Low profile, first generation entrepreneur Deepak Virendra Kochhar, founder and CEO of NuPower Renewables Pvt. Ltd., has been in the news following CBI investigations into alleged favours of ₹64 crore he received from industrialist Venugopal Dhoot after his firm Videocon Industries got a loan of ₹3,250 crore from ICICI Bank. Mr. Kochhar’s wife, Chanda is the MD and CEO of ICICI Bank.
According to the website of NuPower Renewables, the company was set up in December 2008 as independent power producer in the renewable space. Since then the company has nearly 700 MW of renewable energy assets operating and in the pipeline in projects located in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
NuPower has authorised share capital of ₹460 crore and paid up capital of ₹5.9 crore. Mr. Kochhar also incorporated NuPower Windfarms Limited in 2013 and Echanda Urja Private Limited in 2014 and became it’s director in March 2016.
NuPower offices are located just a stone’s throw from the corporate headquarters of the ICICI Bank at the Bandra Kurla Complex. .
Batchmates
Mr. Kochhar holds Master’s Degree in Finance from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Bombay University. Ms. Kochhar, also an alumnus of JBIMS was Mr Kochhar’s batchmate. He is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School.
A keen squash player, Mr. Kochhar has won three national titles.
Videocon Industries chairman Venugopal Dhoot has said he was introduced to Deepak Kochhar through his friend, Sharad Upasani, IAS officer and former chief secretary of Maharashtra.
Mr. Upasani is the father-in-law of Deepak’s brother, Rajeev Kochhar. While Mr. Kochhar maintains a low profile, in the 90s, as a high profile finance professional, he headed a firm, Credential Finance with his brother, which also accepted public deposits. However, the company which shut down in a few years. Rajeev Kochhar then moved to Singapore where he runs a consultancy firm Avista.
