In 1990, Tanti invested in two windmills and realized its huge potential. In 1995, he formed Suzlon and gradually quit textiles. Today in 2007 Suzlon Energy is the sixth largest wind energy company in the world and the largest in Asia. It is presently building what might be among the world’s largest wind parks at 1,000 MW capacity. And yes, like most other big entrepreneurs from India, Tanti’s Suzlon is currently concentrating on a global expansion drive. It has acquired Hansen Transmissions, a Belgian maker of wind-turbine gearboxes. He is also building a rotor-blade factory in Minnesota and has invested $60m in a factory in Tianjin, China. In short this young-at-heart Indian is all set to make India a wind-power export hub.

per cent book-built issue carrying a price band of Rs 425 to Rs 510 a share. The issue was oversubscribed 51 times and Suzlon was listed in October last year at Rs 692. On the day of listing, Tanti’s 69.78 per cent holding in Suzlon was valued at Rs 13,901 crore. At current prices of over Rs 750 a share, the market value is over Rs 15,000 crore. But life wasn’t always so sweet for Tanti. Confronted in 1994 with escalating power costs, Tanti’s young textile business was in dire straits. With survival at stake, he suddenly saw a solution that was literally blowing in the wind. Commissioning two windmills to supply electricity for the family’s factory in Gujarat, he realized that he had stumbled onto a promising business opportunity. In a power-starved nation, renewable energy has a favoured future. “Our country needs power for its economic growth, and clean, green power is the best option,” said Tanti, in an interview to a news website recently. Acting on this belief, he radically shifted his enterprise. In 2006- 07, it reported annual revenues of $850 million. This was nearly twice as much as the previous year.

In fact 1994 was a watershed year for this man. Since then he has become Asia’s top wind man and one among India’s growing crop of new billionaires. The 70 per cent stake that Tanti and his three brothers own in their Bombay Stock Exchange-listed company is worth $4.3 billion. The stock has risen 60 per cent since Suzlon’s first daily close, giving Tanti an entry into the billionaire ranks.

Now situated in Pune, a city famous for its engineering skills, Suzlon is a prime example of India’s emerging story in manufacturing, less told than the technology services tale. The company already ranks as one of the world’s largest producers of wind energy in terms of installed capacity. Tanti is aiming high and wants to close the gap with Suzlon’s biggest European competitors, Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems, Germany’s Enercon and Spain’s Gamesa. At home, where it still makes 90 per cent of its sales, Suzlon has 35 per cent of the market. The country is among the top five wind power users, which collectively account for 70 per cent of global capacity. With its mission to provide ‘Power for all by 2012’ the government in India has introduced legislation making it compulsory for electricity distributors to get a specified quantum from renewable energy sources. No wonder Tanti’s stars seem on the rise at present.