• Just before you go into cardiac arrest, Tulsi Tanti addressed the media by announcing: Suzlon Energy‘s ₹1,200 crore rights issue.
• Tanti said the proceeds would be used to pay debts and interest, among other things.
• He was known as one of the pioneers of renewable energy in India and received United Nations recognition among others.

Tulsi Tanti, the founder, chairman and general manager of Suzlon Energy died late on October 1, due to cardiac arrest. The 64-year-old businessman from Gujarat leaves behind his children Nidhi and Pranav.

“It is with deep sadness that we inform you of the untimely passing of Tulsi R. Tanti, the founder, chairman and general manager, and one of the promoters of Suzlon Energy Limited on October 1, 2022. Shri aunty went into cardiac arrest and died the same day,” Suzlon Energy said in a grant application.

Tanti died shortly after flying to Pune from Ahmedabad, where he addressed the media to announce the opening of Suzlon Energy’s 1,200 crore rights issue, which begins October 11.

During the media briefing, Tanti had emphasized that the proceeds from the rights issue would be used to pay off debt and reduce interest obligations, in addition to meeting working capital and corporate requirements.

Tanti was one of the first in the industry to enter the renewable energy market. He founded Suzlon Energy in 1995 and the company now has 19.4 GW of wind power capacity with a 33% market share in India. The company is present in 17 countries around the world, including R&D centers in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, among others.

At the time, the renewable energy space was dominated by international players offering expensive and complicated technologies. With the renewable energy industry booming—Adani and Ambani, India’s richest men, have pledged billions of dollars to it—Tanti joked that the time is now and that Suzlon joined the company two decades earlier.

Tanti also chaired the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association and was named ‘Champion of the Earth’ by the United Nations Environment Program in 2009. In 2007 he also won recognition as ‘Hero of the Environment’ by TIME Magazine, among others.

Suzlon Energy was stable again in FY22 after a series of major losses in previous years – it made a small gain in FY21 but reported a cumulative loss of over ₹4,200 crore in FY20 and FY19.

The company nearly doubled its revenues in FY22 from FY21, and interest costs had gradually declined, keeping a key cost source under control.

The rights issue of ₹1,200 crore is intended to further reduce debt and relieve pressure on the balance sheet. It will open on October 11.

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