Page 13 - Banking Finance September 2025

ROUNDUP

housing, industrial sheds, schools, and India now hosts GCCs of German firms dominate the list,
hostels-to proceed with approvals from though Japanese and other APAC firms
State Environment Impact Assessment 174 Fortune 500 compa- have increased presence recently.
Authorities (SEIAA), exempting them nies: Report India's deep talent pool remains a
from requiring central environmental India has become a top global destina- major driver for this expansion.
clearance. tion for Global Capability Centres
This verdict revives thousands of halted (GCCs), with 174 of the Fortune Global SAEL to invest Rs. 8,200
developments across India, following 500 companies establishing GCCs in the crore in solar facility in
an earlier interim stay issued in Febru- country as of June 2025, according to
ary 2025 on a January 29 environment a report by ANSR and UnearthInsight. Greater Noida
ministry notification. The stay was This is a jump from 22% in 2015 to 35% SAEL Industries has announced an in-
prompted by an NGO's plea citing eco- today. vestment of Rs. 8,200 crore to estab-
logical harm due to diluted clearance lish a large-scale integrated solar cell
These companies operate more than
norms. A bench led by Chief Justice and module manufacturing plant in
B R Gavai upheld most of the notifica- 390 centres across India, employing Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
tion but struck down the complete ex- over 950,000 professionals. Bengaluru
emption granted to specific building and Hyderabad are the dominant hubs, The facility, under subsidiary SAEL So-
hosting over 200 centres between lar P6, will operate within the Yamuna
categories.
them. Major global firms like Walmart, Expressway Industrial Development
It clarified that such projects must still Amazon, Boeing, and JP Morgan Chase Authority (YEIDA) region. Chief Minis-
obtain clearance from state bodies. have large operations here. The report ter Yogi Adityanath issued the Letter
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya
notes that Indian GCCs increasingly act of Comfort to SAEL Co-founder Sukhbir
Bhati noted that the Centre lacks ca-
as "second headquarters," with local Singh Awla, with construction sched-
pacity to assess all state projects. This
leadership shaping global strategy. uled to begin this year. The plant will
decision balances environmental over-
sight with the need for smoother infra- Sector-wise, BFSI leads at 21%, fol- comprise a 5 GW solar cell line and a 5
structure development at the state lowed by retail/CPG (14%), healthcare GW module assembly line, increasing
SAEL's total solar manufacturing ca-
level. (12%), and automotive (11%). US and
pacity to 8.5 GW.
Former CBDT chief Nitin Gupta appointed NFRA It will produce high-efficiency TOPCon
solar cells for domestic and export
chair markets. The project aligns with state
Retired Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Nitin Gupta has been appointed and national renewable energy goals,
chairperson of the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) for a three- including Viksit Bharat@2047 and
year term or until he turns 65, whichever comes first. Gupta, a 1986-batch Atmanirbhar Bharat. SAEL currently
officer and former chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), operates 6.7 GW of solar IPP assets and
replaces Ravneet Kaur, the acting head of the audit watchdog. already runs 3.5 GW of module capac-

A civil engineer by training, Gupta has also served as Director General at ity across Rajasthan and Punjab.
the Competition Commission of India. The Appointments Committee of the
Cabinet also named three new full-time members to NFRA: Smita Jhingran UP Excise Dept attracts Rs.
(IRS, retired), P Daniels (Indian Defence Estates Service), and Sushil Kumar
Jaiswal (Indian Audit and Accounts Service). 4,000 crore in fresh invest-
NFRA, established in October 2018, functions as an independent regulator ment proposals
for accounting and auditing standards in India, ensuring transparency and The Uttar Pradesh Excise Department
accountability in financial reporting. Gupta's extensive administrative and has received over Rs. 4,000 crore in
regulatory experience is expected to strengthen the watchdog's enforce- new investment proposals for setting
ment and governance capabilities.
up greenfield and brownfield distiller-

12 | 2025 | SEPTEMBER | BANKING FINANCE