The Union government’s sudden dismissal of RP Gupta, chairman and managing director (CMD) of Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), has sent shockwaves through the country’s renewable energy sector, with media reports linking the move to serious procedural lapses involving Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Power Ltd and Reliance NU BESS Ltd.
Mr Gupta, a retired officer from the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) Gujarat cadre, was removed with immediate effect, according to an order issued by the appointments committee of the Cabinet last week. Though the government has not officially disclosed the reason, multiple media reports suggest that Mr Gupta’s removal is connected to SECI’s controversial clearance of Reliance Power’s bid in a major battery energy storage tender — despite the use of fake bank documents.
The tender in question, floated on 26 June 2024, involved the development of a 1,000MW/2,000MWh stand-alone battery energy storage system (BESS) under tariff-based competitive bidding. Reliance Power, through its subsidiary Reliance NU BESS, allegedly submitted forged bank guarantees citing the State Bank of India (SBI) as a guarantor. SBI later denied issuing such guarantees and flagged the email address used by the bidder as fraudulent.
Despite this, SECI initially allowed the company to participate in the bidding process. The tender was only annulled after the forgery came to light and SECI, subsequently, barred Reliance Power and its subsidiary from future bids for three years — an unusually strong action in the typically opaque world of infrastructure contracting.
In a statement, SECI acknowledged that the endorsement of the bank guarantee against earnest money deposit (EMD) (issued by a foreign bank) submitted by the bidder was fake. It added that the parent-subsidiary structure of the bidding entity meant that Reliance Power was equally liable and thus had to be debarred.
Reliance Power, in a regulatory filing, claimed it was the victim of a 'fraud, forgery and cheating conspiracy' and confirmed that a criminal complaint was lodged with the economic offences wing (EOW) of the Delhi police on 16 October 2024.
Mr Gupta, who took charge of SECI in June 2023, was originally due to complete his term next month. His tenure coincided with growing concerns over the agency’s ability to execute its core mandate of renewable energy (RE) deployment. Nearly 40GW of green energy projects tendered by SECI and other renewable energy implementation agencies (REIAs) have reportedly failed to secure buyers, casting doubt on the effectiveness of ongoing auction strategies.
As reported by Sucheta Dalal,
Moneylife's managing editor in her column, the policies of SECI, a Central public sector undertaking (PSU) are at the heart of the criminal proceedings by the US Department of Justice and the civil complaint filed by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). "And yet, SECI has chosen to remain silent—neither initiating an investigation, nor filing a complaint, nor providing any explanation. This raises troubling questions about its role in the controversy, especially after France-based Total Energies has declared that it will not make any new financial contribution to the Adani group."
"The US regulators allege that the Adani group made false declarations, even after they had hatched an elaborate plan to bribe power distribution companies (DISCOMs) to sign power purchase agreements (PPAs) with SECI. Deals between the DISCOMs and SECI were critical to Adani Green’s ambitious plan to set up the largest solar project in the world," she wrote. (Read:
Adani Bribery Scandal: SECI & Power Ministry’s Silence Speaks Volumes)
According to media reports, SECI itself has nearly 12GW of projects without signed power purchase or power sale agreements, prompting criticism of delays and lack of due diligence. Controversies involving sector majors such as JSW Energy, Adani Green Energy and Azure Power have further deepened scrutiny, with allegations of irregularities in earlier SECI tenders resurfacing amid broader corruption investigations abroad.
The central electricity regulatory commission (CERC) also dealt SECI a blow earlier this year by rejecting tariffs in India’s first-ever grid-scale BESS auction, citing project delays and falling storage costs.
A senior official from the Union ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE), speaking to IANS on condition of anonymity, says, “The fake guarantee issue was not just an error — it was a complete failure of the checks and balances that should be routine at SECI. The government could not afford to ignore it, especially when it involves a high-profile player like Reliance Power.”
As the fallout continues, Mr Gupta’s exit underscores the growing demands for institutional accountability in India’s rapidly evolving clean energy sector. With the government eyeing ambitious renewable energy targets, the spotlight is now on SECI to restore credibility and tighten oversight mechanisms, going forward.
I guess this could not be covered up, as is usually done for favorite businessmen, because foreign govts were involved and they could not be silenced.