January 30, 2026: BAIF has taken the lead to implement a unique first of its kind Agrivoltaics Project in the country, with the generous support of HSBC Software Development (India) Pvt. Ltd. at its peri-urban Rural Knowledge Centre – “BAIF Rural Innovation Centre” at Uruli Kanchan, Pune. This Rural Innovation Centre with its focus on green collar employment generation, is also a unique grassroots knowledge campus in the country.
The Agrivoltaics Project with its focus on clean energy production along with crops, was inaugurated by Mr. Vikram Kulkarni, Managing Director and Head of HSBC Technology India, Mr. Swami Bagul, Managing Director HSBC, Ms. Monirupa Shete, Communications Lead, Mr. Rajesh Devi, Director, India Tech Centre, Mr. Vineet Kondejkar, Head of Cybersecurity Programme Delivery, Mr. Ajay Deshpande, Head, FDR IT Pune, Ms. Smita Jamalamadaka, Head, Digital and WCS Technology India, Mr. Nitin Mhaske, Digital Content Manager, Ms. Damini Khaire, AVP, Global Sustainability, HSBC, in the presence of Mr. Gulabsing Girase, Director, Gro Solar, Mr. Kaustubh Apte, Director, Maxwell Solar & Wind Energy, Mr. Anand Tembe, Director, Satara Renewable Energy Systems P. Ltd. and Mr. Abhimanyu Sahu, Chief Operating Officer, Schneider Electric India Foundation, BAIF scientists and project team at Uruli Kanchan. BAIF team led by Dr. Bharat Kakade, President and Managing Trustee, Dr. Jayant Khadse, Mr. Waman Kulkarni, Dr. Vithal Kauthale, Mr. Sagar Kadao and Mr. Mahesh Lade, shared the objectives of this initiative in alignment with the national goals of renewable energy and enhanced farmer’s income.
In the inaugural address, Dr. Kakade stated that this project, which blends cutting edge scientific technologies with rural wisdom, will showcase live demonstrations of renewable energy solutions and crop cultivation optimising the land use for highest possible returns. He further stated that the project which is the first integrated agrivoltaics demonstration programme in India with 17 agrivoltaics models in place, is a momentous step towards climate-resilient agriculture, decentralised energy, and scalable rural innovation with operations spread over Maharashtra, Telangana, and Karnataka. Field trials across 26 crops are generating robust, multi-season evidence, with crop-wise packages of practices and technical manuals underway. Beyond infrastructure, the project has reached more than 800 farmers, trained 45 rural youth as solar technicians, and shared learnings through multiple national workshops and exposure visits, he concluded.
