'Cybersecurity is not compliance—its sovereignty,' he mentioned. He urged mandatory certification of all digital and hardware components—especially those of foreign origin—by Indian agencies such as Central Electricity Authority, MeitY, and Standardization Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate. 'Embedded malware and hardware trojans are real risks. We need deep protocol-level checks,' he said. MNRE's latest draft also mandates that all turbine operations, data centres, and control systems reside within India—a move which is 'non-negotiable for national security,' he said. Recalling the contribution of late Tulsi Tanti, the founder and MD of Suzlon Energy, Mr Chalasani said, 'He was not just a founder, he was the spirit of Indian renewables. The turnaround we have achieved is our tribute to his vision,' he said. Mr Tanti suddenly passed away in October 2022 raising a question mark on Suzlon's future. Under Mr. Chalasani's leadership, Suzlon has become debt-free and cash-rich, with ₹2,000 crore on its balance sheet. The company's latest 3.15 MW turbine model—engineered for Indian terrain and climate—has been a success. Today, Suzlon has an order book of 5.5 GW, over half of it from industrial and commercial consumers (C&I), and nearly 26% from public sector giants like NTPC and SJVN. 'India Inc. wants reliable green power. Being Indian-designed, Indian-operated, with 25-year service support—that is our edge,' he said. Unlike solar, which he called a 'commodity technology,' Mr. Chalasani, an energy sector veteran said, wind turbines are engineering-intensive and site-specific. 'You can not just import a design meant for Europe and tweak it for Rajasthan,' he said Locally designed and tested turbines reduce downtime, minimise grid disruptions, and enhance long-term operational efficiency, he pointed out. On the government's policy support, he said for too long, Indian OEMs had competed on an uneven field against foreign players importing partially built turbines. 'These new guidelines give us, finally, a level playing field,' he emphasized.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Bank investments in MFs soar 91% in FY25 amid subdued lending, surplus liquidity
Chalasani of AMFI expects banks' MF investment interest to be strong as the central bank has changed its liquidity stance from neutral to accommodative, leaving scope for sustained surplus liquidity. Banks' mutual fund investments jumped 91% year on year to Rs 1,19,863 crore as on March 21, 2025, from Rs 62,499 crore on March 22, 2024, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bulletin showed. Banks' MF investments had grown 28% in the previous year. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Amid subdued lending and surplus liquidity, banks are earning relatively attractive returns from an untraditional source—mutual funds. Bank s' mutual fund investments jumped 91% year on year to Rs 1,19,863 crore as on March 21, 2025, from Rs 62,499 crore on March 22, 2024, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bulletin showed. Banks' MF investments had grown 28% in the previous non-SLR (statutory liquidity ratio) investments are remunerative treasury operations that banks engage in with surplus funds in the absence of attractive lending opportunities.'Besides suboptimal credit growth, bank investments in mutual funds schemes have gone up due to surplus liquidity conditions, favourable market conditions and relatively faster execution' explained Vinod A N, general manager and treasury head at South Indian Bank Venkat N Chalasani, CEO of Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) and a former State Bank of India deputy managing director, said, 'Most of these investments are in liquid and money market schemes, which is also reflected in the overall mutual fund investment numbers where investments are in zero risk short-term debt instruments such as treasury bills where returns are comparably higher.'AMFI data for MF assets under management (AUM) in March 2025 shows that over 40 % of the funds are parked in liquid schemes. The returns on such investments can go up as high as 7%, while comparable treasury bill yield is around 5.9%Deploying surplus liquidity in MFs for a short-term period helps banks in asset liability management—to execute a bullish interest rate view and higher yield with the benefit of diversification without sacrificing the quality, exports said.'Unlocking of liquidity is relatively better in the form of MF redemption when compared to direct investments,' Vinod MF investments are expected to remain positive in 2025-26, depending on multiple variables like liquidity, interest rate view, credit growth, etc. 'However, repeating the sharp jump (of FY25) is a tall task,' Vinod said. 'I expect moderate growth in MF investment for the rest of FY26.'Chalasani of AMFI expects banks' MF investment interest to be strong as the central bank has changed its liquidity stance from neutral to accommodative, leaving scope for sustained surplus of the restrictive factors, however, is higher risk weights on these investments for banks which is linked to the quarter end investment positions. Hence, a longer trend of bank investments in MFs show a significant amount of pull-outs during the quarter ending period.
The Hindu
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Cancelled SIPs tripled in April as AMFI implemented SEBI norms on cancellations
The number of SIP cancellations more than tripled to 162.3 lakh in April compared with the previous month, creating a perception that market volatility had spooked investors in mutual funds. However, The Hindu has learnt that this surge in cancellations had more to do with the rules laid out in a SEBI circular rather than fears among investors. In a circular, reviewed by The Hindu, dated January 3, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), India's capital markets regulator, had said SIPs with more than three consecutive failed instalment- payment attempts were to be accounted as invalid. This applied to daily, weekly, monthly and fortnightly contributions. SIPs with quarterly and bimonthly contributions will be invalid after missing payment for two consecutive time periods, the circular read. AMCs must process the cancellation within 10 days from the day the investor makes the request, SEBI added in the circular. SEBI had given the AMCs and AMFI time till April 1, 2024 to provide more transparent data on cancelled SIPs. Before the circular, data on the number of SIP accounts included inactive accounts too. The circular was to improve data dissemination. 'The entire cleaning up process took longer than expected. While in respect of all the future transactions, they implemented it, but legacy accounts could not be cleaned up. And that cleaning up process, we have initiated in the month of December, January (2025),' said Venkat Chalasani, chief executive officer of AMFI. The backlog of all invalid accounts were starting to be cleaned up in January 2025. The number of discontinued accounts grew 56% in January, 21% in February and declined 15% in March 2025 and then tripled in April. AMFI has also started showing the number of contributing SIPs, which range between 70-80% of the total outstanding accounts from April 2024. 'This month we have totally completed the clean-up process,' Mr. Chalasani said. With the new data added, it counts only the number of contributing SIPs and the number of outstanding SIPs. The monthly dip can hence be calculated by finding the share of non-contributing accounts in the total outstanding SIP accounts. The comments of AMFI assumes significance as the increase in the number of discontinued SIPs coincided with correction and market volatility, creating fears of mutual fund investors being spooked by the markets.
