By Shalin Shah, General Manager, Finance
I am Shalin Shah working with Adani Group as General Manager, Finance. My journey here began 10 years ago when I started working for Power Projects. As one would expect such massive infrastructure projects need to be powered by large capex.
So while, there were engineers, technicians and hundreds of foot soldiers from the Adani Group putting their thoughts to generate power for the nation, I was part of the finance team who has to facilitate continuous supply of funds to the project till the time this dream get converted into reality.
We began with the 4620 MW power plant at Mundra. Many say that Finance is a back-end job and rightly so. But the responsibility to fire up a project and keep it running depends on steady flow of active capital. And, that’s where we come into the picture. Typically such billion-dollar projects work on 70:30 debt-equity ratio. As a result you have to engage with a consortium of banks. We need to provide project details to lenders, update on progress of the project, comply with various terms stipulated by banks and get the disbursement of funds from bank which will fuel the implementation of project. Sometimes you have to race against time to ensure that the Adani Group’s larger commitment to light up lives through power generation is not compromised.
So the finance department is the bridge between conception of the project and its execution. Our job is to arrange funds to the project on time to make sure that project achieves its Commercial Operation Date as per schedule set up by the Management
These projects which are contributing to the nation in an unprecedented manner are a part of our chairman's vision of Growth with Goodness.
So when we look back at our journey of facilitating finance for such large size infrastructure projects whether it’s a power project, renewables, mining or rail projects, we are indirectly serving a larger cause. We are creating livelihood, improving quality of life and contributing towards the economic growth of the nation.
This is the most unique feeling about working in Adani. It gives you an opportunity to serve the motherland and your fellow Indians