Centre Terminates SECI Chief

New Delhi: The Central government’s abrupt termination of RP Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), stems from serious irregularities involving Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Power, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Gupta, a retired IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre, was removed from his position with immediate effect, as per an official order. While the government has not publicly cited any reason for the decision, sources within the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) revealed that the dismissal follows allegations of procedural lapses under Gupta’s leadership — specifically, the clearance of Reliance Power’s participation in a major tender using forged documents.

Last October, reports surfaced that Reliance Power submitted bank guarantees citing the State Bank of India (SBI) as a guarantor in a SECI tender. However, SBI later denied issuing such guarantees and flagged the email ID used by Reliance Power as fake.