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Economic Review Global Economy

Consumer demand in 2021 remained weak due to the continued challenges posed by the pandemic causing supply chain disruptions. Though vaccination programs were rapid and effective in most advanced economies, in many emerging markets and developing economies, vaccinations were sluggish. The shift toward goods consumption, particularly in advanced economies, overloaded global supply chain network. Pandemic-related obstructions to transportation and staffing, just-in-time logistics and lean inventory management compounded the supply chain issues leading to shortages and inflationary pressure across the globe.

While the global economy was on a mending path at the start of 2022, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and frequent and wider- ranging lockdowns in China, including in key manufacturing hubs, have dampened economic activity globally and could cause new bottlenecks in global supply chains. Higher, broader, and more persistent price pressures also led to a tightening of monetary policy in many countries. Overall risks to economic prospects have risen sharply and policy trade-offs have become ever more challenging.

Outlook

Global growth is estimated at 3.6% in 2022 and 2023. Beyond 2023, global growth is forecast to decline to about 3.3% over the medium term. Led by geopolitical conflict, commodity price pressure is expected to persist. For 2022, inflation is projected at 5.7% in advanced economies and 8.7% in emerging market and developing economies. A gradual resolution of supply-demand imbalances and a modest pickup in labour supply will ease price inflation eventually. However, uncertainty prevails. Central banks will then be forced to raise interest rates and expose debt vulnerabilities, particularly in emerging markets. Multilateralism, the importance of the transfer of climate finance and low-cost technologies from developed to developing countries have become more critical, as the world is undergoing a phase of exceptional uncertainty.

Indian Economy

India is set to remain the fastest growing economy in the world in FY 2021-22 as the country marches on a high-growth trajectory. With 65% of the economy locked down, GDP declined by 9.2% in FY 2020-21, according to first advanced estimates by National Statistics Office (NSO). The recovery in GDP growth rate expected in FY 2021-22, was based on robust growth in services, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, construction and energy. The impact of third COVID-19 wave and high inflationary pressure caused by the prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict in the last quarter of FY2022, put economic recovery on the backburner.

In FY 2021-22, the manufacturing sector is expected to grow at 12.5% against contraction of 7.2% in FY 2020-21. Significant growth is expected in mining and quarrying at 14.3%, and trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting at 11.9%. The agriculture sector growth is estimated at 3.9%, higher than 3.6% recorded in the previous financial year. For sustained focus on infrastructure development roadmap, the government sought continued support from the World Bank for financing the National Infrastructure Pipeline and the PM Gati Shakti programme.

According to IMF, the Indian GDP growth is expected at 8.2% and 6.9% in FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23 remaining the fastest growing economy in the world, almost twice faster than Chinas 4.4% growth. The growth projections are primarily based on lower base effect, successful vaccination drive across the country, offtake of government programmes spurring investments and activity, and strong fiscal, monetary and budgetary interventions by the Government.

Industry Overview

Global Energy Review

According to International Energy Agencys (IEA) Electricity Market Report, global electricity demand saw a rebound in 2021 growing at 6% after a small drop in 2020. The 2021 growth was the largest ever annual increase in absolute terms (at over 1,500 TWh) and the largest relative rise since recovery from the financial crisis in 2010. In 2022, electricity demand is projected to be 3% Y-o-Y, similar to the average growth rate of 10 years preceding the COVID-19 pandemic. Demand growth is expected to be driven by continued economic recovery with rebound effects due to health protection measures. Demand is also driven by the expected easing of the energy crisis, which resulted in supply shortages and prohibitively high energy prices in the fourth quarter of 2021. Post 2022, energy demand is expected to slow down as rebound effects run out and energy efficiency measures start showing effects.

Global Renewable Energy Industry

As per The Economist Intelligence Units (EIU) Energy in 2022 report, all parts of the energy sector including coal (which was on a slide prior to the pandemic) are expected to witness rising consumption in 2022. Coal consumption will increase by 1.5%, almost as fast as natural gas (which could be subdued due to supply problems in the first half of 2022). Oil consumption is expected to rise by 2.7%. Solar and wind power will increase by 10.6%, with the sole exception of nuclear energy where consumption is expected to fall by 0.8%.

Renewable energy sources are gaining increasing popularity in the past few years. Along with demand, renewables capacity installations are also keeping pace. Year 2021 witnessed commissioning of ~290 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity additions, which is 3% higher than 2020s already exceptional growth. The record high addition of renewable power capacity in 2021 was driven by solar photovoltaic (PV). As in 2021, solar constituted approximately 47% of total renewable energy production, followed by wind contributing 38%, bio power 10% and small hydro 5%. Despite surging commodity prices and increasing manufacturing costs for solar PV, 10GW of new solar capacity was added in India in 2021, a 210% increase compared to 3.2 GW installed in 2020.

The growth of renewable capacity addition is forecast to accelerate in the next five years, accounting for almost 95% of the increase in global power capacity by 2026. According to IEAs Renewables 2021 report, globally, renewable energy capacity is forecasted to increase by over 60% between 2020 and 2026, reaching more than 4,800 GW. This is equivalent to the current global power capacity of fossil fuels and nuclear combined.

Average annual renewable capacity additions and cumulative installed capacity, historical, forecasts and IEA Net Zero Scenario, 2009-2026

The current record commodity prices that have increased the costs of building new wind and solar PV installations have proven to slow down growth. While new capacity is set to come online, it is expected that high prices may continue through at least the first half of 2022. According to a report by Rystad Energy the module prices increased from US$0.21/Wp in 2020 up to US$0.33/Wp in 2021 led by a steep surge in commodity prices across the board. Some of the key raw materials include polysilicon, silver, copper, aluminium, and glass, all of which experienced surge in prices. The raw feedstock for crystalline silicon ingots and wafers increased by 175% in the first six months of 2021 alone. However, the impact of volatile commodity and transport prices on demand are expected to be limited, as high fossil fuel prices improve the competitiveness of wind and solar PV further.

Stronger policy support in over 130 countries, ambitious net zero goals announced by nations at COP26 accounting for almost 90% of global GDP and improving competitiveness of wind and solar PV is likely to aid renewable capacity growth. China is expected to lead the global renewable capacity growth over the next five years, accounting for ~43% of global renewable capacity growth, followed by Europe, the United States and India. These four markets alone are expected to account for 80% of renewable capacity addition worldwide.

Global Renewable Energy Targets

Globally, countries are working to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and to stay within the global mean temperature increase of 1.5?C. In order to achieve this aim, it is imperative that by 2030, emissions are reduced by about 45% from the 2010 levels. Decarbonising the energy sector, which contributes almost three quarters of global GHG emissions plays a crucial role in delivering global climate goals. A key

feature of the Glasgow Climate Pact made at the COP26 states that governments, financial institutions, and private sector entities must broaden ambition commensurate to the scale of the climate threat, followed by real, short-term, accelerated implementation. According to new and updated NDCs, current and announced net zero pledges are projected to reduce emissions by 2030 limiting warming to 2.1?C, avoiding a more catastrophic rise of above 2.8?C under the initial NDCs. India, the third largest emitter in terms of net emissions but having the lowest per capita emission among the major economies of the world, has exhibited strong intent at COP26 announcing five elixirs as its climate goals towards limiting the rising temperatures.

Chinas commitment to net zero by 2060 has led to new targets, such as 40% of all electricity consumed to be from non-fossil generation by 2030 and capacity target of 1,200 GW wind and solar PV by the same year. In Europe, renewables growth is attributable to larger auction volumes in most EU member countries to accelerate deployment towards 2030 renewable energy targets, a growing market for corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs] and the increasing attractiveness of self-consumption for distributed PV. In the United States, favourable wind and solar PV economics, continuation of federal tax credits, growing corporate PPA market and increasing federal and state-level support will drive higher capacity additions.

Decarbonising the energy sector, which contributes almost three quarters of global GHG emissions plays a crucial role in delivering global climate goals.

Renewable electricity generation is forecast to increase by 6% to ~7,900 TWh in 2021, slightly higher than the average annual growth rate observed during 2015-2020. Conversely, the expansion rate of cumulative capacity in 2021 is faster over the same period. This decoupling is mainly due to weather conditions in key markets affecting wind and hydropower generation. Without these conditions, renewable electricity generation would be up by almost 9% in 2021.

Source: International Energy Agency: Renewable 2021 and Electricity Market report, EIU: Energy in 2022

Increasing Significance of Renewable Energy

To achieve long-term net zero goals, countries need to make substantial progress over time in advancing energy transition technologies such as renewable energy and energy efficiency. The direct use of renewables for heating and cooling (bioenergy, solar thermal or geothermal energy) and transport (bioenergy) plays a considerable role in the energy transition. Electrification contributes to lowering energy demand because many electric technologies are significantly more efficient than their fossil fuel counterparts. Since electricity remains crucial for energy consumption, energy additions must be done through clean energy sources.

Clean technologies in the power sector and across a range of end-uses are being preferred not only due to policy support but also because they are more cost-effective. In many regions, solar PV or wind already represents the cheapest available source of new electricity generation. Clean energy technologies, such as advanced batteries, hydrogen electrolysers, advanced biofuels, and new technologies for the capture and use of CO2, including direct air capture, are vital to decarbonise heavy industries and long-distance transport.

Indian Renewable Energy Industry

Rapid urbanisation has fuelled power requirements which led to a spurt in demand for renewable energy with gradual exhaustion of conventional electricity generation methods such as thermal power. The Indian renewable energy market is expected to grow more than 10% CAGR during 20222027. The share of renewable energy in electricity generation is expected to increase to 67% by 2047 from 22% now, indicating renewable sources to swap positions with coal which is dominating energy generation at present. Key goals for 2047 by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) include energy independence and security, increasing decarbonisation of the energy sector, self-sufficiency in equipment manufacturing and becoming a global hub for green hydrogen. Out of the projected total energy capacity addition of 1,325 GW by 2047, around 1,125 GW is targeted to be based on renewable energy, 140 GW on coal, 10 GW on gas and 50 GW on nuclear power.

The Indian renewable energy market ranked fourth in wind and fifth in solar power installed capacity in FY 2019-20. During the COVID-19 pandemic, renewable energy sector was hit by multiple demand and supply shocks. In FY 2020-21, demand from commercial and industrial (C&I) consumers declined by ~18%, while that from residential consumers increased by 5-7%. The government introduced various policy measures including tenders, power project construction, and expansion plans. The impact on the renewable power sector was thus relatively mild, led by supportive government policies, rising environmental concerns, incentives, and tax benefits.

Steps Towards Making India Net Zero by 2070

India is moving towards becoming the fastest growing green economy of the world. As per an International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) report, hydrogen is gaining importance as an important element in the energy transition to decarbonise harder-to-abate sectors. India has unveiled the first phase of its New Green Hydrogen Policy under the National Hydrogen Mission, to use renewable electricity to split water to make hydrogen, which can be used as fuel in several industries including refineries, steel plants and automotive fuel. Green hydrogen opens up a huge new opportunity of capacity building for solar, storage and wind energy, a new kind of hybrid electricity concept wherein all the three technologies can work together to produce round the clock power. India plans to manufacture 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year by 2030. Apart from being industrial feedstock for production of steel, ammonia, methanol and fertilisers, green hydrogen is set to play a big role in clean mobility and electricity production and storage. The green hydrogen industry will require the building of a domestic hydrogen production value chain. According to a report by The Energy and Resources Institute, in 2020, Indias hydrogen demand stood at 6 million tonnes (MT) per year. It is estimated that by 2030, the hydrogen costs will reduce by 50%. The demand for hydrogen is expected to increase 5x to 28 MT by 2050 where 80% of the demand is expected to be green in nature.

Investment in the renewable energy market reached a record US$ 14.5 billion in FY 2021-22. The cumulative installed renewable energy capacity (excluding smaller hydropower generators and biomass) reaching 96.22 GW by March 2022. Between 2021 and 2026, this capacity addition is expected to grow by 13%. The renewables sector has the potential to employ around one million people by 2030, 10x more than the existing workforce, according to the CEEW-NRDC-SCGJ analysis.

As per Central Electricity Authority data, total renewable capacity addition during FY 2021-22 was 13.5 GW, a rise of 128% than that in FY 2020-21. The total share of renewable energy (excluding hydro) increased to 28.1% in FY 2021-22 from ~24.7% in FY 2020-21. Solar energys share in total installed power capacity increased to 14.1% in FY 2021-22 from 10.47% in FY 2020-21.

Global Solar Power Industry - An Overview

Solar Energy - Energy of the Future

The global solar energy market, a dominant arm of the renewable energy, is growing at a galloping speed owing to increasing environment sustainability concerns and decarbonisation, prompting energy companies to improvise technology with greater efficiency. Even amidst pandemic, solar energy market remained resilient due to strong government rebate policies and support.

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (NEF) reports, photovoltaic systems with a combined capacity of 183 GW were installed worldwide in 2021, almost 40 GW more than that witnessed in 2020. According to Clean Energy Technology service report at IHS Markit, over 1,000 GWdc of new solar installations are expected to be installed globally through 2025, driven by solar technologys competitiveness, versatility and installation speed. Global solar PV installations are expected to witness strong growth in 2021 and in 2022. The 200 GW mark of solar PV addition is expected to be broken in 2022 driven by the demand surge in China. Rooftop PV segment will be the fastest growing segment led by residential installations. Commercial and industrial systems will also clock robust growth due to growing profitability against the background of rising electricity prices.

Key Challenges During the Year

During the year, COVID-19 restrictions continued at different times in different countries, which led to delay and postponement of auctions, continued disruption of the global supply chain and lower demand due to lockdowns and restricted mobility. This led to material and labour shortages and substantial price hike in raw material energy and shipping costs.

The utility segment has been the most affected in 2021, with multiple projects getting delayed or cancelled. In contrast, there was strong growth in the distributed generation of residential, commercial, and industrial segments boosted by the fuel crisis and surging electricity prices, mainly driven by markets such as China, India, US and Europe.

Capital costs are expected to stabilise led by anticipated technology improvements and normalised supply chain functioning.

Global Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) Industry

According to the report published by Vantage Market Research, the global solar EPC market was valued at US$ 51.2 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow by 2.7% CAGR to US$ 63.36 billion by 2028. North America was the leading regional segment of Solar EPC in 2020. The market in Europe is also demonstrating a considerably high growth rate and is expected to continue doing so led by favourable government policies towards the uptake of sustainable technologies. Among others, Asia Pacific is projected to witness a decent growth in the forthcoming years. New production capacities for solar cells and solar modules are increasing outside of China, particularly in India, the US and Europe.

{Solar Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Market Global Size, Share, Forecast upto 2028 : Vantage Market Research) (Solar EPC Market Demand and Research Insights by 2026 (transparencumarketresearch.com)}

As per IHS Markit, COVID-19 lockdowns brought back a concentrated PV market, in which more than half of the worlds non-residential PV additions were in mainland China or the United States. Including Vietnam, where the commercial segment soared in 2020, these three markets contributed to 61% of non-residential PV. In contrast, non-residential PV installations in the rest of the world declined by 17%, as compared to 2019. In all, top 30 largest EPC providers installed 36 GW of non-residential PV systems, representing 28% of the global PV market up from 27% in 2019 and 21% in 2018.

Geography-wise Outlook

India

The National Solar Mission is aimed at installing 40 GW capacity of grid- connected solar rooftop installation systems by 2022.

According to the Mercom report, Utility scale projects accounted for 83% of the total installations, with 8.3 GW of new installations during the year, a 230% surge compared to last year. In Q4 2021,

2.2 GW of utility scale solar was added compared to 2.4 GW in Q3 2021. Utility-scale installations increased by 82% YoY compared to 1.2 GW installed in Q4 2020. In 2021, Rajasthan added the highest utility-scale solar capacity with 4.5 GW, followed by Gujarat with 1.2 GW and Uttar Pradesh with 885 MW. As per CEA, Indias total Utility-scale installed solar capacity is 53.99 GW as on March 2022.

In February 2022, the Indian government allocated Rs 19,500 crore to support solar PV module manufacturing under the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme. The scheme supports the setting up of integrated manufacturing units of high-efficiency solar PV modules by offering PLI on sale of such solar PV modules. It is aimed at attaining an ambitious goal of 280 GW of installed solar capacity by 2030. Government had infused Rs 1,000 crore in SECI to enable it to float 15,000 MW tenders on yearly basis. SECI has successfully floated the said capacity of tenders in FY 2021-22. Govt had also infused Rs 1,500 crore in IREDA to extend additional loan facility. This has enabled IREDA to provide financing options to the renewable sector projects and come out with comprehensive policy for funding new technologies like BESS, projects involving green hydrogen and electric mobility segment.

MENA

At COP26, the UAE announced its net zero target to be achieved by 2050 with investments of ~US$163 billion. Saudi Arabia has pledged to achieve net zero by 2060, allocating more than US$180 billion. Bahrain announced a new national economic growth and fiscal balance plan to achieve its net zero initiative by 2060. The country issued two solar tenders in 2021. The first green hydrogen project was inaugurated in Dubai at the MBR Solar Park. Oman, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are well on track to develop the next green hydrogen projects planned.

Australia

The continent has the highest solar radiation per square metre and is the leader in terms of per capita capacity. There are state policies establishing Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) for large- scale renewables development. In 2021, Australia witnessed a record-breaking pace of addition to rooftop solar panels with over three million installations. In contrast, large-scale renewable projects faced headwinds, hindered by lower wholesale electricity prices and ongoing grid challenges. Since 2012, the Government has invested over AUS$230 million in around 130 solar research and development projects, including AUS$80 million to the Australian Centre of Advanced Photovoltaics. Governments strong push is evident from huge funding support for innovation of renewable energy generation necessary for the viability of future industries such as clean hydrogen and low emissions metals. As of March 31, 2022, there were over 3.12 million PV installations in Australia, with a combined capacity of over 26.1 GW. 2022 is expected to be an important turning point for clean energy development. According to Rystad, April 2022 ended with all Australian utility PV and wind assets generating 2.9 GW up 2 3% from 2.3 GW in April 2021.

United States

United States has set a target to become carbon neutral by 2035. Significant capacity additions are expected to continue in 2022 and onwards. This will be led by the extension of 26% Investment Tax Credit and Federal Tax Credit for consumers who purchase solar panels for home or business, which renders projects more economically attractive. Higher corporate demand through PPAs driven by declining costs is expected to lead to a greater number of planned utility- scale projects. With sustained cost declines and tax credits, distributed PV continued to account for almost 30% of PV growth in 2021 and is expected to do the same in 2022. The risk for projects emanates from a variety of factors including anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties decision by the Commerce Dept of US.

Europe

The EU is set to overachieve its plans for 2030 stated in current National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). The plan supports higher targets under the "Fit for 55" programme (55% emissions reduction by 2030), which is expected to be finalised in 2023 or 2024. Utility-scale projects will dominate the accelerated expansion of solar PV in 2021 and 2022 - for the first time since 2017. In addition to Spains corporate PPAs, capacity awarded through auctions in Germany, France, Poland and Turkey are stimulating utility-scale expansion in Europe. As for distributed PV, a generous net-metering scheme in the Netherlands and FITs and feed-in premiums in France and Germany support additions.

Key Trends Supporting Growth of Solar Energy Increased Infrastructural Use of Solar

During the last decade, as the market was flooded with equipment, prices plummeted, and the cost of solar panels dropped exponentially, leading to increased solar PV system installation. However, COVID-19 led to a temporary disruption in the sector, which was otherwise poised to grow exponentially. As solar technology costs are expected to get better, more solar-powered sources will find usage in large infrastructure projects, thus lowering operating costs and reducing the need for disruptive installation processes.

Use of Green Hydrogen and Energy Storage

Many countries, in aligning their long-term goals, have announced strategies to develop hydrogen as a key energy carrier. Green Hydrogen, produced with electricity from renewable sources, will fulfil the criteria of sustainable and climate-safe energy use and net zero emissions. The past two years have witnessed increased momentum, with many countries adopting a national hydrogen strategy or announcing their intention to do so. Both green hydrogen and energy storage are set to give accelerated momentum to renewable energy sources, in which Solar will command a substantial share.

Growing Government Support

With continuous increase in pledges to reduce carbon emissions, subsidies for renewable energy sources including solar power are likely to surge. As the urge to go green rises, more firms and consumers will try to take advantage of government- sponsored programmes, tax rebates and other subsidies. For the next five years, solar PV technology is expected to account for the largest annual capacity additions for renewables, higher than wind and hydro. In response to geopolitical conflicts, many European Union countries announced plans to accelerate renewables deployment aimed at reducing their dependence on Russian natural gas imports. The Chinese government announced 450 GW of additional large-scale onshore wind and solar PV mega projects with 100 GW starting development at the beginning of 2022. Chinas Ministry of Finance confirmed the payment of outstanding renewable energy subsidies worth US$ 60 billion to be paid through 2022, improving the balance sheet of developers and unlocking additional funds for new projects. In the absence of national subsidies, provincial governments are still providing tax incentives and low-cost financing to renewable energy projects in China. The European Unions onshore wind growth was impacted due to ongoing permitting challenges slowing deployment in Germany, Poland and Italy. Brazils generous net metering scheme resulted in a distributed PV market boom. The US market for solar PV was adversely impacted due to issues in import following restricted use o f pro ducts manufactured in China. Japan launched a new feed-in premium (FIP) scheme in April 2022, for aiding additional capacity growth for solar PV and onshore wind in the longer term.

Increasing Affordability in Future

As with most technologies, the cost of developing and purchasing solar solutions has decreased over the last decade with its growing popularity. Widespread adoption of solar technology is driving prices lower and prompting more enterprises to embrace solar technology. With soaring demand for solar energy, investment in its research and development is expected to grow proportionally. Its cost effectiveness will further increase as competition intensifies. Strong government support across the globe with tax benefits and rebates will further drive costs lower, making it more viable as compared to thermal power sources.

Solar with Storage

The Energy storage devices (short term and long term), providing round-the-clock access to electricity even during absence of direct sunlight, work by absorbing (charging) excess electricity during sunlight hours and then storing it. This stored energy can then be utilised as per Grid requirements. The global solar energy storage market is being driven by the escalated energy demand globally along with decarbonisation of the Grid as they provide necessary solutions for the fluctuations in the grid, namely frequency, voltage, power, and load. The electrification of transportation and heat sector, digitalisation of modern economies, and an increase in the number of electronically connected devices is expected to accelerate the industry growth and the overall requirement of Power (mainly Green in nature). Pairing storage with solar offers cost synergies, operational efficiencies, and the opportunity to reduce storage capital costs with the solar investment tax credit. Demand for solar paired with energy storage for multiple use cases is expected to witness a sharp jump, led by minimal curtailment risk.

The global solar energy storage market is estimated to grow at 61% CAGR during 2022-2027. Currently ignoring the East Asian countries (China, Korea, and Japan), The Market Leaders in usage of Storage with Solar and Standalone are USA, Australia, and EU (specifically UK). These are likely to change in the near- and long-term future with India and Latin America joining USA and China into the leader board by 2040. All these countries would have huge penetration of Renewables into their grid and thus would need to the support of Storage to stabilise the same.

India Solar Market

In India, solar and wind are the most popular renewable energy sources. Solar power capacity has increased by more than 15 times in the last seven years. The solar energy segment is expected to witness significant growth during 2022 to 2027 capturing the largest market share among all renewables. This is owing to increasing investment opportunities, declining costs of solar modules and the versatile use of these systems.

India is endowed with vast solar energy potential having ~5,000 trillion kWh per year of energy being incident over Indias land area with most parts receiving 4-7 kWh per square meter per day. According to the MNRE, installed solar energy capacity increased to ~40.1 GW in FY 2020-21, up 16% from 34.6 GW in FY 2019-20.

The Indian supply chain ecosystem is dependent on imports and to reduce this dependence, Indian manufacturers need to create and develop a supply chain ecosystem to achieve desired economies of scale. With new PLI schemes, giving preference to manufacturers who will set up integrated technically advanced solar PV manufacturing plants of higher capacity, supply chain issues will be streamlined. The PLI announcement is expected to boost domestic manufacturing units and further help India reduce its dependency on imported modules. In next five years, as economies of scale play, not only will India become self-reliant, but also the global supply chain for PV module will get concentrated in India. Coupled with Basic Customs Duty, PLI scheme has provided the right balance for establishing the solar manufacturing ecosystem in the country.

India Solar EPC Market

According to Mercom India Research, India added 10 GW of solar capacity in CY 2021, up 210% compared to 3.2 GW installed capacity in CY 2020. Indias total installed solar power capacity stood at 52 GW at the end of March 2022 including over 3 GW added in Q1 CY 2022 with large scale solar contributing around 2.7 GW. Solar developers imported as much as 10 GW modules before the April 1, 2022 BCD deadline. Solar accounted for 62% of new power capacity additions in 2021, the largest share of power capacity ever. Installations in 2021 were the highest ever recorded in India. Large scale projects accounted for 83% installations with 8.3 GW. Growth in 2021 was led by significant number of projects being carried forward from 2020 due to COVID-19 extensions. Rajasthan, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were the top three states that witnessed large scale solar installations.

According to Mercom, Investments in the Indian solar sector increased 254% in CY 2021. There was a 278% increase reported in investment in large scale solar segment and 150% increase in investments in rooftop segment. This is reflective of the increased project development activity post COVID-19 related disruptions in 2020.

Despite ambitious solar targets, the EPC market segment is faced with several challenges. Availability of a good land parcel and its acquisition due to regulatory or cost related issues, are the primary hurdles. EPC players need comprehensive geo-technical reports, solar resources and ambient circumstances to establish an innovative engineering system. Due to lack of reliable Government data, activities like sustaining plant stability, field levelling, safeguarding against wind loads, minimising repair costs becomes very difficult. Thus, a strong engineering arm is critical to any EPCs success as it enables optimisation of plant design. The three main challenges are suitable site availability, appropriate evacuation infrastructure and policy support for tariff discovery and adoption.

Solar Operations & Maintenance Industry

According to Wood Mackenzie, the global non-residential solar operations & maintenance (O&M) business is predicted to grow more than double to US$ 9 billion by 2025 from US$ 4 billion in 2019. A steady growth in the global solar power industry has led to an unprecedented and rising demand for O&M services. With solar energy dominating Indias energy transition, the opportunity transcending the solar O&M industry is huge. Domestic solar O&M has emerged as a separate market with increase in the number of solar plants getting stable. A growing number of O&M contracts are getting re-tendered, presenting a rising opportunity for O&M service providers.

Solar O&M was earlier limited only to module cleaning, plant security, optimal spares management and overall plant upkeep. As large-scale solar assets mature and plant sizes increase, asset owners are understanding the value of a strategic data-driven approach for maintenance. With smart technology becoming a powerful competitive advantage, the solar O&M market is fast changing from being a conventional one to tech driven. Timely reporting and accuracy of plant performance metrics and plant availability is becoming a critical requirement of the asset owners. New technologies are being implemented to improve asset cycle management, remote sensing (powered by Industrial Internet of Things), cloud computing and aerial techniques for visual imaging. This helps reduce manpower dependency and create better insights for improved operations.

Technology-driven O&M is now a pre-requisite to attracting investment into the sector and maximising Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) for the investor. Continuous performance monitoring, trend analysis and forecasting, and predictive analytics help maximise plant performance and reduce plant downtime. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have emerged as important tech solutions in the quest for better monitoring and predictive maintenance. These technologies have the potential to analyse big data, optimise the present and forecast future trends.

A holistic approach is needed in operating and maintaining solar projects to deliver the highest plant efficiency. Dedicated teams are needed to conduct regular plant operations, recommend preventive and corrective maintenance, and optimise plant yield. They must integrate proven state-of- the-art and best-in-class digital tools and tracks to analyse real-time data of solar plant for improving plant performance.

Going forward, it is expected that the entire lifecycle of a solar asset will gradually convert into a digital blockchain. And assets will be sold and purchased on a transparent platform and financial transactions will get streamlined. Digitisation will lead to completely automated operations and uberisation of manpower in surveillance, module cleaning and remote monitoring for enhanced plant performance. As the solar O&M story continues to be on a growth path, cutting-edge technologies have the potential to optimise critical components, stay competitive and revolutionise the solar O&M industry.

Going forward, it is expected that the entire lifecycle of a solar asset will gradually convert into a digital blockchain.

Company Overview

Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy Limited (SWREL/ Company) is a global pure-play, end-to-end renewable engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) solutions provider. The Company provides EPC services for utility- scale, floating solar, hybrid & energy storage and waste- to-energy solutions with a focus on project design and engineering and manages all aspects of project execution from conceptualising to commissioning. The Company also provides operations and maintenance (O&M) services, including for projects constructed by third parties. With a presence spread across 25 countries, the Company has operations in India, South-East Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Australia.

Stake Acquisition by Reliance New Energy

Reliance Industries subsidiary Reliance New Energy (RNEL), acquired a 40% stake in Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy Limited. This move will further provide thrust to achieving Reliances commitment to enable up to 100 GW of solar energy in India by 2030 and becoming a global player in the renewable industry. With its engineering talent, deep domain knowledge, global presence and experience of executing some of the most complex projects globally, the Company will become an important part of Reliances solar value chain. In turn, the Company will also immensely benefit from Reliance Groups integrated new energy vision.

Complete Solutions Provider for Solar Needs

With its unparalleled global reach and presence, strong relationship with customers and lenders and an established project execution experience, the Company is well positioned as the preferred EPC solutions provider globally. Its offerings include:

Competitive Advantages

The Company is amongst the few EPC players who are bankable, experienced, competitive and highly reputable. With an unparalleled global reach, the Company has an edge over competitors owing to the below factors.

• Partnership with Reliance Group: Supply chain issues are expected to reduce due to Reliances strong in-house manufacturing capabilities and global employee base. The Companys position as a leading global EPC and O&M player will be further strengthened through this partnership and will provide greater opportunities in both domestic and international markets.

• Competitive Positioning: Led by the global supply chain, long-term relationships with suppliers and vendors, robust repeat order history, successful track record of executing complex and large EPC projects and a centralised procurement policy, the Companys operations are highly efficient. The Company is a partner of choice given its rich experience with most of the big clients globally. It has a strong repute amidst most global lenders/ FIs owing to vast experience of executing wide range of projects ranging from 1 MW to 1 GW.

• Being an Important Part of the Global Solar Value Chain: Until recently, the global solar market was dominated by Chinese suppliers. However, with aggressive investment plans by some of Indias leading corporates in the solar industry and government support through PLI, the entire solar value chain is expected to shift to India in the coming two years. As economies of scale play in, Indian solar companies are able to compete on a global basis. The Company is leveraging

its strong domestic relationships to become a world leader in the solar industry.

• Widespread Global Presence: The Company has achieved significant geographical diversity with its business operations spread across 25 countries.

• Asset-light Business Model: The Company is in a unique spot to provide scalable made-to-order solutions. It can easily adapt according to changing market needs due to agility in its operations, thus satiating different types of customer needs. The Company works with low capital and working capital requirements.

• Superior Quality: Robust project management with stringent inspection throughout the product cycle, field quality monitoring and access to low-cost skilled contractual labour, it provides highest quality services at competitive rates.

• In-house Designing and Engineering: With widespread global reach, the Company is equipped with in-house designing and engineering. Its team of 155+ professionals offers unique customised profitable solutions according to customer needs.

• Technological Prowess: The Companys technologically advanced innovation centre enables testing and analysing futuristic technologies. Being pioneers of new technology, the Company is technology agnostic with a strong experience in using modern technology. It offers unique solutions for differentiated needs inspired by advanced technologies including drone thermography and thermal imaging; mobile vans to evaluate component as well cable level fault detections and rectifications; strong analytics and predictions; IV curve tracers; underground cable fault finders; robotic cleaning solutions; centralised monitoring and maintenance systems; automatic grass cutting; IoT CCTV camera; preventive and predictive analytics; solar + storage, and floating solar; among others.

• Customer-centricity: Customer satisfaction is ensured through agility in decision-making following a flexible approach, strict time bound project execution, and compliance to the highest quality standards.

Business Segments

The Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) and Operations and Maintenance (O&M) are the two primary business segments of the Company.

EPC Business

Offering a complete range of solar EPC solutions, the Company provides end-to-end services with a focus on project design and engineering. The Company is proficient in managing all aspects of project execution from conceptualising to commissioning. It is one of the leading solar EPC players across India, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and Latin America. The Company is strengthening its foothold in Europe and USA.

a. Utility-scale Solar

Utility-scale solar involves designing, engineering, procuring, project managing, testing, commissioning, connecting solar projects to the grid and long-term operations and maintaining the plant. The Company has rich experience in providing a range of comprehensive customised solutions like Turnkey, Balance of Systems (BoS) and packaged BoS. It has exhibited its superior EPC capabilities with successful execution of several landmark projects across the globe.

b. Floating Solar

Being one of the first movers in this segment, the Company offers a range of solutions in the floating solar segment including anchoring and mooring, project management and planning, module and equipment floating structure installation, maintenance manual and design book issuance, and bathymetric and geotechnical assessment studies. Having developed ample technological expertise in this segment, the Company is ready to execute larger projects.

c. Hybrid & Energy Storage

A large part of the global market where there is dearth of Stable Transmission systems are moving towards microgrids, which are based on 100% renewable energy. There is a huge demand for decentralised power plants because not only are they environmentally friendly but are also economically viable against the currently prevalent Diesel Sets or Gas based production.

The Economies with a good Grid penetration (mainly developed and developing countries) are pushing towards a greener grid by slowly phasing out natural resources depleting plants or by adding tremendous capacities of RE into their existing grid.

With an aim to embark on its next phase of growth, the Company plans to make inroads in EPC solutions for hybrid and energy storage solutions. With the meteoric rise in solar installations globally, it is in an advantageous position to leverage on tremendous growth opportunity the industry is poised for. SWREL has developed a very capable, technically sound, and dedicated BESS team which has vast experience in the Storage Solutions. We also have developed in-house expertise in designing energy storage solutions by collaborating with leading battery manufacturers and energy storage solution providers. These help us provide our clients with the right technology in a completely agnostic manner ensuring clients having different requirements and solutions are catered to in an efficient and optimum manner. Solution offerings in this segment include hybrid energy solutions dealing with a mix of solar and battery energy storage, standalone turnkey battery energy storage solutions, and industrial, island and grid connected microgrids.

O&M Business

A global leader in O&M and asset management solutions, the Company provides superior quality services to its existing EPC projects as well as third-party customers.

With annuity-based contracts, the O&M business provides steady income over its tenure of O&M service contract and earns better gross and net profit margins. The O&M business is witnessing strong traction, with a portfolio of more than 6.6 GWp. The O&M segment contributes ~4% to the total revenues.

With a strong presence in most emerging markets as well as in markets which have solar plants historically built, the Company is achieving great scale. The Company has maintained excellent relationships with all global IPPs and boasts of having executed 160+ solar plants spread over multiple locations across time zones. When Defect Liability Period (DLP) comes to an end in plants with the existing EPCs,

the Company has an opportunity to scale up the O&M business in these markets. The Companys team keeps a close eye on such contracts and follows up to ensure they monetise the anti-incumbency sentiment.

The Company has a strong team of expert engineers, managers and data analytics with in-house R&D team and centralised monitoring platform and computerised maintenance management system. Aided by its flexible approach, the Company has been signing both short-term and long-term O&M contracts, providing flexibility to the developers. It has developed an edge over its competitors for third-party O&M by virtue of offering additional value-added O&M services.

For the convenience of developers, the Company makes use of its NABL-certified mobile module testing lab in India and cutting-edge technological knowledge. The lab not only tests modules at the plant location, but also saves time and transportation costs. Its performance and due diligence team analyses and suggests measures for optimum plant performance. The Company focusses on technology automation with its expert team and in-house resources to provide different type of services without depending on the external resources. This helps the Company gain a competitive edge in the market.

The Company is also working on different technologies to strengthen its predictive and preventive maintenance capabilities with different devices for sensing external faults, replacing manual module installation with robots even for large scale projects, automated cable laying etc. The Companys strong EPC portfolio and client engagements enables it to leverage insurance and warranty in the O&M segment.

Business Review

Overall Performance

Total revenue from operations was Rs 5,198.9 crore in FY 202122 as compared to Rs 5,080.8 crore in FY 2020-21, up 2.3%. The EPC business contributed 95.7% to the overall revenue while the remaining 4.3% was contributed by the O&M business.

The Company is striving to minimise and optimise the overheads (fixed cost structure) as much as possible and improve efficiencies.

The Companys unexecuted order book was Rs 3,253 crore as of March 31, 2022 as compared to Rs 9,127 crore as of March 31, 2021. Total order inflow was Rs 719 crore for FY2022 as compared to Rs 7,936 crore for FY2021. Customer concentration in terms of revenue contribution increased to 59.82% in FY 2021-22 from 27.85% in FY 2020-21.

The Company became net debt free with net bank balances of Rs 73 crore as on March 31, 2022.

Particulars ( crore)	FY 2021-22	FY 2020-21
Revenue from operations	5,198.9	5,080.8
Other income	94.7	158.5
Total income	5,293.6	5,239.3
Operating profit	(859.3)	(363.0)
EBITA margin (%)	(16.5)	(7.1)
EBIT	(874)	(379.0)
EBIT margin (%)	(16.8)	(7.4)
Net profit	(915.8)	(290.0)
Net profit margin (%)	(17.6)	(5.7)
Cash generated from operating activities	(1,689.8)	201.0
EPS (?)	(54.2)	(17.8)

EPC Business

The Companys EPC business revenue increased to Rs 4,974.5 crore in FY 2021-22 from Rs 4,825.8 crore in FY 2020-21. Stronger policy support from the government in terms of tax incentives, favourable policies for renewable sectors, coupled with ambitious climate targets announced for COP26, are expected to drive demand for solar energy worldwide.

O&M Business

Revenue in O&M business decreased to Rs 222.9 crore in FY 2021-22 from Rs 252.1 crore in FY 2020-21. EBIT margin stood at 24.9% in FY 2021-22 as compared to 39.5% in FY 2020-21. Segment contribution to the overall revenue decreased to 4.3% in FY 2021-22 from 4.9% in FY 2020-21.

• Total assets under management declined to 6.6 GW in FY 2021-22 from 8.1 GW in FY 2020-21. Reduction in O&M portfolio is primarily on account of sale of plants by clients to customers having their own O&M teams.

• The Company has projects across 14 countries with India contributing 11%.

• Third-party O&M comprised one-third of the total portfolio.

• The Company is focussing on augmenting its international O&M portfolio. It provides enhanced value to customers through its key O&M differentiators such as drone thermography, strong analytics and predictions, IV curve tracers, and underground cable fault finders.

Key Highlights for FY 2021-22

• Revenue from operations increased to Rs 5,198.9 crore in FY 2021-22 from Rs 5,080.8 crore in FY 2020-21, up 2.3%. Region-wise, revenue share of Australia was 56%, U.S. 21%, India 11%, Latin America 9% and balance 3% by the MENA and Africa region.

• Adjusted gross margins (adjusted for MTM impact) stood at (9.7%) in FY 2021-22 as compared to 0.5% in FY 2020-21 due to increase in modules prices, liquidated damages and increase in overhead and subcontracting costs due to extension in project timelines because of COVID-19 and module delivery delays.

• The O&M business revenue declined to Rs 222.9 crore in FY 2021-22 from Rs 252.1 crore in FY 2020-21.

• Other Income (excluding interest income) stood at Rs 37 crore in FY 2021-22 as compared to Rs 27 crore in FY 2020-21.

• Recurring Overheads increased by 6% in FY2022 primarily due to office set up in Spain and its associated cost to cater to European market. The Company has decided to continue to invest in its manpower to take advantage of the tremendous growth opportunities in the domestic and international market.

• Negative net core working capital of Rs 302 crore as on March 31, 2022 as compared to negative core working capital of Rs 530 crore as on March 31, 2021.

• As on March 31, 2022, the Company was net debt free with net bank balances of Rs 73 crore.

Particulars ( crore)	FY 2021-22	FY 2020-21
Debtors Turnover	6.37	3.53
Interest Coverage Ratio	0.14	0.10
Current Ratio	1.53	1.01
Debt Equity Ratio	0.48	0.71
Operating Profit Margin	(17.19%)	(6.49%)
Net Profit Margin	(17.61%)	(5.71%)
Return on Net Worth	(116.02%)	(31.05%)

Key Strategies for Growth

Management Outlook

The Company is one of the largest solar EPC players in terms of market share. The Company boasts of being a backward integrated and tech-agnostic EPC player, leveraging economies of scale due to widespread global presence to bring in cost efficiencies. The Company will leverage its strong brand equity, large-scale operations, vast footprint, established history, strong team of in-house engineers, and long-standing relationship with global IPPs, developers, and lenders to build on innovative and technological capabilities in EPC and O&M. It will continue to be its key differentiating factor. With Reliance becoming a partner, the Company plans to regain its status as the number one global EPC over the next 3 years. In addition, the captive business from Reliance will provide the Company a stand which will clearly position it as the global leader.

The Company is focussing on adding a sizeable number of commercially viable projects that present multiple opportunities in different markets. Despite an expanding geographic presence, the Companys key focus will continue to be on India. With majority clients looking at significant capacity additions in the near future, the Company remains buoyant and positive about rapid future growth. Being a well- established EPC player with global exposure, the Company is well positioned to provide value adds, giving it an edge over competition - and enabling it to secure repeat orders.

The Company aims to use its project management skills and strong stakeholder relationships to become a global leader in the energy market of the future. It is working on expanding its renewable energy offerings to include EPC solutions for hybrid energy power plants, energy storage and other renewable energy-based solutions. Considering round-the- clock renewable energy projects with battery storage are the future, the Company intends to increase focus globally towards clean hydrogen mission and on large Solar PV + BESS projects in US, Europe and Australia. It is leveraging the increased focus globally on low-carbon energy consumption and resultant growing demand for green energy solutions.

With the global O&M market projected to reach 34 GW by the end of 2023, the Company endeavours to tap this growth by identifying profitable opportunities in the international markets by way of extensive market research and global customer mapping. To increase the share of third-party O&M projects, the Company plans to leverage its strong partnership with global IPPs to grow both organically and inorganically. It also has proper Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with all OEMs of the equipment installed at sites to avoid / further minimise any downtime. The Company aims to provide enhanced value to customers through O&M differentiators like drone thermography, strong analytics and predictions, underground cable fault finder etc. In-house learning and training is to be provided to upgrade the technical skills of the team.

Risk Management

Corresponding to the nature of business, the Company has devised a comprehensive risk management framework. Both internal and external risk factors are closely monitored using clearly articulated internal processes. The Companys risk management framework encompasses well devised strategies

for judicious mitigation or restriction of probable risk factors. The Risk Management team thoroughly assesses and analyses the risks depending on the geographical footprint, market size, future opportunities and geopolitical risks. Commensurate action is taken to ensure business continuity.

Risk	Business Impact	Mitigating Measures
Industry Risk	Being a part of the EPC industry, the Companys growth is directly dependent on performance of the global solar industry. Any fluctuation in demand of PV installation impacts the earnings of the entire EPC industry.	Indias push to become a leader in the renewable energy space with an ambitious target of achieving 450 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, bodes well for the future growth of the Company. Government support on financial and other incentives over the years has helped India emerge as a global front runner in the clean energy ecosystem. The future looks promising for new solar installations. This coincides with the overall clean energy surge triggered by a combination of a decline in capital cost, technological advancements, competitive tariffs and political commitment toward climate change, making solar the preferred choice for incremental capacity globally.
Supplier Concentration Risk	The solar market dominance by limited Chinese suppliers poses significant risk for the entire industry in case key raw materials supply is delayed or unavailable. Project competition becomes a challenge due to increase in costs.	The Company has a strong connect with most global suppliers, strong vendor selection process, periodic supplier audits and good market monitoring throughout the entire supply chain. This helps minimise supplier risk. Recently, the global landscape for solar industry is changing with plans of some of Indias leading corporates to invest huge sums in the solar industry and increasing Government support. The entire solar value chain will be captured in India, which will enable the company to leverage its strong domestic relationships to become a world leader in the solar EPC industry.
Geopolitical Risks	The Companys earnings are at the risk of any untoward economic, regulatory, social and political developments that directly or indirectly influence the countries in which the country operates in.	An expert team monitors regulatory, environmental, safety, health, labour and other business-related regulations of a market the Company intends to expand into. Careful monitoring of market conditions enables the Company to strategise around any developments in its markets. Geographical concentration risk is minimal for the Company owing to its widespread global footprint.
Competitive Risk	The Company faces risk from an unprecedented rise in competition as the solar industry is witnessing a significant growth in the wake of growing global environmental consciousness and pledges to reduce carbon emissions.	The Company is amongst the few globally bankable EPC players with rich experience, strong brand equity, unique innovative and technologically advanced offerings, end-to-end solutions, competitive pricing and widespread global operations. These attributes enable the Company to maintain a competitive edge.
Operational Risk	The Company faces risk of inability to accurately estimate costs, failure to maintain contractual quality and performance requirements, and delays in project execution. Such operational risks pose significant threat to earnings.	Strong control over each stage of the project lifecycle from designing, procurement, supplier inspection, construction, field quality monitoring to final commissioning with robust internal processes, strong HR policies and risk assessment framework, enables the Company to operate with great efficiency.
Currency Risk	Presence in several countries, exposes the Company to currency translation and transaction risks. Inability to match revenues received in foreign currencies with costs paid in the same currency, exchange rate fluctuations may materially impact the Companys liquidity position.	The Company undertakes adequate hedging in the contract stage itself for major projects to cover itself against any currency risk. Derivative and non-derivative instruments use also enables the Company to minimise impact of fluctuations in foreign currency.
Module Price Hike Risk	Polysilicon is a key input for cell and module manufacturers. The Companys earnings may get severely impacted if polysilicon price increases leading to price of solar modules.	The Companys strong inventory management process and longterm contracts based on variable pricing enables it to minimise risk arising from price hike in module price or any other key raw materials.

Human Resources

Human capital is considered a critical resource the most valued asset. The Companys philosophy of Human Resources is based on the conviction that well-being of the Company and the employees is inter-dependent. The Company is committed to hire the most competent and diverse talent pool and treats every employee with dignity, equality, respect and fairness in a consistent manner. The Company undertakes initiatives to ensure both physical and psychological well-being of all employees. The Company strives to create a safe, engaged, stimulating, enabling and productive work environment and foster a performance-driven work culture.

HR policies identify and focus upon specific areas of role- based skills building led by various up-skilling, re-skilling and cross-skilling training programs. Employee connect and talent retention is given priority through focus on cross-business synergy, individual leadership, synergy and cohesiveness, and building leaders as mentors. The top-down approach adopted encourages leaders to be accountable, committed to personal growth, become a role model for the teams below and foster learning focussed culture. During the pandemic, the Company initiated all possible measures to ensure employee safety and boost morale.

The Company has different programmes to ensure employee satisfaction, appropriate dialogue on professional and personal matters, seminars to provide new insights and perspectives and empower them to rise stronger. Workshops are conducted for behavioural, functional, communication development and leadership training. Such strong HR policies result in unwavering employee loyalty.

During the year, the Company has created taskforces to enhance automation at project sites, mainly by use of robotics, especially for tasks where human interference is risky and complex. The Company has recruited personnel from MNRE trained centres. The Company acknowledges the importance of the manner in which managers at every level and their team members carry out their duties and obligations in line with the strategy.

The 360-Degree Feedback Initiative

In order to develop human resources, it is imperative to provide clear and continuous feedback. A few cultural enablers facilitated the introduction of 360-degree feedback to make the process more robust by adding feedback from various internal and external stakeholders. "The 360-degree is not a solution looking for a problem, but an answer to a key organisational imperative." Training is given to managers to develop their skill/knowledge upgradation, cross functional exposure and self-confidence. Open door culture is encouraged at the organisation. The top management consistently encourages managers to take calculative risk without the fear of being penalised. Managers are encouraged to be self-critical and not project only their achievements. The 360-degree feedback is mainly used as a development tool.

The Company is committed to hire the most competent and diverse talent pool and treats every employee with dignity, equality, respect and fairness in a consistent manner.

Leadership Development Programmes

The Companys philosophy encompasses encouragement of employees with leadership potential to develop their intrinsic leadership strengths. There is a compelling need to develop in-house leaders as they have ingrained the core values of the organisation through years of association. In certain areas, hiring fresh talent may be important to create cross pollination in the organisation. The Company undertakes several skill and development training programmes covering CXO levels to mid and junior levels. These include leadership development initiatives, business sustainability and organisational development initiatives, business unit focussed programmes, communication development certification programme, behavioural and functional workshops and technical training sessions. The Company grooms high potential employees through programs like inspirational leadership, empowered leadership, MDPs, Catalyst, Udaan, Shikhar etc. to enable them to take up bigger roles and responsibilities as part of the succession plan.

The Companys growth is co-dependent on the growth of the employees within the organisation. The commitment, enthusiasm and dedication of employees has helped the Company to become one of the great places to work globally. Fostering a culture of caring and trust is embedded in various corporate policies like the Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) Policy, Whistle-Blower Policy, Ethic Helpline, Meri Aawaz Suno etc. The Company has adopted a non-discrimination policy and is an equal opportunity employer.

As on March 31, 2022, the Company had 1,302 employees belonging to 21 different nationalities, of which 1,067 were on its payroll and 235 on fixed term contracts. 450+ employees belonged to O&M and 155 belonged to the design and engineering team.

Information Technology

The internal control mechanism is carefully prepared in accordance with the size and nature of the business. With an aim to ensure accuracy in financial information recording, safeguarding assets from unauthorised use, optimum use of resources and compliance with statutes and laws, the Company ensures strict compliance to comprehensive procedures, systems, policies and processes.

The Company achieved several milestones during FY 202122 with respect to its IT function. The Company successfully implemented a global harmonised SAP ERP system with integrated processes on latest high performance HANA technology. TheIoT-based real-time solar plant performance monitoring application was enhanced to digitise maintenance workforce with mobile and multilingual capabilities. The IT team also delivered many digital solutions to make key process integrated and online. The Company implemented state-of- the-art Security Operating Centre (SOC) to monitor key digital assets, users and network for detecting and eliminating any suspicious activity. The Company also identified key initiatives to digitise engineering design, project management, supply chain and project scheduling and monitoring processes to improve performance and access to key information.

As on March 31, 2022, the Company had 1,302 employees belonging to 21 different nationalities, of which 1,067 were on its payroll and 235 on fixed term contracts. 450+ employees belonged to O&M and 155 belonged to the design and engineering team.

The Company has successfully implemented several digitisation initiatives such as proprietary computerised remote monitoring of solar plants and maintenance management using latest IoT technology and harnessing power of the cloud, implementing Success Factors HRMS, travel/expense management solutions like Concur, Health and Safety applications among many others, state-of-the- art software applications in forecasting and simulation of Solar Generation as well as Design Tools. The Companys comprehensive Business Continuity Planning policy ensures a robust IT policy is in place to keep employees fully productive even amidst the disruptive work environment caused by the pandemic. Cloud-based infrastructure keeps the entire value- chain updated on the status of all ongoing assignments. With growing importance of technologies such as IoT, AI, and ML in strategy making, the Company ensures adequate investment in digitisation. The Company regularly re-assesses its security policy, processes, and tools to ensure complete and adaptable IT Security amidst cyber-crime risks growing steadily.

Cautionary Statement

In the Management Discussion and Analysis, certain forwardlooking statements describing the Companys objectives, projections, estimates and expectations, which are subject to several risks and uncertainties. These statements are made within the meaning of applicable laws and regulations and are based on informed judgements and estimates. Actual results could materially differ from those in such forwardlooking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, ability to manage growth, changing competitive landscape in both domestic and international markets, ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on contracts, government policies and regulations, interest and other fiscal costs generally prevailing in the economy. The Company does not undertake to make any announcement in case any of these forward-looking statements become materially incorrect in future or update any forwardlooking statements made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company.