B&E: What do you think are the biggest problems plaguing the power sector in India?
Sunil Khanna (SK): The power sector in India is not growing at a pace that can bridge the gap between demand and supply. Though the government opened up the sector to private players they have not been able to meet the commitments they made. Expectations have not been met and as a result the gap between demand and supply continues. As we are into the UPS business of providing reliable power we feel that not enough is being done by the government to ensure better quality of products. Certain tough guidelines and regulations have come in but we are still far away from what we need to achieve.
B&E: Given the awry demand-supply situation in the power sector, what is the role that company like yours play to bridge this gap?
SK: We are not into power generation, we are into power backup. We are more into providing availability of clean power and that is what our business is.
B&E: What specific services and solutions does your company offer to the power market in India?
SK: As power efficiency is becoming more and more critical, Emerson offers product solutions that are in line with the global standards. We are into the UPS business and offer the most energy efficient solutions for the power industry. We provide complete monitoring solutions for the data centers that can help a customer to optimally utilise the resources
B&E: Given the tepid economic environment and the problems of the power industry, what are the opportunities for growth for a power back-up player like Emerson?
SK: The opportunities are huge in spite of the slowdown. The increasing pace of digitalisation, which is spurring people to use more and more digital devices in the form of mobiles and computers, offers great opportunities for companies like Emerson to provide power backup solutions. As the IT component in offices and organisations continue to grow, opportunities for players like Emerson will keep increasing.
B&E: You mentioned earlier that the UPS business in India faces quality issues. What other challenges do players like Emerson are up against?
Manufacturing electronics items in India is no longer economically viable as it is cheaper to import compared to manufacturing locally. When you manufacture locally you end up paying more duty as compared to the imported product. As of today the electronics import bill for the government is close to 90 billion dollars. The way the electronics industry is growing in India it seems enough attention is not being paid to set up component manufacturers in India.
B&E: Do you think that our policies are to be blamed for the problems faced by the power sector?
SK: I think the policies have been well designed and laid out. But in a democracy the government’s hands are often tied in dealing with issues as per the guidelines laid out. The government came up with a policy to open up the sector to private players but some of them started taking advantage of that. Though coal blocks were allocated to private players some of them did not utilise the blocks for the purpose for which they were allocated. So any policy you make one can find ways and means to manipulate it. So the focus has to be more on the right implementation of policy. It’s about the decision making power and how fast the authorities can take decisions.
