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Rewiring Wind With Tech
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Good Morning. Imagine your MBA thesis sparking an idea that then turns into a successful renewable energy company. That’s what happened with Girish Tanti, who co-founded Suzlon Energy. What started out as an idea for an MBA thesis is now a company worth crores. Three decades later, Tanti is also making use of data and technology to optimise at every stage — from design to maintenance.
In other news, the US has said that it held a 2+2 intersessional dialogue with India on Monday. This news came close on the heels of a draft notice from the US Department of Homeland Security that showed the US is pushing ahead with its plan to levy 50% tariffs on India. The notice cited India’s buying of Russian crude for the imposition of tariffs. This is set to affect several Indian exporters of shrimp, textiles and gems, among others. Meanwhile, in this week’s Build on Blockchain, why blockchain tech needs to be tweaked according to India’s needs.
CORE CONVERSATIONS
How Suzlon Is Using Data, Tech To Max Out Every Watt Of Wind Energy
Suzlon Energy, one of India’s renewable energy companies, now stands at a valuation of Rs 78,236 crore. But its beginnings were more humble, and it originally started out as an idea for an MBA thesis.
“My thesis was to set up a wind energy company in India. And that's how the dialogue started. I did research. We looked at several countries at the time,” said Girish Tanti, one of the founders and vice chairman, about the company’s beginnings.
Tanti never finished his thesis or the MBA, as the idea took the form of Suzlon Energy, set up in Gujarat as a wind energy company in 1995. Today, it is one of the leading names in the renewable energy sector in India and is present in other countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas.
“We found out that renewables were really fitting perfectly for India. As a country which required low-cost energy, a huge population, and low resources in general, compared to the population we have. And when we did our assessment, we found out that God had blessed us both with excellent wind resources and also solar energy,” Tanti said.
Changing Scenarios
India still continues to depend on coal power for much of its energy, though it is already on the path to meet its renewable energy goals. However, even now in times of demand surges, it is the traditional thermal power plants that have the actual capacity to meet the demand.
For a renewable energy company, Suzlon has faced several challenges in the past, including debt defaults and acquisitions that did not go well.
But fundamental changes on the demand side in the last decade have turned things around for the company.
“Today the Indian government does a wholesale procurement of renewable energy. And then they kind of sell it back to the states. So they aggregated the demand from all the states, and they are running bids, as we are calling it,” Tanti said.
Aside from the government, India’s biggest tech and information technology companies are Suzlon’s clients as they have net-zero targets to meet. India’s PSU companies are also part of the client list.
“So now we have three engines firing in a big way. From a demand point of view. And I think with the current level of demand that we see, achieving that 500 gigawatts, you know, by 2030, is something from a demand point of view, we are well within the reach of that,” Tanti said.
Tech-First Mindset
Technology has been a crucial part of Suzlon’s growth, with what Tanti described as being “built into the design” in the last decade.
“The interesting part for wind energy is that it is, although it is a very complex piece of engineering which involves almost all faculties of engineering, be it aerodynamics, be it mechanical, electrical, electronics, everything is there. But the beautiful part is that almost since the beginning, we have been doing it with a tech-first mindset,” said Tanti
Tanti also spoke about how Suzlon has adopted digitalisation using data science, IoT, robotics, and drones to optimise design, manufacturing, and manage wind assets efficiently.
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BUILD ON BLOCKCHAIN
Global Blockchain, Local Battles: Why India Needs Shield With Local Touch
What?
When news broke in July this year that hackers had stolen $44 million (around Rs 378 crore) from CoinDCX, one of India’s biggest crypto exchanges, it set off alarm bells.
Even though customer funds were safe in cold wallets and the company promised to cover the loss from its reserves, the incident was unsettling.
A logical question on everyone’s mind was: how can an exchange using blockchain be hacked?
The hackers targeted an operational wallet used by the exchange to provide liquidity necessary to ensure users can transact smoothly.
At this stage, it’s important to clear up a misunderstanding: the blockchain itself wasn’t hacked in this case; the attackers actually went after the backend that links the CoinDCX platform to the blockchain.
In other words, the burglars couldn’t get to the vault, but they managed to slip into the room where it was kept.
How?
How they managed to access it is not known yet. But the best guess is that they exploited some vulnerabilities in the backend.
In the case of CoinDCX, the money was swiftly laundered and is now untraceable.
There were many such cases in Asia this year. In fact, in the first half of 2025 alone, crypto scams and hacks across the continent cost investors more than $1.5 billion.
Experts believe that it can be curbed by local solutions as in Asia, the methods to steal are different because the way money moves here is somewhat different.
What does this mean?
CORE NUMBER
Rs 70,000 crore
This is how much Japanese automobile company Suzuki plans to invest in India over the next five to six years, president Toshihiro Suzuki announced on August 25. The investment will focus on electric, hybrid, ethanol-flex fuel, and biogas vehicles to support India’s green mobility push. Suzuki holds about 56.2% of equity in Maruti Suzuki.
Why It Matters: The Gujarat plant will become a global hub, producing 1 million units annually and exporting battery EVs to over 100 countries, including Europe and Japan.
What’s Next: Maruti Suzuki has launched the e-Vitara, India’s first battery electric vehicle (BEV) on August 26, and started local lithium-ion cell production, boosting Atmanirbhar Bharat and its carbon neutrality goals.
FROM THE PERIPHERY
Can India Offset the US Blow?
The US Department of State said that India and the US held a 2+2 intersessional dialogue on Monday. “Through this dialogue, officials advanced bilateral initiatives, discussed regional security developments, and exchanged perspectives on a number of shared strategic priorities,” the press release read, without making mention of the ongoing tariff battle.
Meanwhile, as per the draft notice from the US Department of Homeland Security the 50% tariff on most Indian goods will be effective starting 12:01 am EDT (9:31 am IST) on August 27, doubling existing duties and threatening to upend India’s $86.5 billion exports to its largest market. This comes as India is in the eye of the storm from crude purchases in the US. Nearly $60 billion of shipments— textiles, food, leather and engineering goods—will be hit, with exporters warning of a 70% plunge in affected sectors and overall US-bound exports falling 43%, The Economic Times reported.
Flashpoint: While New Delhi is promising GST tweaks by Diwali, financial aid and diversification to 50 new markets, exporters call the move devastating. According to Reuters, “US customers have already stopped new orders,” said Pankaj Chadha of the Engineering Exports Promotion Council.
How We Got Here? The White House cites India’s oil trade with Russia as the trigger, but analysts say the impact may be overblown — India’s core pharma, electronics, and petroleum exports remain duty-free. Still, with competitors like Vietnam and Bangladesh poised to gain, the pressure is unmistakable.
Sectors To Be Impacted? Textiles and apparel, which send $10.3 billion annually to the US, face a steep 30–31% cost disadvantage versus competitors like Bangladesh and Vietnam, making Indian goods uncompetitive overnight. Gems and jewellery, a $10-billion US export, could see up to 200,000 jobs vanish in hubs like Surat as orders dry up. Seafood, particularly shrimp, risks losing nearly Rs 24,000 crore ($2.9 billion) in annual exports—with exporters already paying a combined 35% in existing duties and penalties, Pawan Kumar, the president of the Seafood Exporters Association, told The Core. Leather and footwear—already a marginal player in the US—could be priced out entirely, with production hubs like Kolkata bracing for shutdowns.
What The Experts Say? In conversation with The Core Report, industry leaders warned last week that there was no quick fix: subsidies won’t bridge the gap, new markets take years to build, and US buyers are already switching to rivals. The tariffs, they say, could trigger long-term structural damage rather than a temporary setback.
SC Forms Panel to Investigate Vantara
India’s Supreme Court has ordered an investigation into Vantara, a wildlife rescue park in Western Gujarat that Anant Ambani, son of Reliance Industries’ chairman Mukesh Ambani, runs. This order follows a chain of public interest litigations by NGOs and wildlife groups; they say that Vantara acquires animals unlawfully and mistreats them.
Overview: The Court has formed a panel that a former Supreme Court judge will lead. The panel will examine complaints about Anant Ambani creating a private collection and check for whether Vantara complies with India’s Wildlife Protection Act.
Flashpoint: Vantara’s statement says that they request that people avoid “speculation” as that is in the “ best interest of the animals we serve.”
ONGC Eyes Trading Arm
India’s state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) plans to set up a trading unit to manage crude oil and refined fuel sales for its group companies, ONGC Videsh managing director Rajarshi Gupta said at an industry event, Reuters reported. The move comes as India’s crude landscape shifts—imports remain near record highs amid discounted Russian oil purchases, while domestic output stagnates.
Context: ONGC Videsh, ONGC’s overseas arm, produces around 10 million tonnes of oil annually. The proposal, still at an early stage, involves an internal group examining operational and legal frameworks.
Fast Facts: ONGC itself produces about 42 million tonnes of oil yearly, while its refining arms, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, import 45–50 million tonnes, giving the group control over roughly 100 million tonnes.
McDonald’s Jumps On India’s Protein Craze
McDonald’s new vegetarian protein slice worth Rs 25 is selling like hotcakes. In fact, McDonald’s sold 32,000 units in just 24 hours of its July launch in South India.
Setting: India is a protein-deficient country; 73-80% of adults lack the macronutrient, according to studies. McDonald’s is among a host of companies pushing for protein-enhanced foods: dairy giant Amul is infusing whey into buttermilk and ice cream. Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh’s startup SuperYou has sold 10 million protein wafers since November.
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