Mukesh Agrawal
Managing Director
A technologist from the core, in the last few year s Mukesh has developed unparalleled technical expertise to help his customers generate more solar power from same investments in turn providing better ROI.
Mukesh Agrawal engages in a one-on-one interaction with the CEO Insights Magazine.
Tell us about your professional back ground and experiences. What factors influenced you to take up the leadership role within the Gautam Solar Group?
With academic background of Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering and MBA and having spent the key initial years of my career in the IT industry, leading middle and senior management roles in execution and business
development, I found it appropriate to utilize my skills and experience to enter solar business and follow the family legacy. Great institutions like IIT Delhi and IIM Bangalore helped me tremendously in honing my overall knowledge and personality. Having successfully led large corporate clients’ relationships and having solved multiple unsolvable technology problems, I was confident of playing a pivotal role in our solar business. Though, the industry has become overcrowded by now and will continue to attract more and more entrepreneurs in the coming future, as I can foresee, I aim to utilize all my skills and experiences in a way that I can continue to out perform in the solar industry.
Could you talk about the learnings and experiences you acquired from IIT Delhi and how you apply them in your current role?
Studying at IIT Delhi and IIM Bangalore and getting tutored by some of India’s best professors has brought a key transformation in me. It revolves around a saying “difference between ordinary and extra ordinary is only that little extra”. Problem-solving is the key to success in any field, and I do the same in my business all seven days a week and 365 days a year.
How would you define Solid Solar as an organization and its position in the market?
We provide the highest quality at the best price. Solid Solar implements solar power plant projects on a turnkey basis, which acts as a decentralized source of energy helping the country in significant reduction in T&D Energy losses. India needs solutions that are designed in accordance with its government policies and geographic, economic, and social conditions. In today’s times, renewable energy is not only "good to have" but has become an imperative for energy independence from fossil fuels. We design and develop solar projects and services which are suitable for Indian conditions and can be easily serviced.
What are some unforgettable challenges you have experienced in your professional journey so far?
Smart work and hard work go hand in hand to achieve success
Could you talk about the learnings and experiences you acquired from IIT Delhi and how you apply them in your current role?
Studying at IIT Delhi and IIM Bangalore and getting tutored by some of India’s best professors has brought a key transformation in me. It revolves around a saying “difference between ordinary and extra ordinary is only that little extra”. Problem-solving is the key to success in any field, and I do the same in my business all seven days a week and 365 days a year.
How would you define Solid Solar as an organization and its position in the market?
We provide the highest quality at the best price. Solid Solar implements solar power plant projects on a turnkey basis, which acts as a decentralized source of energy helping the country in significant reduction in T&D Energy losses. India needs solutions that are designed in accordance with its government policies and geographic, economic, and social conditions. In today’s times, renewable energy is not only "good to have" but has become an imperative for energy independence from fossil fuels. We design and develop solar projects and services which are suitable for Indian conditions and can be easily serviced.
What are some unforgettable challenges you have experienced in your professional journey so far?
How did you overcome them, and what did you learn from them?
Challenges arise every day, but keeping a positive outlook while dealing with them is important. Professionally, setting up my first ground mounted solar power plant on a hilly terrain and solving numerous technology and logistical challenges attached to it, is something that I would continue to cherish for a long time. Recovering from the after effects of Covid was a challenge faced by every business; getting back on our feet and resuming operations was not easy.
Going forward, what are the goals that you wish to invest in, and how do you plan to take them further?
We have already completed a few hundred solar plants, and every project we do brings new challenges. We are one of the first company in India that has harnessed key technology concepts in difficult and rugged terrains such as a hill. Installing large utility- scale solar plant on a mountain hill has never been easy for anyone. Using some of the key technology concepts combined with challenges posed by the terrain has been an eye opener. Going forward, we plan to use all our past experiences and our non-tiring approach in building much larger solar capacities including solar rooftops as well as solar farms on Ground/Hills or even on Water surfaces to contribute towards achieving India’s 2030 Solar target of 280 GW.
Mukesh Agrawal, MD, Solid Solar
An alumnus of the prestigious IIT Delhi, Mukesh Agrawal later on did his MBA from IIM Bangalore. An IT professional turned entrepreneur, Mukesh has worked in middle and senior management roles with some of India’s top IT companies, such as Infosys, Cognizant, and Syntel. Foreseeing the exponential increase in renewable energy demand, Mukesh returned to India to join hands
•Hobbies: Mukesh likes to do karaoke on old Hindi songs. He also plays the mouth organ
•Favorite Cuisine: Street food of Varanasi like Banaras ki Thandai, Ramnagar ki Lassi, Kashi ki Tamatar chaat
•Favorite Travel Destination: Lake George a small village in New York State
Awards & Recognition: Gold Medalist at IIT Delhi, Director’s merit Scholar at IIM Bangalore and others
Challenges arise every day, but keeping a positive outlook while dealing with them is important. Professionally, setting up my first ground mounted solar power plant on a hilly terrain and solving numerous technology and logistical challenges attached to it, is something that I would continue to cherish for a long time. Recovering from the after effects of Covid was a challenge faced by every business; getting back on our feet and resuming operations was not easy.
Going forward, what are the goals that you wish to invest in, and how do you plan to take them further?
We have already completed a few hundred solar plants, and every project we do brings new challenges. We are one of the first company in India that has harnessed key technology concepts in difficult and rugged terrains such as a hill. Installing large utility- scale solar plant on a mountain hill has never been easy for anyone. Using some of the key technology concepts combined with challenges posed by the terrain has been an eye opener. Going forward, we plan to use all our past experiences and our non-tiring approach in building much larger solar capacities including solar rooftops as well as solar farms on Ground/Hills or even on Water surfaces to contribute towards achieving India’s 2030 Solar target of 280 GW.
Mukesh Agrawal, MD, Solid Solar
An alumnus of the prestigious IIT Delhi, Mukesh Agrawal later on did his MBA from IIM Bangalore. An IT professional turned entrepreneur, Mukesh has worked in middle and senior management roles with some of India’s top IT companies, such as Infosys, Cognizant, and Syntel. Foreseeing the exponential increase in renewable energy demand, Mukesh returned to India to join hands
•Hobbies: Mukesh likes to do karaoke on old Hindi songs. He also plays the mouth organ
•Favorite Cuisine: Street food of Varanasi like Banaras ki Thandai, Ramnagar ki Lassi, Kashi ki Tamatar chaat
•Favorite Travel Destination: Lake George a small village in New York State
Awards & Recognition: Gold Medalist at IIT Delhi, Director’s merit Scholar at IIM Bangalore and others