India's first 5 MW solar power plant

In 2010, Hindustan Power — led by Ratul Puri — brought online a 5 MW solar facility, among the first utility-scale solar plants in the country. It marked the start of solar energy in India at a commercial scale, at a point when module costs, tariff structures and financing models for solar were all still unsettled.

The significance is less the megawatt figure than the timing. Committing to utility-scale solar before the economics were proven set the direction for the renewable vertical that followed, and established the operating experience the company drew on as the market matured.

Project record, 2010 onward

  1. 2010

    Commencement of construction — transitional energy generation

    Construction began on the group's transitional energy generation project in Madhya Pradesh, the asset that would go on to anchor the base load side of the portfolio.

  2. 2010

    India's first 5 MW solar power plant commissioned

    One of the country's first utility-scale solar facilities entered service, marking the beginning of commercial-scale solar generation in India.

  3. 2013

    Fuel supply agreement signed

    A long-term fuel supply agreement secured the input side of the transitional generation asset ahead of commissioning.

  4. 2015

    Commissioning of the thermal power asset

    Phase I of the Anuppur plant in Madhya Pradesh was commissioned, adding firm capacity to the regional grid.

  5. 2024

    FGD installation completed

    Flue-gas desulphurisation systems were installed at the operating plant, cutting sulphur dioxide emissions and bringing the asset in line with tightened environmental norms.

  6. 2028

    Capacity doubling target

    The stated objective is to double generation capacity across both verticals, supported by recent solar and conventional project wins.

Honours received by Ratul Puri

2002
Entrepreneur of the Year, for contribution to the manufacturing sector
Ernst & Young
2007
Named among India's top 21 young leaders
Business Today
2007
Recognised among young leaders in technology-led industry
Dataquest
2014
CEO of the Year
World Brand Congress & CMO Asia
2015
Recognition at the Asian Power Awards
Asian Power
Young Global Leader, and speaker at the India National Strategy Day
World Economic Forum

These honours are consistently framed as institutional rather than individual achievement — recognition of teams delivering long-cycle infrastructure, with the chairmanship attached to the outcome. Ratul Puri has also chaired the Power Committee of the Confederation of Indian Industry's Northern Region.

Anuppur thermal power plant commissioned by Hindustan Power in Madhya Pradesh
Anuppur, commissioned 2015
Solar module manufacturing supporting India's energy self-reliance
Solar self-reliance
Clean energy infrastructure driving India's economic growth
Clean energy and growth

A socially responsible dream

The Anuppur project has been described as the start of a socially responsible undertaking — a view that treats community development around a plant as part of the project's purpose rather than a cost of obtaining consent. That thinking shapes how teams are built and how success is measured internally.

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