New SECI MD Akash Tripathi Set To Drive India’s Ambitious Renewables Push

In the order, the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) said, “The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Akash Tripathi, IAS (MP:98), Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power as Managing Director, Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd., Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary to the Government of India, by temporarily upgrading the post to Additional Secretary level.” 

Notably, before his current assignment, Tripathi has held various important positions like MD and CEO of Digital India Corporation (DIC), CEO of India Semiconductor Mission, and CEO of MyGov.in.

Acclaimed as a tech-savvy bureaucrat with wide administrative experience, Tripathi brings a blend of technology-driven governance experience and sectoral knowledge, which will provide SECI the required leadership to take the renewable energy sector to newer heights.

Tripathi also played key roles in Madhya Pradesh, where he brought major positive changes in the fields of e-governance, energy reforms, IT-driven citizen services, and rural development. 

In addition to his current responsibility in the Ministry of Power, Tripathi will take charge as SECI MD from MNRE Secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi (IAS), who has been holding additional charge of the post since R P Gupta exited from the post.

SECI is a PSU under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. It plays a leading role in the implementation of India’s renewable energy projects, especially solar and wind. It has been instrumental in driving India’s renewable capacity addition through competitive bidding, project development, and investment facilitation.

With India having set a target of 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, the SECI is expected to play a big role in this. The appointment of Tripathi, with his experience in power, renewables, and digital governance, is expected to give a further push to SECI’s mandate in project execution and sectoral reforms, a senior official in the MNRE said.

According to the official, as SECI MD, Tripathi would give leadership to the government’s ambitious plans, including the expansion of solar parks and hybrid renewable projects, acceleration of green hydrogen and battery storage initiatives, scaling up public-private partnerships in renewables, and strategic coordination with states and private investors to meet renewable energy transition goals.