Manoj Kumar Singh, Chief of Regulatory Affairs, Sustainability and CSR, Indus Towers
Manoj Kumar Singh has more than 25 years of professional experience behind him, a third of which has been spent in the telecom infrastructure space. He currently serves as chief of regulatory affairs, sustainability and CSR, Indus Towers, and heads the company’s technology, regulatory and sustainability initiatives. He also serves as chairman of the Tower and Infrastructure Provider Association’s energy committee.
Energy and environment are very close to his heart and he fondly remembers the time when he was involved in the innovation of the fixed energy model for operators. “Energy constitutes a big chunk of operators’ opex and they have always been very aggressive about reducing it. The fixed energy model has brought a paradigm shift in the energy management space, putting the onus on telecom infrastructure providers to invest and derive savings from it,” he says. A by-product of this initiative was the Indus Carbon Abatement programme, which triggered the company’s partnerships with renewable energy service companies to achieve the objective of green telecom.
According to Singh, Indus is well positioned to play a key role in transforming the sector and contributing to its sustainable development. “The company is committed to reducing diesel consumption and delivering high cost efficiencies to its customers. Technology and innovation are at the heart of everything we do. We will continue to promote a zero-harm safety culture at all our sites,” he adds. Indus Towers is looking forward to playing a vital role in government initiatives like Smart Cities and Digital India. However, challenges such as right-of-way issues, sealing of towers, non-uniform tower policies, non-availability of government buildings/land for tower installation, and the exclusion of telecom towers from availing of input tax credit under the GST regime may hamper the initiatives being taken by Indus. Singh sees the miniaturisation of tower sites and overlaying on existing infrastructure as key upcoming trends in the telecom infrastructure space.
Singh believes in taking responsibility for his decisions. “I am able to influence others to implement and accept my decisions. This helps achieve the goals of the organisation collectively,” he says. He trusts his confidence and positive approach. An electrical engineer by training, Singh has a specialisation in leadership from Harvard University and in public policy from the Indian School of Business. He enjoys learning about new innovations and spending time with his wife, Ranjana, and their two sons.
