Very good afternoon to everyone. Myself, Vineet Harlalka, CFO, Company Secretary and Compliance Officer of Indian Energy Exchange. It gives me immense pleasure to welcome you all to the 16th Annual General Meeting of Indian Energy Exchange Limited, which is being conducted virtually in accordance with the circular issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and SEBI. We regret being unable to meet in person this year also in view of the continuing social distancing norms due to COVID-19. The health and safety of our shareholders, employees, and our stakeholders remains our top priority during this unprecedented time. Therefore, today's AGM is being webcast to enable shareholders to actually participate in the meeting while adhering to the public health advices. I'm pleased to welcome our Board of Directors to the 16th Annual General Meeting and introduce them to you.
We are joined on the webcast today by Mr. Satyanarayan Goel, our Chairman and Managing Director. He is also a member of CSR Committee, Enterprise Risk Management Committee and other board committees. He has over 40 years of rich experience in different areas of power sector. I also welcome Mrs. Sudha Pillai, our Non-Executive Independent Director. A retired IAS officer of Kerala cadre, one of the foremost women to serve in the Indian Civil Services. She is also Chairperson of the Audit Committee and member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee and CSR Committee and other committees. I also welcome Professor K.G. Chacko, our Non-Executive Independent Director. A retired IAS officer. Has 34 years of experience in public administration. He is also Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, Stakeholders Relationship Committee, CSR Committee, and Enterprise Risk Management Committee, and also a member of the Audit Committee. I also welcome Mr.
Amit Garg, our Non-Executive Director and member of the Stakeholders Relationship Committee and other board committees. He's a seasoned business professional with almost 20 years of diverse functional experience across multiple industries. I would also like to inform everyone that Mr. K.P. Chopra, Non-Executive Independent Director, and Shri Gautam Dalmia, our Non-Executive Director, are not able to attend the AGM due to some last minute exigencies. Apart from our directors, company's secretarial auditors and statutory auditors have also joined the meeting from their respective locations. Mr. Mohammad Najim Khan is appointed as a scrutinizer for this meeting to ensure voting process is conducted in fair and transparent manner. We welcome you all at the 16th Annual General Meeting of Indian Energy Exchange Limited. Now, before we proceed further, I would like to highlight certain points regarding the participation in the meeting.
Facility to join the meeting was open 30 minutes before the scheduled time of the AGM at 11:30 A.M. and shall kept open throughout the proceedings of the AGM. As mentioned in the notice, the facility of participation at the AGM through video conferencing or other audio visual means has been made available for 1,000 members on the first come, first served basis as per the MCA circular. The Q&A session will take place once the Chairman opens the floor for questions and answers. For smooth conduct of the meeting, all the lines for the shareholders will be on mute. The proceedings of the AGM are being recorded and will be hosted on the website of the company after the AGM.
The certificate from the statutory auditors towards compliance with SEBI (Share Based Employee Benefits and Sweat Equity) Regulations, 2021, the register of directors, key management persons, and the register of contracts or agreements, along with statutory documents, are made electronically for inspection by the member during the AGM. Members are requested to refer to the instructions provided in the notice, and in case any member faces any difficulty, they may reach out on the helpline numbers. Without any further delay, I request Shri Satyanarayan Goel, our honorable Chairman and Managing Director, to occupy the chair and preside over this meeting. Welcome, sir.
Thank you, Vineet. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for joining us today. I, Satyanarayan Goel, Chairman and Managing Director of the company, on behalf of the Board of Directors of Indian Energy Exchange Limited, extend a very warm welcome to each one of you present at the 16th Annual General Meeting of the company. Our goal is to approximate the experience of a meeting held in person, including the opportunity to participate at the meeting through the video conferencing facility and vote electronically. I am pleased to inform you that your company has made all efforts feasible under the current circumstances to enable these facilities. As the time is already past 12:00 noon and requisite quorum is present at the AGM, I hereby declare that the meeting is in order and commence the proceedings of the meeting.
I will now commence the address to the shareholders. Dear shareholders, the Indian economy is back on the track post the COVID-19 pandemic, and the country is expected to grow to become one of the top three global economies in the next decade. This has largely been due to conducive environment that has been created by the government through the push on infrastructure and electrification, backed by favorable regulatory initiatives, along with a focus on sustainability. The boost in the economy is reflected in the country's Index of Industrial Production, which grew by 11.4% in the fiscal 2021/2022, against an 8.4% contraction in 2021. For the fiscal year 2023, India is expected to achieve a robust GDP growth of 7.4%, as per IMF projections.
Electricity, the main enabler for economic and industrial growth, will play a crucial role in meeting the nation's ambitious target of becoming 5 trillion economy by the year 2026/2027. The rebound in economic activities has led to an increase in demand for electricity to 1,374 billion units in FY 2022, an increase of 8.1% on year-on-year basis after two years of slowdown. The quarter gone by April-June 2022 saw an all-time peak demand of 212 GW and a consumption rise of about 18% on year-on-year basis, which is again a record high. An expanding economy, rising industrialization, and the increasing focus of the Government of India on electrification from electric cooking, to railway traction, to electric vehicles, will lead to a significant increase in power consumption of the country.
Currently, India's per capita energy consumption is only about 1/3 of the global average. This presents a huge opportunity for the electricity sector, which is expected to grow at a rate of more than 7%-8% per annum for the next few years. Large part of this incremental demand will be met through the market, providing significant growth opportunity for us. India is undergoing an energy transition driven by renewables. India has pledged to achieve 50% of the installed power generation capacity from the renewable energy by 2030. Globally, we have seen that countries with a higher renewable share in their energy mix have effectively leveraged energy markets. Power exchanges are key in managing the intermittency by integration with conventional power and enabling the most efficient matching of demand and supply. Your company is extremely proud of its contribution towards the nation's sustainability goals.
Since the inception of our Green Term Ahead Market in August 2020, the Green Term Ahead Market has grown significantly. In FY 2022, we achieved a volume of 4,945 MUs, which is an increase of 5x of what we did in FY 2021. The Real Time Market, which supports the integration of renewable energy, traded almost about 20 billion units last year, which constituted 20% of our total volume trade. Policy and regulatory initiatives will play a crucial role in enabling fast evolving energy transition. The government and regulators are taking several regulatory and policy initiatives towards facilitating energy transition through the deepening of electricity market.
Recently, to address the challenge of unutilized capacity, Ministry of Power has issued new rules under which a distribution company will have to give a draw schedule on day-ahead basis, and whatever power is unrepurchased that can be sold by the generating company through the power exchange. This will increase supply-side liquidity in the market. Additionally, open access for small consumers, even with contracted load of 100 kW against the current provision of 1,000 kW for the green power with cap on cross-subsidy as well as removal of additional surcharge, will not only incentivize the consumers to go green, but also address the issues that have hindered the growth of open access in India.
Amendments to DSM regulations, linking deviations to the block level prices discovered at the exchange to maintain grid stability and safety is another significant initiative undertaken during the fiscal year 2022, which will increase market liquidity. Similarly, on the regulatory front, several pro-market measures were initiated in the fiscal year 2022. Prominently at the central level, the CERC Ancillary Service Regulations 2022 will help create market-based ancillary service and improving the grid safety and security. Implementation of National Open Access Registry will enable automation, increase efficiency and transparency in transmission allocation, thereby enabling greater efficiency in the power market. Similarly, the CERC Connectivity and General Network Access Regulations will simplify as well as rationalize transmission allocation, transmission pricing, and support strengthening of transmission network.
Further, we have also taken up for approval, regulatory approval of our new market products in the fiscal year 2023, such as cross-border contracts. Your company sees the evolving policy and regulatory landscape as conducive to the future growth and remains committed towards expanding the power markets. The Indian Gas Exchange, which was started by IEX in the year 2020, for contributing towards building of India's gas economy and a competitive gas market. Since then, IGX has grown from strength to strength with increasing number of participants, growing traded volume, and the discovery of the competitive price. In financial year 2022, IGX traded 1.2 crore MMMBtu and achieved financial breakeven. Many leading organizations such as petrochemical industries, such as BPCL, IDL, IOCL, Indian Oil, Adani Total Gas Ltd, ONGC, and the like, came on board with IGX as members this fiscal year.
IGX is aligned with government vision of increasing the share of natural gas in the country's energy basket from 6% to 15% by 2030. Various initiatives of the government, including the proposed setting up of transmission system operator to manage the entire gas infrastructure, intend to bring natural gas under GST, will further help your company develop a vibrant and deep gas market in the country. At IEX, customer centricity is at the heart of our operations, and we have continuously working towards enriching the experience for our customers. Towards this purpose, we enhance the experience for our customer across all touchpoints, including registration, bidding, physical delivery and financial settlement. We have launched a web-based platform that provides digital onboarding experience for all our customers.
Intelligent data insights to enable effective bidding, easy financial reconciliations for exchange transactions, web-based access to trade reports and anytime, anywhere easy and secure bidding experience. These initiatives have helped us to meet the rising expectations of our stakeholders, resulting in true customer delight. We are now also providing value-added services for renewable power producers to garner forecasting services and solutions from top-enabled end-to-end service providers on IEX platform. These technological innovations and initiatives have strengthened our customer centricity proposition and provided us unique competitive advantages. Our efforts to constantly evolve our products and services to better match the ever-changing requirements of our participants and our pursuit to enhance their experience while trading on our platform has won us recognition across the industry.
Recognizing the outstanding leadership demonstrated by IEX during the challenging COVID times, as well as the positive and transformational effect we have been able to drive in the power sector. CNBC-TV18 accorded us the Most Promising Company of the Year award at the 17th edition of India Business Leaders Awards earlier this year from the Honorable Finance Minister Srimati Nirmala Sitharaman. Your company has had a momentous fiscal 2022. We achieved a record all-time volume of 102 billion units with a 37% year-on-year growth across market segments. This boost of volumes was due to increasing demand of electricity coupled with slew of innovative trading products. The 20% CAGR growth on the exchange platform over the last five years is a validation of the efficacy of our electricity trading platform.
In FY 2022, exchange market comprised of 7.4% of the country's total electricity generation, as compared to 3.6% five years ago. This is expected to increase further in future. While our market share has doubled, there is immense potential to further deepen India's power market. Considering that markets contribute about 40%-50% of electricity consumption in many developed countries. The government of India also envisages an increased role of power exchanges in India and has proposed amendment in the National Electricity Policy to expand spot market share to 25% by the year 2025, which is a step in the right direction. The recent commencement of long duration contracts on the power exchanges is also expected to further reinforce our positioning in power market.
Your company has been expanding the country's power markets beyond India's borders and with launch of cross-border electricity trade. Nepal and Bhutan have already started trading on our platform, and Bangladesh is expected to join our market shortly. This has resulted in emergence of a South Asia power market, which is allowing availability of power at competitive price in the region. In fiscal 2022, the consolidated revenue of your company grew by 36% on year-over-year basis, which was an increase from INR 356.2 crores in FY 2021 to INR 484.4 crores in FY 2022. Profit after tax increased from INR 205.4 crore rupees to INR 308.6 crore rupees, which is a year-over-year growth of more than 50%.
The board of directors of your company announced a total dividend payout of INR 2 per share. This amounts to 200% of the face value of equity shares for the financial year 2022. IEX is an extremely conscious organization that actively works towards giving back to society. Our CSR initiatives are calibrated to create a deep and lasting impact in the community that we thrive in. Our association with IIT Kanpur continues into the fifth year facilitated numerous interventions in research and education in the power sectors. To preserve and promote the culture, arts, and heritage of India, we have also partnered with Sabhyata Foundation, which has resulted in substantial work done at the Red Fort in Delhi.
In meeting ambitious goal of India becoming a developed country by 2047, as envisaged by Honorable Prime Minister. Rising economic and social aspirations, combined with Indian government's increased focus on electrification of the economy, keeping sustainability at the core, will accelerate power consumption in the country. The energy markets are driving this transformation and enabling India in achieving its sustainability aspirations. An enormous opportunity lies ahead of the exchange market as the nation moves towards greater adoption of renewables and the energy sector undergoes rapid transition. We regularly interact with the government and the regulators to create an enabling policy landscape to further develop the energy markets, which we believe have immense potential for growth.
Concurrently, the development of new and efficient trading mechanism of electricity and gas, we are also evaluating the viability of branching into carbon market and coal exchange and other opportunities that exist in the energy domain. In our core business, we are geared to launch new products such as ancillary market, cross-border and capacity markets. We stand committed to facilitating the sustainable and efficient energy transformation in India while remaining optimistic about opportunities and promises the future holds. With this, I shall conclude by thanking all of you, our dear shareholders, for your continued faith and unwavering support towards IEX. On behalf of the Board of Directors of the company, I would like to thank all of you for being a part of this AGM.
I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to the Ministry of Power, the chairman, member and staff of CERC, CEA, POSOCO, NLDC, RLDC, SLDC, SERCs, members and clients of the Exchange, financial institutions, shareholders, bankers, registrar and transfer agent, and business associates for their constant faith and encouragement. Last but not the least, the board would like to convey its immense gratitude to employees, clients, vendors, partners and investors for continued support to grow your company to where it is today. Thank you and stay safe. Moving further, the notice for 16th AGM, together with the annual report, was already sent by electronic mode to all the shareholders and was also made available on the company's website. With the permission of the members present, I take the AGM notice as read.
The statutory auditors and secretarial auditors have expressed unqualified opinion in their respective audit reports for the fiscal year 2021- 2022. There was no qualification, observations or adverse comments on financial statements. The statutory auditors report on standalone financial statements and consolidated financial statements and secretarial auditors report are available in the annual report. With the permission of the members present, I take these reports as read. Before we take up the items as per the notice, I would like to inform that company has provided facility of remote e-voting to all the shareholders to cast their vote electronically on all the resolutions set forth in the notice. The members who have not already cast their vote by means of remote e-voting may vote through InstaPoll facility provided on the AGM portal provided by KFin Technologies Limited.
I now order the InstaPoll to be conducted on all the ordinary resolutions as set out at item number one of the notice of the 16th AGM, post which we can commence the question and answer session. The resolutions in respect of ordinary businesses proposed to be taken up at this meeting have been already circulated to all the members. With your permission, I take them as read. The InstaPoll facility is now activated for members who are participating in this meeting and have not already voted through the remote e-voting. The InstaPoll facility will remain active throughout the meeting. The combined results of the remote e-voting and e-voting done at the meeting today will be announced and displayed on the website of the company and the RTA within two working days of the conclusion of the meeting. I advise Mr.
Vineet Harlalka, CFO and Company Secretary, to receive the scrutineer's report and communicate the results of the voting to the stock exchanges, and also place them on the website of the company immediately after the declaration of the results. Now we can commence the question and answer session. Vineet, I think we can now ask the moderator to open the floor for the question and answer. Yes, sir. We are just starting. Ranjita?
Thank you so much. May I now request our first speaker, Mr. Amit Kumar. Sorry, may I now request our first speaker, Mr. Vimal Krishna Sarkar to switch on the video.
Also, Meenakshi.
Switch on the video, unmute yourself and ask the question.
When he introduces me, I don't know. Yeah.
Mr. Vimal Krishna Sarkar?
Hello?
Yes sir.
Hello, am I audible?
Yes sir, you are audible.
Video is not open. Please video open the video.
Yes sir, please share your webcam.
Sir, video is not open.
Sir, please click on share webcam option.
Okay. Hello. हाँ.
हाँ जी, हाँ जी।
Very, very good afternoon, Chairman Sir.
Thank you, sir.
गोयल जी, very good afternoon। मैं Vimal Krishna Sarkar, equity shareholder of the company। मैं मेरे residence से कोलकाता से बोल रहा हूँ sir।
Yes, sir.
Sir, respected Chairman और नन्नो पधारिक बिंद और Company Secretary Vineet Harlalka और Secretary Department में Anuj Jain जी। मैं मेरे पहले Chairman साहब को धन्यवाद देता हूँ। उन्होंने valuable और excellent presentation दिया है हमारा company का performance के बारे में। इसलिए साहब आपको बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद। Sir, Company Secretary Vineet Harlalka जी को भी धन्यवाद देता हूँ। उन्होंने बहुत पहले notice और annual report सबको भी भेज दिया था। उसके बाद hard copy भी भेज दिया है और सबसे बड़ी बात यह है ये Secretary Department को तारीफ तो करना ही पड़ेगा कि ये कितने बार मेरे को Anuj जी telephone करके मेरे को सारे चीज बता दिया है। आज भी मैं meeting का पहले भी बोला है कि दादा आप pin कीजिए। Sir, इतना सुंदर relation Company Secretary और Secretary Department रखते हैं इसलिए मैं इनको बड़ा धन्यवाद देता हूँ। Sir, देखिए यह COVID-19 जो pandemic, जो challenging year है, हमारा जो management Chairman साहब आपका पूरा team इसका असर पड़ने नहीं दिया और इतना सुंदर result दिया है। Sir, यह significant result है। इस परिस्थितियों में हमारा company जो result दिया है, जो PAT जो आया है, यह बहुत अच्छी है। यह देखिए total जो revenue यह increase हुआ है 35.98%। Sir, बहुत अच्छी बात है। Sir, PAT यह देखिए 50.24% increase हुआ है तो इसके लिए तारीफ तो करना ही पड़ेगा sir। नहीं तारीफ करेंगे तो यह अन्याय हो जाएगा। Sir, एक चीज यह है। यह देखिए employees expenses इस बार कम हो गया है। Sir, employee एक pillar होता है company का। तो इन लोगों को जो employees benefit बढ़ता है, मैंने देखा है जितना मैंने कम से कम 100 AGM मैंने कर चुका हूँ। कोई नहीं देखा जे employees का benefit कम हुआ है। Sir, employees को benefit कम नहीं होना चाहिए। इन लोगों को सारे सुविधा देना चाहिए। जो उन लोग हम लोगों का pillar है, वो कम करेगा तो हमारा company और आगे बढ़ेगा। Sir, मेरे ख्याल से यह ठीक नहीं है। Employees को देखभाल करना आपका duty, फर्ज बनता है। Sir, other income भी increase हुआ है। सबसे बड़ी बात है sir, finance cost जो है वो reduce हुआ है। Sir, इसमें जो annual report है, अब आपके बारे में इसके खिलाफ बोलने का कोई मैंने पूरा किताब पढ़ लिया है। मतलब कहीं ऐसा नहीं मिला जो आपको आप लोगों को खिलाफ बोले। Sir, बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद। Sir, सबसे CSR Committee को मैं धन्यवाद देता हूँ। Sir, मैंने इतना company का meeting किया है। मैंने किसी company ने CSR Committee कभी नहीं सोचा जो हम जो हमारी भर्तियों का जो culture है, जो heritage है, इन लोग इसको ठीक-ठाक रखना, इनको promote करना है, protection देना है। हमारा company ने इसके बारे में सोचा और जो कर रहा है। सबसे बड़ी बात है sir, यह annual report में Red Fort का जो photo दिया है, आप लोग जो किया है, इन लोगों को protection के लिए और promote जो किया है और IEX उनका भागीदारी Sabhyata Foundation के साथ जो काम कर रहे हैं इसलिए मैंने बहुत-बहुत आप लोगों को appreciation देता हूँ sir। Sir, एक सवाल है। Sir, यह muster door सारे employee का complete हुआ है कि नहीं हुआ है। इसके बारे में थोड़ा हम लोगों को जानकारी दे दीजिएगा तो अच्छा रहेगा। Sir, यह देखिए कि बाहर नेपाल, बांग्लादेश के साथ भी हमारा company business शुरू करने जा रहा है। यह बहुत अच्छी बात है। हमारा company बहुत आगे बढ़ रहा है। वो बहुत अच्छी बात है। Sir, dividend दिया है। Sir, interim dividend 100% दिया है। मतलब ₹1 per share और final dividend भी 100% दिया है। बहुत अच्छी बात है यह। Total 200% हम लोगों को dividend मिला है। Sir, मैं ज्यादा time नहीं लूँगा। Sir, मेरा full confidence है। आप Goel साहब आपका पूरा team के ऊपर full confidence है। Sir, जितना resolution है इनका favour में मैंने resolution के favour में vote कर दिया है through e-voting system से। Sir, आप लोग स्वस्थ रहिएगा। Sir, Satyanarayan साहब आपकी लंबी उम्र की मैं कामना करता हूँ। भगवान से प्रार्थना करता हूँ। Sir, आप नहीं है, आपका पूरा team, Company Secretary Vineet Harlalka जी और हमारा जो department का है Anuj Jain जी और जितना employee है सब स्वस्थ रहिएगा। यह भगवान से प्रार्थना करता हूँ और मेरे वक्तव्य को conclude करे जा रहा हूँ। मेरे को यह बोलने का मौका दिया है इसलिए धन्यवाद। Thank you very much sir.
Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, sir. May I now request our next speaker Mr. Shripal Singh Manohar to unmute yourself, switch on the webcam and ask the questions.
आप मेरे को सुन पा रहे हैं sir?
हाँ जी, मैं सुन पा रहा हूँ आपको।
मैं श्रीपाल सिंह मनोहर, गुरुग्राम, हरियाणा से बोल रहा हूँ sir। आप सबको सादर प्रणाम, सादर नमस्कार। आदरणीय Chairman साहब, आपके direction में company ने अमूल्य सोलह साल में बहुत अच्छी तरक्की की है। इसके लिए मैं आपको और आपके पूरे board को बहुत बधाई देता हूँ। आपके अच्छे शासन और प्रशासन की वजह से company निरंतर प्रगति के पथ पर अग्रसर है। भारत के प्रधानमंत्री जी का सपना one nation, one grid में कितनी प्रगति हुई है, विस्तार से बताइए। आप IGX के बारे में विस्तार से बताएं तथा electric vehicle में हमारा कितना सहयोग है, कितना कार्य हमने किया है और कितना कार्य करना बाकी है। आपका dividend payout थोड़ा कम है। आपसे निवेदन है कि भारत की आजादी के अमृत महोत्सव पर special dividend की घोषणा करें। पूरा board एक छत के नीचे ही मौजूद है। विचार करें, यह सबके हित में होगा। shareholder आपको आशीर्वाद देंगे और आप पुण्य कमाएंगे। आने वाले सालों में विस्तार की योजना तथा पूंजी की व्यवस्था कैसे करेंगे?
COVID काल के दौरान आपने तन, मन, धन से आगे बढ़कर जो सहायता की है, बहुत ही सराहनीय है। आशा करता हूँ यह सहयोग व प्रयास निरंतर चलता रहेगा। आपसे निवेदन है कि भविष्य में भी AGM video conferencing के द्वारा ही कीजिएगा। इससे तन, मन, धन की बचत होती है, जो company की प्रगति में बहुत बड़ा योगदान होगा। आपके CFO साहब व Company Secretary साहब बहुत अच्छा काम कर रहे हैं। समय पर balance sheet व notice मिल गया है। Company Secretary साहब तथा उनके सहयोगियों ने अपना अमूल्य समय निकाल कर हमारा जो मार्गदर्शन किया है, इसके लिए मैं उन सबका आभार व्यक्त करता हूँ। धन्यवाद। जय हिंद, जय हिंदुस्तान। दोनों हाथ से आपको प्रणाम sir.
Thank you, sir. May I now request our next speaker, Mrs. C. E. Mascarenhas to unmute yourself, switch on the webcam and proceed with the question.
Hello, am I audible?
हाँ जी, मैं सुन पा रहा हूँ आपको।
I am audible?
Yes, ma'am.
Yes, ma'am. You are.
Respected Chairman and MD Satyanarayan Goel, other members of the board, my fellow shareholders in this VC. I am Mrs. C. E. Mascarenhas speaking from Bombay. First of all, I must thank the Company Secretary and his team for sending me e-Annual Report and also registering me as a speaker, and thanks to the KFin Technologies platform for allowing me to speak and take part and ask my queries. Balance sheet is very excellent. Of course, I read online the revenue is up, PBT PAT up, EPS is also up, and a dividend of INR 2 per share of one, it is very good. That comes to 200. According to my calculation, you gave some time back, you gave on one share, two bonus.
If you take that ratio, we are getting INR 6 per share of one. It is really an excellent company. Keep on rewarding. I am very happy with it. Next is, I congratulate for whatever awards which are in the annual report. Also, I appreciate the CSR work and also the ESG initiatives taken. You, I can say this company is like an ESG company only, you know. I would like to know whether you have done any rating of the ESG. If so, what is our score and who is the rating agencies? How much carbon footprints you have reduced? I would like to know and by which year you will make zero carbon dioxide.
Now, my queries: the renewable at the center of energy transition, how are we going to achieve and contribute in the economic growth? Number two, how much of solar energy we are receiving to the other companies? Can you speak which state or states are rich in renewable energy projects and how much of that excess power we are receiving? Sir, please express your view on green hydrogen and how will India take to green hydrogen in five years' time? Next, last one is, I understand that IOC is with some solar company, is going to launch solar stove, whereby the gas what we are paying very high, because being a housewife, I feel the pinch because that gas is gone now INR 1,100.
I talked to the IOC also. I would like to take that solar stove with the fitting of solar outside in the gallery or whatever. They told me it will be price of INR 15,000. Like this projects, if you can take, it will be very good for India. I have supported all the resolution. I wish my company all the best. May it grow in strength to strength and keep on rewarding us day by day, year by year. Lastly, I wish you all very good health to you and the entire team, because I really believe that health is wealth after looking at this COVID, all the problems which it created. Thank you so much, and wish you all the best. Thank you once again.
Thank you, ma'am. May I now request our next speaker, Mr. Dilip Kumar Jain, to unmute yourself, switch on the webcam, and proceed with the question.
Am I audible?
Yes, sir. You are audible.
Yes.
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I'm Dilip Kumar Jain from Jaipur. Good afternoon, sir, Mr. Goel, and all board members.
Good afternoon.
Thank you for inviting me to your. I also thank everybody today, sir, who is with very efficient call system to investor and call investor.
Namaskar.
I...
Sir.
I
Mr. Dilip Kumar Jain, we are not able to hear you clearly. Request you to please check your network settings once.
Video off कर लीजिए। सिर्फ audio में रहिये, ज़्यादा अच्छा है। आवाज़ आएगी आपकी।
No, now hear?
हाँ जी, बोलिए।
Clear now? I am audible?
हाँ जी, हाँ जी, better है।
Yes. I am Dilip Kumar Jain from Jaipur, and Mr. Goel and all board members, I congratulate you to excellent results of the company and rewarded to the shareholders also. I especially thanks to Mr. Anuj Kumar Jain, who is very efficiently coordinate with all the investors, shareholders personally. Your contribution to the power generation is very excellent in the country's benefit. I congratulate for 1.2 MMMBtu achieved financial BEP and joined by all pioneers of oil and gas field during the year. IEX has 530 clients and 26 members, all prominent players in the industry. Growth is also very good, 37% year-over-year in 2022. IEX also launched hydropower contracts.
That is very, at least, good things for this field. Profit growth is also 41.7% as compared to 13.25%. Yes, revenue growth also. Also, thanks to you for bonus given 2 by 1 and to the shareholders. Net profit margin is also 63.3%. Very good, sir. I want to know please briefly about the dispute amount of INR 341.76 lakhs, out of which INR 17.09 lakhs you have already deposited in pending matter in, which is in tribunal. Shown on page number 155. I thanks to you once again. This is all. Thank you for inviting me as a speaker.
Namaskar, sir.
Ayush.
Thank you, sir. May I now request our next speaker, Mr. Dipankar Purkayastha, to unmute yourself, switch on the webcam, and proceed with the question.
Good afternoon. Can you hear me?
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir. We are hearing you.
Okay. I have a couple of questions. Thank you for the opportunity for asking those questions. My first question is, how much of the software which is driving the exchange trading platform and the related APIs is proprietary to the exchange? That is, how much does the exchange have IP rights over it, and how much has been sourced from other vendors which is available off the shelf to competing exchange? The reason why I'm asking this question is I just want to know how durable the competitive advantage you have in the field of technology vis-a-vis the new exchanges which have come up in the last few months. Second question is, in page 70 of the annual report, you have stated that the employee benefits cost has declined mainly on account of higher employee attrition during the year. I mean, this is a unique statement.
As one of the earlier shareholders had also commented, no company have I seen a statement that employee benefit expenses have gone down because of attrition. That leads me to ask, what is the percentage of attrition during the year? Do you have any idea how much of these people who have left have joined the new competing power exchange? My third question is, on the balance sheet, your receivables have gone up from 26 days to 75 days. In the annual report, in the explanation you have given, you have stated that this is due to data balances related to the RTM segment. Can you explain this, a little more to the shareholders?
Does it mean that 75 days receivables is going to be the new normal from now onwards, or is this a one-off event? Next question is you have launched long duration contracts because the CERC had given you approval for this. My question is, in the absence of derivatives for which SEBI is still undergoing discussion with the participants, do you think that it is viable to launch long duration contracts? We are talking about contracts which run nine months, 12 months. So without derivatives to hedge these risks, is this a viable business for you? You can tell us how much business you have actually booked under this head since you have launched this business. Now I come to another favorite question. Is that MBED you have said that the government has issued some direction two years back. Thereafter, you have submitted counter proposals for gross bidding.
Where are we exactly standing? Has your proposals on gross bidding been approved? If so, when is it going to be implemented and how will this affect the business? How will gross bidding have business implications for IEX, if you could explain to us? On this INR 0.02 transaction fees which was under discussion with CERC, have the final orders been issued by the CERC? If yes, can you give us the details? In April we had a problem when the CERC issued orders capping prices. I won't go into the circumstances of why that was done. I just want to know what were the business loss that was incurred by the CERC. Have you been able to quantify the revenues that were lost because the liquidity dried up on the exchange. What has been the revenue loss to the exchange on account of this order?
Final issue of mine is that recently DISCOMs, some select DISCOMs were barred from the exchange because they didn't pay the power generators. Again, what was the business implication of this? Was there a revenue loss? If so, how much was the revenue loss? Thank you for the opportunity for asking these questions and good day.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you.
May I now request our next speaker, Mr. Ashok Kumar Jain, to unmute yourself, switch on the webcam and proceed with the question.
Am I audible?
Yes, you are audible, sir.
Good afternoon, Chairman Sir, Board of Directors and my fellow co-shareholders attending the e-meeting. Congratulations to the management and all the staff employees for providing the excellent result during this year. There is no doubt in the financial statement of annual report as I have full faith in the management. First of all, I would to know that any buy back or right issue in near future and what is the future strategy of the company. I thank very much to the company secretarial and all the staff of secretarial department for allowing me to put all my points in the meeting. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you, sir.
Thank you, sir. May I now request our next speaker, Ms. Bharti Shroff, to unmute yourself, switch on the webcam and proceed with the question?
One minute, sir. आदरणीय सभापति जी, उपस्थित निर्देशक मंडल के सदस्यगण और मेरे शेयरहोल्डर भाइयों बहनों, अधिकारीगण, जो भी आज हम video conference को परिचित हैं। मैं Santosh Kumar Sharma, Bangalore से आप सभी को नमस्कार करता हूँ। ऐसे Goel जी, मैं कल से रहने वाला हूँ कि आज Bangalore में, इसमें Bangalore से VC meeting के माध्यम से attend कर रहा हूँ। आपकी छत्र छाया में company काफी उम्मति कर रही है और काफी आगे बढ़ रही है। 2017 में आपका issue आया था ₹1,650 में। अगर आज उसकी market value मैं देखूं तो तीन गुनी हो गई है। आपने तीन गुना share भी कर दिया हमारा। नौ का 90 का 270 कर दिया sir। इसके लिए भी आपको धन्यवाद। Last year आपने bonus दिया। इसके लिए भी management को धन्यवाद दूंगा। बाकी मेरे से पहले छह सात जो भी speaker थे उन्होंने काफी तरह के प्रश्न कर लिए। तो उन प्रश्नों को मैं repeat नहीं करना चाहूंगा। उसमें भी मेरे कुछ प्रश्न उन्होंने किए हैं तो अच्छा उनको जवाब है। मैं चाहूंगा sir कि एक चीज मैं जानना चाहूंगा कि आपने women empowerment के लिए क्या कर रहे हैं?
आपने 135 employee आपने लिखे हैं, उसमें 24 women हैं। जबकि हमारे honorable Prime Minister चाहते हैं कि women को ज्यादा से ज्यादा work force में लाया जाए। इसीलिए मैंने भी कुछ दिन पहले कहा था कि optional जो है flexible work के बारे में कहा कि जैसे जो घर की स्त्रियां हैं, जो अपने घर में काम करती है, वह अपने खाली समय में घर से काम कर सके, जिससे उनका empowerment बढ़े। इसके बारे में क्या कदम उठा रहे हैं, यह भी बताने का चेष्टा करिए। Sir जो अपनी subsidiary है gas की, उसका future क्या लग रहा है आपको?
उसके future में आपको क्या लग रहा है, इसे बताइए और expansion के बारे में क्या इसके अंदर में और अभी तक कितनी companies ने इसमें registration करवाया अपना, यह भी बताने का करिए exchange के लिए business करने के लिए। और sir, future में जो carbon की जो है neutrality के बारे में या इसका भी कोई अपने exchange बनाने की चेष्टा कर रहे हैं, जिससे carbon जो saving companies हैं, वो अपना mark बेच सकें। और sir मैं ज्यादा समय नहीं लूंगा क्योंकि सभी ने प्रश्न किए हैं और सभी ने लंबे लंबे प्रश्न किए हैं। मैं सिर्फ यही कहूंगा Satyanarayan जी कि देखिए VC meeting काफी अच्छी है। अभी हमारे Amit Garg जी car से attend कर रहे हैं। वह traveling कर रहे हैं फिर भी meeting attend कर रहे हैं। हमारी Sudha जी अपने घर से कैसे attend कर रही है। हमारे K.T. Chacko जी कहीं दूसरी जगह attend कर रहे हैं तो यह सिर्फ possible है VC के कारण। तो मैं चाहूंगा future में इस VC को जरूर अपनाइए। अगर मान लिया कि मजबूरी के अंदर में physical meeting करनी भी पड़ती है तो मैं चाहूंगा hybrid meeting का option रखें। जिससे Bombay से, Kolkata से, Delhi से भी लोग अपने बात घर बैठे अपने घर में प्रकट कर सकेंगे sir। क्योंकि आप भी समझदार हैं। पहले हम note लेकर जाते थे buying और purchasing के लिए और leakage का डर रहता था। आज हम wallet लेकर जाते हैं, डर भी नहीं था। चोरी भी होता है तो हम block कर सकते हैं। इसी तरह digital जमाना रहेगा तो कहीं से भी, मैं तो यही Kolkata का रहने वाला हूँ। आज VC का option है तो मैं Bangalore से attend कर रहा हूँ। आज हमारे Gazipur VC का option है तो अपनी गाड़ी में, running गाड़ी में चलते हुए भी meeting attend कर रहे हैं। यह option सिर्फ VC का है। तो मैं चाहूंगा future में आपसे जो जोर के इसको आप चालू रखिएगा। physical करते हैं तो 10 से 15 मिनट का hybrid meeting भी combine करके करिएगा। और मैं अपने secretary team को धन्यवाद देता हूँ। Vineet Harlalka जी को भी धन्यवाद देता हूँ। Anuj जी को भी धन्यवाद देता हूँ। उन्होंने continuously जैसे घर की family से हमने contact किया रहता है ना कि मैं तो बुजुर्ग हूँ तो मुझे uncle क्या-क्या कि uncle आपको तकलीफ हो तो बताइएगा। इतना प्रेम और इतना यह दिखाना, यह लगता है कि हमारे chairman साहब कितने अच्छे हैं कि chairman साहब अच्छे होंगे तो भी उनकी team अच्छा काम करती है sir.
इसके लिए भी मैं आपको धन्यवाद देता हूँ। और last में यही कहूंगा sir कि दीपू के द्वारा पूज्य राज में कहूंगा sir आप और आपके परिवार और जितने भी director हैं और जितने भी कर्मचारी और जितने भी हमारे अधिकारी हैं, जो आज video conference में उपस्थित हैं, उनके लंबी उम्र की कामना करता हूँ। company के अच्छे भविष्य की कामना करता हूँ। और सबसे भगवान से प्रार्थना है, भगवान यह 2022-23 का जो साल है सबके लिए healthy, wealthy और prosperous और safety के साथ दे। तो समय देने के लिए मैं आप सभी को धन्यवाद देता हूँ। जय हिंद। जय भारत। नमस्कार sir।
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you, sir. With this, we have completed our speaker session and we have given all opportunity to all the speakers who have registered themselves. Over to you, Chairman sir.
जो questions आए थे उसके अंदर में हमारे दो तीन साथियों ने एक question पूछा था कि employee attrition और employee cost जो है कम हुई है। इसके बारे में मैं यह कहना चाहूंगा कि जो COVID-19 के बाद में suddenly जब economic revival हुआ तो हमारे exchange technology areas से कुछ लोगों ने attrition हुआ था और जिसके कारण से हमने नए लोगों को लेने का एक action initiate किया और नए लोग हमने जो है ले लिए हैं। जिसके कारण से थोड़ी बहुत जो है employee cost का reduction हुआ था। मैं आपको एक assurance देना चाहता हूँ कि उन लोगों के attrition होने से company की working के अंदर में कोई effect नहीं पड़ा। हमने इसके बावजूद जो है company के अंदर में नए नए products launch करने की हमारी scheme थी। वो time के ऊपर में सारे products हमने launch किए हैं और अब हमारे पास में नए employees आ चुके हैं और उनको जो है बिल्कुल अब business के अंदर में involve हो चुके हैं। एक question था cross-border के बारे में। Cross-border trade हमारे यहां start हो चुका है। Bangladesh also जैसा हमारा उनके साथ में discussion चल रहा है। They are also likely to join in the month of October, and there is good opportunity in the cross-border trade with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh and with Sri Lanka also there are discussions to create transmission link.
This is a big opportunity for the company. Transmission congestion. Yes, there used to be transmission congestion earlier. Today we have a robust transmission network across the country and we are seeing for almost about 99.9% of the time no congestion in the country. It is one nation, one grid and one price across the country. We are seeing one single price discovery. एक question आया था कि dividend payout जो है। देखिए, हमने company की policy रही है। Our policy is to pay at least 50% of the profit in the form of dividend and that we have been doing consistently for all the years more than 50% of dividend. There was a suggestion that companies would consider the special dividend payout. Yes, we will definitely consider this suggestion also. ESG.
Yes, we are working in the ESG area and as of now we have not done any rating of the company. In the future as and when there is a requirement, we would get the rating done also. We are very conscious about this and in all our activities we are ensuring that we should ensure that there are no wastages and we should use maximum renewable to the extent possible. There was one question about solar energy. Who are selling the solar energy and how to increase that? Solar energy is normally coming from the states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka which are rich in renewables and we started this product only two years back.
We are seeing good participation of the participants in this and I'm sure in the future solar trading and solar energy will be a significant component of our total trading volume. Green hydrogen is picking up. Government has also declared this is an important mission and we are also continuously interacting with the sector participants to understand about the logistics details so that we can create a product on the exchange platform for trading of hydrogen also. There was a question about software proprietary. I mean, we have an exchange technology team consisting of almost about 45 persons. So we are doing all in-house development as far as the software is concerned, and we have only one component of this total software system, which is the matching engine which has been purchased from an international technology provider, which is Nasdaq.
Except for that, the total software is being done in-house. There was a question about receivables. I mean, in fact, company is doing business based on the advance payment. All our participants, they make payment in advance, and thereafter the trading happens. We have no major issue of receivables. It's only on a case to case basis. If there are emergencies, we allow trade without the payments and but the payment is realized on the next day itself. In the RTM markets the transactions take place on 24-hour basis. Transactions today done in the evening hours. For that, the payment is received on the next day. But there are no outstandings and there is no trend in receivables increase. There was a question on long duration contract.
Yes, long duration contracts were approved in the month of May, and we have launched them from the month of June. As of now, since electricity clearing prices are slightly higher and there are the constraints in the supply side, so volume in the long duration contracts are not happening. Volumes are mostly happening in the short term contracts only in our Day-Ahead Market, in our RTM market. Some transactions have happened for the next two, three months in the long duration contracts also. I'm sure in the next two, three months, this market will also pick up. There was a question about MBED and our suggestions on the cross-border.
Yes, Government of India was talking about implementing MBED, and about a year back they had sent that paper to Regulatory Commission for implementing it, but as of now, nothing has happened. In the meantime, we made a suggestion about cross-billing, and we felt, we feel that with the cross-billing concept also it is possible to achieve efficiency, what they intend to do by MBED. This suggestion is also very well received by the sector participants. We are working with the regulator and the sector participants to implement this. On transaction fees, we have already made petition as per the Power Market Regulations with CERC. The petition has been admitted, but as of now, no order has been issued by CERC. We are awaiting their order. Price cap and business loss. In the month of April, there was a price cap introduced in the market.
Earlier our price cap was INR 20, now the price cap is INR 12. With this price cap, there is no business loss because, whatever generation is available in the country, the variable cost of that generation is in fact only in the range of INR 8-INR 9. With price cap of INR 12, there is no loss as far as the sale volumes are concerned, and we are continuously analyzing this. We have not come across any volume loss in this. In fact, as per the regulatory order, this price cap is only up to September 2022. There was a question on women empowerment and flexible working conditions. As a matter of policy, we are ensuring that the ratio of women employees in the company should increase.
In fact, when we do the recruitment and if we there are two candidates, one is woman, we definitely give preference to the woman. Yes, flexible working condition suggestions which has come, we will look at this. IGX. IGX is doing good business. As I told you that IGX has done the turnaround, breakeven within one year of its operation. I'm sure in the next five years there is a good business opportunity for IGX because, gas being a clean fuel, Government of India has a target to increase gas consumption from 6% in the energy basket to 15%, and that should provide us good opportunity to increase gas trading on the exchange platform. About carbon market and coal exchange.
Carbon market, we are evaluating this option and in fact company has appointed a consultant also to suggest the opportunities which are there in the carbon area, carbon space. We are exploring this option and I'm sure, we'll do something else in this area. In fact, Ministry of Coal is also considering to introduce coal exchange in the country, and they have appointed a consultant to develop a framework for setting up coal exchange. We are in active discussion with Ministry of Coal, and we would like to have the first exchange, coal exchange in the country. I think these are most of the questions. I have answered them and if there are any additional questions please send it to us. We will respond it back to you.
Dear shareholders, we have taken note of your valuable comments and suggestions, and we'll consider them in future. With that, we finish the question and answer session now. I would like to thank our board members for their continued guidance and support, and for taking the appropriate decisions for the growth of the company to maximize the shareholders' values. I would like to thank all the shareholders for their suggestions and comments, and for attending our virtual Annual General Meeting today. On behalf of the company and our board of directors, we wish you all a very healthy and safe life. I now declare the proceedings of the Annual General Meeting as completed. Thank you very much. As the things are now getting back to normal, we look forward to seeing you in person in 2023. Thank you again.
With the permission of all the board members and shareholders, it's my honor to propose a formal vote of thanks. On behalf of Indian Energy Exchange, the board of directors and all the shareholders, I take this opportunity to thank Mr. Satyanarayan Goel, Honorable Chairman of the meeting, for this event, sharing his precious thoughts with us and holding the proceedings of the 16th Annual General Meeting. Thank you, sir.
Thank you.
We can log off? Yes, sir. Thank you. Okay, thank you. Well conducted. Yes. Thank you.