R.V. Shahi

R.V. Shahi Speaker Biography

Authority on Electrical Energy and Former Ministry of Power for India’s Government 

Mr. Shahi held the position of Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Power for nearly five years from April 2002 to January 2007. In this position, he was responsible for policy initiatives and implementation for the entire Power Sector (1,68,000 MW capacity) in India. During his tenure, the Indian Power Sector went through a major restructuring with the institution of the Electricity Act, 2003 and subsequent National Electricity Policy, 2005 and National Tariff Policy, 2006. Other major initiatives launched include the Accelerated Power Development & Reform Programme (2002), Rural Electrification Policy (2005), Ultra Mega Power Policy (2006) and Merchant Power Policy (2006).
Mr. Shahi was directly responsible for the long-term planning and operational performance of the Central Public Sector Undertakings viz. National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd, Tehri Hydro Development Corporation, Power Finance Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation, Bhakra Beas Management Board and Damodar Valley Corporation. He was also President of the Governing Council of Central Power Research Institute, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Bureau of Energy Efficiency and Chairman of the Governing Council of National Power Training Institute having 5 large Training Institutes in various parts of the country.

Education and Academia

Mr. Shahi’s academic qualifications include Graduation (Mechanical Engineering), Post Graduation (Industrial Engineering), Post Graduation (Business Management) and Diploma in Advanced Industrial Management (Delft, Holland). He is a Fellow of the World Academy of Productivity Sciences. He is a Fellow of Institution of Engineers (India), a Fellow of International Institute of Electrical Engineers, and a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering.

Previous Experience

Prior to his appointment as Secretary, Mr. Shahi was Chairman and Managing Director of BSES Ltd from 1994 to 2002. Earlier, for over 16 years, he was with National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) holding various positions between 1978 and 1994. These included General Manager in charge of Dadri Power Project; Executive Director in charge of Southern Region of NTPC, and finally Member on the Board of Directors of NTPC in-charge of Operations, R&D and Commercial functions. Prior to this, Mr. Shahi worked for over 10 years with Hindustan Steel Ltd / Steel Authority of India.

Board Affiliations

He was Chairman or Member on Boards of various companies, as also in the Audit Committees of the Boards, during different periods (1991 – 2002), including member on the Board and Audit Committee of Power Grid Corporation of India. He was Chairman of World Energy Council- Indian Member Committee (WEC-IMC) during April, 2002 to January, 2007. Member (2003 – 2006) on the Policy Group of Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF), a US led global initiative; Member (2005 – 2006) on the Govt. Steering Committee for the US led global initiative on Zero Emission Future Generation Project. He has been closely associated with industry bodies such as Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industries (FICCI), Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) as Member or Chairman of various Committees. He was also a member on more than sixteen Committees and Organizations covering diverse topics related to Energy, Environment, Human Resource Development and Education. In 2006, he was made Chairman of the Government of India’s Working Group on Power for Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12). He is on the Boards of Governors of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow, Management Development Institute(MDI) Gurgaon, and Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneshwar.