Q1. Could you start by giving us a brief overview of your professional background, particularly focusing on your expertise in the industry?

I’m an experienced project management and techno-commercial professional, currently working as Deputy Manager – Projects at Rashmi Metaliks Limited. In this role, I oversee the planning, execution, project controls, procurement, and techno-commercial functions for major greenfield industrial projects—including those in steel manufacturing, bioenergy, and power infrastructure.

For more than nine years, I’ve focused on delivering complex EPC projects—covering everything from railway infrastructure and transmission lines to renewable energy and industrial manufacturing—worth over ₹800 Crores. I’ve held key positions at organizations like Rashmi Metaliks Limited, Larsen & Toubro, Kalpataru Projects International Limited, Tata Projects Limited, and EMC Limited, always working to ensure projects are completed on time, within budget, and to the highest standards.

What drives me is finding better ways to deliver projects—whether that’s through smarter planning, data-driven decisions, or strong cross-team collaboration. My hands-on experience covers the entire project lifecycle: planning and scheduling, project controls, EVM, procurement, contracts, cost and CAPEX management, vendor development, billing, commercial management, delay analysis, EOT claims, stakeholder coordination, and risk mitigation. I’m also a strong advocate for using digital tools like MS Project, SAP ERP, Power BI, and Advanced Excel to boost project transparency and performance.

I’ve had the opportunity to lead multidisciplinary teams—including civil, mechanical, and electrical engineers—on major projects like bioenergy plants, substations, and transmission lines. Along the way, I’ve helped organizations achieve substantial cost savings, avoid contract penalties through effective claims management, streamline procurement, and meet international standards for quality and sustainability.

Outside of work, I’m passionate about lifelong learning and professional growth. I’ve earned certifications in Project Management from IIT Roorkee, MS Project, Primavera, and Business Analytics, and hold an MBA in Transport Operations & Supply Chain Management. I enjoy mentoring up-and-coming project professionals and stay curious about new trends in project management, digital transformation, AI, and infrastructure—always looking for ways to bring fresh ideas and innovation to my work.

My goal is to be a trusted partner for organizations looking to execute complex projects efficiently helping them maximize commercial value and achieve sustainable results.

Q2. Given current biomass co-firing mandates, how heavily do seasonal aggregation gaps, storage degradation, and logistics bottlenecks disrupt continuous plant utilization and real-world EBITDA margins?

Based on my experience working in the Eastern region, I’ve seen that biomass plants and co-firing projects face some major operational hurdles. The biggest is seasonality—materials like rice husk, groundnut shell, sawdust, and other agricultural residues mostly arrive right after harvest. During the off-season, it becomes much harder to source raw materials, which means procurement costs go up and supply can become unpredictable.

Storage brings its own set of challenges. Biomass easily soaks up moisture—especially during the monsoons. If storage isn’t designed well, the moisture content rises, which lowers its energy value, encourages mold and fungi, causes more handling losses, and can really hurt pellet quality. In day-to-day operations, storing materials for too long often means you lose usable inventory and end up with higher production costs.

Logistics are just as tricky in Eastern India. Most biomass comes from scattered rural areas, and transport infrastructure isn’t always reliable. Bad road conditions, a shortage of vehicles, and changing freight rates can all delay deliveries, making it tough to keep a steady supply of feedstock. Plants usually have to keep extra stock on hand just to avoid running out and stopping production.

All these issues have a direct impact on how much a plant actually runs. Even if you have enough installed capacity, inconsistent supply or raw material quality can hold you back if procurement and inventory planning aren’t strong. This hits EBITDA mostly through higher raw material and logistics costs, lower operational efficiency, and the need for more working capital to stock up before the monsoon or off-season.

To get around these challenges, the most successful biomass plants in Eastern India focus on having a diverse supplier network, setting up regional aggregation centers, signing long-term procurement deals with suppliers, investing in covered storage with good moisture control, and putting strong inventory and logistics plans in place. These steps go a long way toward securing a steady feedstock supply, keeping plant operations stable, and protecting margins all year round.

 

Q3. Across the power transmission and infrastructure sectors right now, how are leading EPC firms dynamically hedging raw material volatility and supplier delays without bloating their working capital?

In my experience working on EPC railway electrification and transmission projects, companies aren’t trying to solve supply issues just by piling up extra materials anymore. That old method locked up too much cash and drove up inventory costs. Now, the focus has shifted to smarter planning and tighter coordination with suppliers.

For key items like transformers, conductors, steel structures, insulators, and switchgear, companies start procurement much earlier than they used to since these have long lead times. As soon as a project is awarded, the procurement team quickly identifies what’s critical and gets the conversation started with suppliers right away. This helps avoid delays down the line.

Another thing I’m seeing is that companies don’t rely on just one supplier anymore. They keep two or three approved vendors for important materials, so if one runs into production or delivery problems, they can easily switch and keep the project on track.

Project planning and procurement teams also work much more closely together now. Instead of buying everything at once, materials are ordered in line with the construction schedule. This means materials arrive when they’re actually needed, helping keep inventory low and working capital free for other needs.

Digital tools have changed the game, too. Most big EPC firms now use ERP systems and project dashboards to track procurement, supplier commitments, deliveries, and inventory. This gives managers a heads-up if something might be delayed, so they can fix issues before they disrupt work on site.

On the commercial side, companies are also negotiating for better payment terms with clients and suppliers. They try to lock in mobilization advances, milestone-based payments, or price variation clauses wherever they can. This helps ease cash flow pressures, especially when raw material prices are all over the place.

All in all, the EPC companies that are handling these challenges best are doing it through smarter planning, diversified sourcing, stronger supplier ties, and better coordination between procurement and project teams. Instead of stockpiling inventory, they’re focusing on supply chain visibility and quick decision-making—helping them keep projects moving without putting extra strain on working capital.

 

Q4. Given the highly compressed schedules for 2026 Green Energy Corridors, what ground-level planning adjustments prevent civil works from bottlenecking electrical commissioning at substations?

With the 2026 Green Energy Corridor projects running on highly compressed timelines, the biggest risk is that civil works fall behind, delaying electrical commissioning. From a planning perspective, the key is to stop treating civil and electrical activities as separate phases. Instead, both teams need to work in parallel with a clearly integrated execution plan.

On the ground, we divide substations into smaller work fronts rather than waiting for the entire civil package to be completed. Foundations, cable trenches, equipment pedestals, and control room areas are handed over in phases, allowing erection and installation to begin as soon as individual sections are ready. This phased handover significantly reduces idle time for electrical contractors.

Another important adjustment is maintaining close coordination between engineering, procurement, and construction teams. Critical equipment such as transformers, GIS, switchgear, and control panels is tracked continuously to ensure civil readiness aligns with delivery schedules. There’s little value in completing foundations months early if equipment is delayed, or vice versa.

Daily progress reviews, look-ahead planning for the next two to four weeks, and rapid resolution of site constraints are equally important. Issues related to drawings, material availability, approvals, or manpower must be addressed immediately instead of waiting for weekly review meetings.

In practice, successful EPC contractors also build in some schedule flexibility for noncritical activities while protecting milestone-driven activities such as transformer erection, control room readiness, and cable laying. This approach helps maintain the commissioning sequence even if minor civil activities continue in parallel.

Ultimately, preventing civil works from becoming a bottleneck is less about accelerating every activity and more about ensuring the right civil work is completed at the right time to support electrical installation and commissioning without interruption. This integrated planning approach is what consistently delivers substations on schedule despite aggressive project timelines.

 

Q5. From a real-world plant-floor perspective, what are the most frequently underestimated OPEX and maintenance variables that standard financial models routinely miss?

Looking at things from the plant floor, one of the biggest blind spots in standard financial models is that they assume everything runs smoothly all the time. But in reality, operating expenses (OPEX) are shaped by all sorts of day-to-day issues that don’t show up in spreadsheets yet have a real impact on profitability.

One thing that’s often underestimated is equipment reliability. Minor breakdowns, sudden shutdowns, and dips in efficiency might seem small on their own, but together they mean more maintenance, lost production time, and extra manpower. Those hidden costs can easily outweigh the direct repair bills.

Another area that gets missed is how raw material quality can change. Whether it’s biomass, coal, or other industrial inputs, things like moisture, particle size, or contamination can swing a lot—and that directly affects efficiency, energy use, equipment wear, and product quality. Financial models tend to assume input quality is always the same, but that’s rarely true on the ground.

Maintenance consumables are another sneaky cost. Bearings, seals, lubricants, wear plates, filters, conveyor parts, and instrument spares all need regular replacing. Each might not cost much on its own but add them up over a year and the total is significant—often more than what’s budgeted during project planning.

Utilities are another area to watch. Leaking compressed air, extra power use, more water treatment chemicals, cooling system inefficiencies, and fuel price swings can all push up running costs—but these increases often go unnoticed in financial forecasts.

Plant logistics—like material handling, moving stuff internally, ash disposal, waste management, and housekeeping—are often budgeted as a single line item, but in reality, they usually take a lot more resources than expected.

And then there’s the cost of keeping essential spare parts in stock. Having these spares on hand boost’s reliability and cuts downtime, but it also ties up cash and adds inventory costs—a trade-off that often gets underestimated when planning a project.

In my experience, the plants that perform best on EBITDA aren’t always the ones with the lowest projected OPEX on paper—they’re the ones that stay on top of these variables with preventive maintenance, disciplined asset management, smart inventory planning, and constant performance monitoring. That’s where true operational excellence delivers value that standard financial models just can’t capture.

 

Q6. What is the industry best practices for adjusting EVM metrics to expose critical-path misalignments before they cause hard project delays?

From what I’ve seen on real projects, traditional Earned Value Management (EVM) metrics like SPI and CPI are great for giving an overall snapshot of project performance—but they don’t always tell you if the critical path is actually moving forward as it should. Sometimes a project looks fine by the numbers, but key activities on the critical path are slipping behind the scenes, which can lead to major schedule delays down the road.

One of the best ways to catch this early is by combining EVM with critical path analysis instead of looking at them separately. Rather than just tracking overall earned value, project teams keep a close eye on how critical and near-critical activities are progressing. This helps spot schedule risks much sooner.

Another useful approach is to base earned value on hitting clear milestones, not just on percent completion. Tying progress to things like construction, procurement, or commissioning milestones gives a much more accurate picture of how the project is really going and helps avoid overstating progress.
Top EPC companies also combine EVM with rolling look-ahead plans that cover the next three to six weeks. This way, they can spot issues like engineering approvals, procurement holdups, material shortages, labor gaps, or site readiness problems before these start slowing down the critical path.
Schedule forecasting is another key practice. Instead of just looking at current SPI numbers, planners regularly check when critical activities are likely to finish and run through different “what-if” recovery scenarios. This way, teams can take action—like shifting resources, running tasks in parallel, or resequencing activities—long before delays become a serious problem.

Many teams also keep a close watch on critical path float. If the available float keeps shrinking, that’s treated as an early warning sign—even if the main EVM metrics still look okay. It’s a great way to spot schedule risks before they get out of hand.

At the end of the day, the best results come from using EVM as a big-picture tool, while relying on critical path analysis, milestone tracking, and short-term planning for everyday decisions. When you bring all these together, project teams can spot critical-path issues early, make timely corrections, and greatly reduce the risk of major project delays.

 

Q7. If you were an investor looking at companies within the space, what critical question would you pose to their senior management?

How diversified is your order book?     

• Is revenue dependent on a few large customers or spread across multiple sectors and clients?

What is your strategy for mitigating supply chain risks?

• How do you manage supplier delays, material shortages, and price volatility?

How resilient is your business during market slowdowns?

• Can the company maintain profitability if project awards slow down or payment cycles are extended?

What investments are being made for future growth?

• Are you investing in digital project management, automation, skilled manpower, and new technologies?

How do you ensure long-term competitiveness?

• What differentiates your company from competitors in terms of execution, innovation, and customer satisfaction?

How transparent is your project reporting?

• How do you monitor project risks, cost overruns, and schedule delays, and how are these communicated to stakeholders?

What is your long-term value creation strategy?

• How will the company deliver sustainable growth while maintaining profitability, cash flow, and shareholder value over the next 5–10 years?