Manohar Balwani
Chief Compliance Officer
Starting his professional career immediately after acquiring his bachelor’s degree in commerce, Manohar went ahead to complete his post-graduation along with cost accountancy from ICMAI (formerly ICWAI) simultaneously as well as his Company Secretaryship from ICSI,. After having worked from 1983 to 1999 at various positions in finance divisions of various govt organization/ companies, he got an opportunity in 1999 to reorient his professional career and became Company Secretary of a leading CPSE namely MMTC Limited. Since then, he has taken many forward steps in his career to reach the level of Chief General Manager and Company Secretary of a Maharatna CPSE namely Power Finance Corporation Limited.
"Today is the beginning of whatever you want"
Manohar Balwani engages in an exclusive interaction with CEO Insights.
Define Power Finance Corporation as an organization and its current position in the industry?
Power Finance Corporation(PFC), is a ‘Maharatna’CPSE under the administrative control Ministry of Power, Govt. of India. A leading financial institution in India, PFC is focused on the power sector, meanwhile playing a strategic role in the GoI’s initiatives for the development of the power sector in India.It is registered with the RBI as a non-deposit taking systemically important NBFC and is classified as an Infrastructure Finance Company since July 2010. It works closely with Govt. of India, State Governments and various power sector utilities, as well as with other power sector intermediaries and private sector clients for the
development and implementation of policies and structural and procedural reforms for the power sector in India.
In addition, PFC is involved in various Govt. of India programs for the power sector, including acting as the nodal agency for the UMPP program and the IPDS/R-APDRP/RDSS. It is also positioned as a bid process coordinator through its wholly-owned subsidiary PFC Consulting Limited for the ITP scheme. With the largest Balance Sheet among all CPSEs, PFC has been ranked 365 in the world in terms of assets as per Forbes Global - 2021 and 29 in Fortune 500 India - 2021. PFC together with its subsidiaries including REC (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited) has loan assets of Rs.7,60,409 crores as of 31.12.2021 and a total Comprehensive Income for FY 2020-21 aggregating to Rs.16,264 crores.
Could you tell us about the unique services that are provided by Power Finance Corporation that make it stand out from the rest in the market?
An ISO 9001:2015 certified, PFC is a lean and professionally managed NBFC. Holding the repute of being a dominant player in the power finance market with around 20 percent market share, PFC is focused on the power sector along with an edge over our competitors and plays a key position in various government plans and initiatives.
PFC has well-established relationships with the GoI and state governments, regulatory authorities, major powersector organizations, central and state power utilities, and private sector power project developers. It has strategically expanded its focus areas to projects that represent forward and backward linkages to the core power sector projects, including procurement of capital equipment for the power sector, fuel sources for power generation projects and related infrastructure development.
PFC provides a comprehensive range of financial products and related advisory as well as other services from project conceptualization to the post commissioning stage for its clients in the power sector. Along with that,
PFC is involved in various Govt. of India programs for the power sector, including acting as the nodal agency for the UMPP program and the IPDS/R-APDRP/ RDSS
In addition, PFC is involved in various Govt. of India programs for the power sector, including acting as the nodal agency for the UMPP program and the IPDS/R-APDRP/RDSS. It is also positioned as a bid process coordinator through its wholly-owned subsidiary PFC Consulting Limited for the ITP scheme. With the largest Balance Sheet among all CPSEs, PFC has been ranked 365 in the world in terms of assets as per Forbes Global - 2021 and 29 in Fortune 500 India - 2021. PFC together with its subsidiaries including REC (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited) has loan assets of Rs.7,60,409 crores as of 31.12.2021 and a total Comprehensive Income for FY 2020-21 aggregating to Rs.16,264 crores.
Could you tell us about the unique services that are provided by Power Finance Corporation that make it stand out from the rest in the market?
An ISO 9001:2015 certified, PFC is a lean and professionally managed NBFC. Holding the repute of being a dominant player in the power finance market with around 20 percent market share, PFC is focused on the power sector along with an edge over our competitors and plays a key position in various government plans and initiatives.
PFC has well-established relationships with the GoI and state governments, regulatory authorities, major powersector organizations, central and state power utilities, and private sector power project developers. It has strategically expanded its focus areas to projects that represent forward and backward linkages to the core power sector projects, including procurement of capital equipment for the power sector, fuel sources for power generation projects and related infrastructure development.
PFC provides a comprehensive range of financial products and related advisory as well as other services from project conceptualization to the post commissioning stage for its clients in the power sector. Along with that,
PFC is well indulged in generation (conventional and renewable),transmission, and distribution projects as well as other related renovation and modernization projects.
PFC also provides various fund-based financial assistance, including long-term project finance, shortterm loans, buyer’s line of credit, underwriting of debt and debt refinancing schemes as well as nonfund-based assistance including default payment guarantees, credit enhancement guarantees and letters of comfort. It also provides various fee based technical advisory and consultancy services for power sector projects.
PFC’s primary sources of funds include equity capital, internal resources and domestic and foreign borrowing. It currently enjoys the highest credit ratings of ‘CRISIL AAA/ Stable’, ‘[ICRA] AAA(Stable)’ and ‘CARE AAA/Stable’ for its long-term borrowing program and ‘CRISIL A1+’, ‘[ICRA] A1+’ and ‘CARE A1+’ for its short-term borrowing program for Fiscal 2021-22 from CRISIL, ICRA and CARE respectively.
What has been the success mantra that constantly helps you arrive at positive outcomes?
While earning profits is the driving force for running any business, it is equally important to ensure that the higher management is aware and takes cognizance of the fact that the environment surrounding the business is taken care of in letter and spirit. Though I have been fascinated with my role in the organization, striking a balance between the organization’s goals within the framework of regulatory compliances as well as good governance practices has been my success mantra.
Being the CCO, how do you plan to apply your exceptional understanding of this domain to Power Finance Corporation and take it to the next level?
I always look forward to applying my exceptional understanding of this domain to take Power Finance Corporation to the next level. Looking at the changing and volatile business environment, we are focusing a lot on corporate Governance and compliance. PFC has been growing at an exponential pace which together with its characteristics of an NBFC has to comply with enhanced regulatory oversight. While we have automated many of the procedures, we would like to incorporate artificial intelligence into our operations. While I am assisted by a team of qualified Company Secretaries, it is my moral responsibility to ensure good succession planning and prepare them to take my position when I superannuate.
PFC also provides various fund-based financial assistance, including long-term project finance, shortterm loans, buyer’s line of credit, underwriting of debt and debt refinancing schemes as well as nonfund-based assistance including default payment guarantees, credit enhancement guarantees and letters of comfort. It also provides various fee based technical advisory and consultancy services for power sector projects.
PFC’s primary sources of funds include equity capital, internal resources and domestic and foreign borrowing. It currently enjoys the highest credit ratings of ‘CRISIL AAA/ Stable’, ‘[ICRA] AAA(Stable)’ and ‘CARE AAA/Stable’ for its long-term borrowing program and ‘CRISIL A1+’, ‘[ICRA] A1+’ and ‘CARE A1+’ for its short-term borrowing program for Fiscal 2021-22 from CRISIL, ICRA and CARE respectively.
What has been the success mantra that constantly helps you arrive at positive outcomes?
While earning profits is the driving force for running any business, it is equally important to ensure that the higher management is aware and takes cognizance of the fact that the environment surrounding the business is taken care of in letter and spirit. Though I have been fascinated with my role in the organization, striking a balance between the organization’s goals within the framework of regulatory compliances as well as good governance practices has been my success mantra.
Being the CCO, how do you plan to apply your exceptional understanding of this domain to Power Finance Corporation and take it to the next level?
I always look forward to applying my exceptional understanding of this domain to take Power Finance Corporation to the next level. Looking at the changing and volatile business environment, we are focusing a lot on corporate Governance and compliance. PFC has been growing at an exponential pace which together with its characteristics of an NBFC has to comply with enhanced regulatory oversight. While we have automated many of the procedures, we would like to incorporate artificial intelligence into our operations. While I am assisted by a team of qualified Company Secretaries, it is my moral responsibility to ensure good succession planning and prepare them to take my position when I superannuate.