Know Your Babu: India’s solar bureaucrat and Himachal IAS Tarun Kapoor

DURING RE-Invest 2015, the first renewable energy global investors meet, held recently in New Delhi, a joint secretary-ranked officer Varsha Joshi tweeted about her fellow JS, Tarun Kapoor, like this: “The man who has been driving solar in India- Joint Secy Tarun Kapoor- in a session on solar rooftops #ReInvest2015”. Kapoor, a 1987 batch IAS officer belonging to Himachal Pradesh cadre, has been serving in…
power sector, both in state and the Centre, since 2001 (expect between 2006 and 2008 when he was the deputy commissioner of Shimla), helping him to understand the energy sector like an insider does. As joint secretary in the ministry of new and renewable energy since May 2011, Kapoor has been deeply involved in policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and capacity building of solar energy, thereby making him an in-house expert on the subject that has received a bigger push after the new NDA government came to power in May last year.
An electrical engineer before joining as IAS, Kapoor has an MBA degree too. He hails from Himachal Pradesh, and after getting the home cadre, he served in the state in various capacities: deputy commissioner of Chamba district and director in state’s home and Panchayati Raj departments. Between 2001 and 2006, he was with the power sector PSU, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd as its director (personnel). He was also the managing director of the Power Transmission Corporation Ltd, Himachal Pradesh between 2009 and 2011. He also served as director in energy department in Himachal Pradesh government.
In May 2011, he came to the Centre on deputation and joined the ministry of new and renewable energy. With the government making an ambitious target of 200 GW of solar energy making the nation a front-runner in global solar energy power hubs, it is Kapoor’s behind-the-scene work that could come handy at this juncture.