Centre terminates services of CMD of Solar Energy Corporation of India

SECI is the leading Navratna central public sector undertaking, dedicated to the development and expansion of renewable energy capacity in the country.

New Delhi: Former IAS Rameshwar Prasad Gupta has been removed as Chairman and Managing Director of Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI), with the Congress on Monday seeking to link his removal with the US charging billionaire Gautam Adani and his associates with paying bribes to win solar energy contracts.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the termination of the services of Gupta with immediate effect, the Ministry of Personnel said in an order on Saturday. The removal of Gupta, the 1987-batch IAS officer, comes just over a month ahead of completing his term.

No reason has been officially cited for curtailing Gupta's tenure. Gupta, who had been the Environment Secretary earlier, had joined SECI as Chairman and Managing Director on 15 June 2023.

Responding to the government decision, Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh sought to link SECI with charges against Adani and others in the US.

"The SECI was indicted on 20 November 2024, by US authorities in the chargesheet against Gautam Adani and his close associates. It was based on SECI’s recommendation that different states entered into purchase agreements with Adani. Bribes worth Rs 2,029 crore were then reportedly offered and promised to Indian Government officials in exchange for these agreements, which were then finalised," he claimed.

"In an implicit admission of corruption, in December 2024, SECI changed the way it issues power tenders. Now, the CMD of SECI, occupied by a post-retirement bureaucrat appointed by the Modi government, has been sacked just a month before his tenure ends. Meanwhile, the Indian government has yet to respond to repeated requests by the US Securities and Exchange Commission to serve a summons to Adani and the other accused. Despite the attempts at the highest levels, the Modani Mega Scam cannot be covered up," he added.