In March 2017, the chief executive officer of Uniquest Infra Ventures Pvt. Ltd (Uniquest) was facing several critical decisions. The National Highway Authority of India had terminated the concession agreement of a 30-year project for the upgrading the Jetpur Somnath highway in India. Uniquest was an equity partner of Jetpur Somnath Tollways Limited, the concessionaire for the project. Uniquest was risking losing its ₹5 billion investment due to the termination of the concession agreement, which cited failure to commence construction on the Junagadh bypass. The National Highway Authority of India’s decision to terminate the concession agreement presented a major challenge for Uniquest and its lender partners. However, it also had broader implications for the Indian infrastructure sector. The termination risked undermining government efforts to attract foreign and domestic investments in future highway projects. The premature termination of the concession agreement could also lead to equity and debt write-offs, which could impact the development of India’s public-private partnerships landscape. The chief executive officer of Uniquest had to consider whether to challenge the termination of the project, whether independently or in partnership with the project’s lenders, or if the termination payment amount of just over ₹2.2 billion should be contested instead. With a current debt of over ₹6.4 billion for the project, Uniquest and the project’s debtors were facing major potential losses arising from the decision to terminate the project.
In March 2024, the global energy storage market witnessed a landmark event. The Indian public utility Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited was able to lower its rates, or tariffs, for energy storage by 58 per cent, compared to bids submitted in a previously issued government tender. The low tariffs, which were the lowest rate ever reported, would open a floodgate of opportunities for the renewable energy industry. Commercially viable energy storage would encourage investments in inherently intermittent solar and wind generation. It would also offer a new alternative for improving grid availability and reliability. However, a sudden drop of over 50 per cent in tariffs also raised new questions. Was the submitted bid to the government tender feasible? Would these low rates be viable in the short and long term? Would low tariffs continue to attract investment in this sunrise sector, which was seeking significant private-sector investments? Amid these questions, the managing director of Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited had to determine how to proceed.
A 2010 global event had far-reaching effects on the Indian energy sector, when a change in Indonesian law affected the commercial viability of power plants in India that were based on imported Indonesian coal. There were serious implications for private participation in the electricity sector, which was slowly moving toward liberalization and privatization. The issue was convoluted and became all the more serious when, in 2017, a compensatory tariff allowed by regulatory bodies to provide relief for the increased coal prices was disallowed by the Supreme Court of India within the contractual framework.
Founded in 2008, Indiahikes provided professionally managed treks to individuals, groups, schools, colleges, and corporations across India. Indiahikes began with the objective to popularize trekking in India by promoting treks and providing essential information. Before long, the organization began organizing treks and developing a community of trekkers. By 2018, Indiahikes had the largest online trekking community and was India’s biggest trekking organization. Having reached a crucial point in its growth, the company needed a strategy to reach its full potential as the top community-led organization. However, it needed to earn adequate profits for continued investment into trek documentation and to develop trekking communities across India. Indiahikes also needed to address capacity constraints, market saturation, the retention of trained staff members, and conflicts with regional trek operators. Its growth path required exploring opportunities and making important decisions.