Que: Kindly tell Energetica India readers in brief about yourself, your educational background, and how has been your journey so far as a woman?

Ans: I belong to a family of engineers and PhDs so going by that I was blessed with a 360 education and it includes BE, MBA, LLM, Ph.D. Life started early so most of the education was with part-time work alongside. As a Woman, I did have my shares of ups and downs but I feel my journey has been very creative, satisfying, and beautiful. It could not have been better than this. It has given me a lot.

Que: What is the most important lesson you have learned with your experience as an entrepreneur?

Ans: As an entrepreneur, the most important lesson I learned is resilience, creativity, adaptability. If you have these, ninety percent of the issues are resolved. You have to be persistently creative and adaptive to the new challenges that life throws at you every day. Some days there are small challenges some days are really big but if you have adaptability creativity and resilience everything can be dealt with.

Que: In your view, how more women’s participation can be achieved in contributing towards a sustainable future?

Ans: Women are at the foundation of Sustainability, it has been a part of our culture just needs to be practiced a bit more loudly. We have been learning this from our grandmothers and mothers, to upcycle, recycle, reuse has products that are of local produce, but somehow globalization just overshadowed it a bit and has deeply impacted mankind, climate, and fauna. The covid impact has made our progress back to our roots and women will lead this to make this world a more sustainable resilient and happy place to live.

Que: What do you want to say to other women on joining the green energy industry wrt scope? What skill sets do they require?

Ans: There is always a scope to be any industry you want to be in. But when it comes to the green energy sector, women need to participate more because they bring a value that is unique. They bring more sensitivity, creativity, progress, sustainability, innovation in their own ways. Today we have to match the pace with this demanding sector by upskilling ourselves constantly. We are energy ourselves and it would be the best to contribute to the energy sector as this is a transformational decade and will lead to creating a cleaner, greener, sustainable energy envelope on earth for next generations and women will have to do it.

Que: How do you see the challenge of the availability of the right kind of skilled manpower in the renewables industry? What more could be done to tap this as an opportunity?

Ans: There is a big gap between what academia is creating and what industry needs. The manpower is just not industry-ready at all. There is a clear need for first and foremost the faculty development program at a lightning speed, and the second appeal is to the students to develop skills outside the curriculum which will make them industry ready for an illustrious career. We have to step out of this traditional educational system and think out of the box to have a pool of useable manpower. We need mentoring and role models from a very early stage of education and more specifically for the parents as they are playing a very significant role in what the child will be like when he will grow up. Many girls take up STEM education but fail to make it a career. The attitude and the approach of society now need to see us in a different light to create a gender balance.

Que: How important is the role of the family in maintaining a balance between office work and family life for a working woman?

Ans: Family is very very crucial; without the contribution of the family members it is extremely difficult to achieve a work-life balance and you are pivotal to get the family’s contribution. A working woman has many more challenges to deal with like the daily household chores, kids, spouse, family, and most important herself. She has an expectation from herself to be a “SuperWoman” who can do it all by herself which leads to many mental and physical health issues, careers hindrances, and overall dissatisfaction at some point. Delegation is the key whether at home or at work, involving your family members in your daily chores helps a lot. Small changes in time management go a long way with loads of happiness. Also, a key aspect is raising how to we raise the male child what value system is being imbibed from childhood, does he see his sister as an equal, has he been raised to do his chores himself and not his mother or his sister or his grandmother or other female members of the house. Has he been taught to respect women and put them before him? It is now up to us to build a gender-neutral society.

Que: In your view, what are the biggest challenges in the energy storage sector in India?

Ans: India always has been a Pro-storage nation, we like to save and store, now we are learning how to store electricity effectively and efficiently. In terms of Technology, we have traditionally been in our comfort zone and usually we look outside our country for it and just quickly adopt them, but it is time now that we create ourselves as our needs and requirements of energy are very unique just as our nation is. We have to innovate in this sector to progress and have more localization. Once we do this the mass adoption of energy storage will be an affordable reality. So manufacturing of the core components, adding advanced technologies, ancillary ecosystem, flexible policy framework, skilling the manpower is the need of the hour to bring agility to this segment.

Que: Is this the right time for India to work simultaneously on aggressive policies for recycling of batteries, solar modules, etc as well? What do you think?

Ans: It is the perfect time for us to work on recycling and reuse, the next billionaire is going to be from this industry. We are aiming to be a 5 trillion economy with 500GW through non-renewables and 50% energy from renewables which is a massive deployment and will generate a massive waste. The resources have been depleting at a much faster pace than ever. The only way to make them available for future deployment is to recycle and reuse and if don’t start now we will never make it there. The government and the industry are collaborating on this to have standards by BIS soon in this segment, but the challenge would be in the effective implementation of these. Solar modules, batteries, cables, e-waste, etc needs to be recycled and we need to create a very large infrastructure to cater to this waste that will be churned out in the next 5 years.

Que: Where did you see India’s energy storage industry’s road towards ‘AatmNirbhar’ in the next five years?

Ans: India’s energy storage journey is going to be successful and very much “AtamNirbar”. The PLI scheme is one such initiative that has come up and with recycling, reuse and better technologies our way, manufacturing in India will have the much-needed limelight and focus. The next five years are very crucial to secure the raw materials, create a robust sustainable resilient supply chain, skill the next generation, add infrastructure and develop ancillaries and last but not least have financial and technological innovation. This will certainly make us not only AtamNirbhar but also place us as the next export hub.

Que: What will be your suggestions for women taking a mid-career break and wanting to return to work?

Ans: Women returning to work after a mid-career break need to upskill themselves. The times are changing at a very fast pace and they actually have a benefit of the past experience and should capitalise it while adding more industry-relevant skills to jump up the ladder. Return to Work with confidence, the world has changed and so have you during this break, and it’s perfectly alright to accept this change, adapt and bloom. Just align to the ever-changing requirements, go with the flow, and believe that you are the only one who can do it and who has done it!

Que: What is your outlook on the renewable energy sector (for India or global industry) amidst current developments such as coronavirus, Russia-Ukraine conflict, etc?

Ans: Pandemic has taught us resilience, the need for local manufacturing, adapting to new technologies, and most importantly coming out of our comfort zones and innovating, it just brought back humanity. The impetus on the use of clean energy is far more than it was ever before. Those who will be powerful and successful will be wise to harness the free resources of nature and use them for the betterment of mankind. Conflicts will keep happening but we have to focus on ourselves and our development, protection of our nation, and at the same time show the world the value of peace. Renewable Energy Technologies will play a very significant role in making the world understand that peace and prosperity will come from them and that you would not exist without these energies.

Que: Biggest supporter and critic who helped you in making you stronger? Any role model or inspirational person?

Ans: My mother! She has been a role model and strong support system. She brought the equality value system right from childhood. She made me an independent, strong fighter and most importantly a good human being. Something that has added another dimension to me is spirituality. It has helped me grow multi-folds both personally and professionally.

Que: Will storage technologies could prove to be a game-changer in power grid management and renewable energy grid integration?

Ans: Definitely. We need robust storage technologies to strengthen the power grid and the government and the industry is collaborating towards it. The first step, tenders are out to show this intent. We have to shift gears very fast and build the ecosystem faster than ever seeing the geopolitical situations, pandemics, depleting non-renewable resources. Renewable energy integration with Energy storage is the only way forward to have a sustainable resilient ecosystem for the survival of mankind. Everything, even the smallest of the equipment/gadget is electrified today. The per capita consumption of electricity is one of the makers of the development of a country, so storage technologies will certainly be the forerunners and game-changers in the power sector.

Que: In your view, what could be the reason behind few women found in leadership roles in the renewable energy space?

Ans: Women take up STEM but the careers really just divert to more softer roles stereotyped by the society rather than being at the core. Women probably never saw themselves to be a perfect fit in this industry, but the times are changing now and it is for the best for everyone. To be in a leadership role you have to start from the base and progress to the top with persistence and perseverance but most of the women lose their track in the mid-career leading to very few women in leadership roles. This needs a drastic change, the women who have made it to the top have to do a lot of hand-holding and help the other women to climb up the ladder. The energy sector was always male-dominated because we thought it was a man’s job to do it, but it’s time to create gender-neutral roles and treat a man or a woman just as professionals and not classify them with their gender. Women also have to step up their confidence, unleash the stored sleeping energy in them, and come forward and take this challenge to break the stereotypes. We can do it!

Que: Lastly, what keeps you motivated?

Ans: Every day striving to make myself better, the need to make this world a peaceful, happier, cleaner, greener, respectful and better place to live keeps me going! I’m just contributing in my own small way.