From more than two decades in banking and finance to building a clean-energy enterprise, Prakash Jain’s journey reflects how financial expertise, customer understanding and a growing belief in renewable energy can come together to create a new business opportunity.
After spending more than 21 years in banking and finance, Jain made a transition into the renewable-energy sector, bringing with him extensive experience in financial services, customer relationships and business development. His professional journey has included associations with HDFC Bank, Bandhan Bank, AU Small Finance Bank and Choice FinServ.
His exposure to the solar-finance industry further strengthened his conviction about the potential of renewable energy in India. During that phase, he travelled across 11 states and interacted with more than 200 EPCs, customers and industry stakeholders. These experiences eventually contributed to the creation of Sunthrix Solar Energy Pvt. Ltd.
In this interview, Jain discusses his transition from banking to solar, the customer challenges he identified, Sunthrix’s end-to-end approach and his vision for building a broader clean-energy ecosystem.
Q. After more than 21 years in banking and finance, what motivated you to move into renewable energy and eventually establish Sunthrix Solar Energy?
Prakash Jain: During my banking career with HDFC Bank, Bandhan Bank, AU Small Finance Bank and Choice FinServ, I had the opportunity to work closely with individuals, businesses and entrepreneurs across different segments.
Later, while working in the solar-finance business, I travelled across 11 states and interacted with more than 200 EPCs, customers and industry stakeholders. That experience gave me a much deeper understanding of the enormous potential of solar energy in India.
What struck me most was that solar was no longer just an environmental initiative it had become a practical financial solution. For households and businesses, it can reduce electricity costs, provide greater energy independence and create long-term value.
I also saw a gap between the growing demand for solar and the quality of the customer experience from financing and installation to after-sales service. I felt my experience in finance, customer relationships and business development could help bridge that gap.
That is what led to the creation of Sunthrix Solar Energy Pvt. Ltd. The vision was simple: to make solar more accessible, reliable and customer-centric while contributing to India’s transition towards clean and sustainable energy.
For me, Sunthrix is not just a career transition from banking to solar. It is an opportunity to bring together my two decades of financial experience with a sector that I believe can create meaningful impact for households, businesses and the environment.
The journey is still evolving, but building Sunthrix has been one of the most rewarding professional decisions of my life.
Q. Sunthrix focuses strongly on making solar adoption simpler through site assessment, system planning, PM Surya Ghar subsidy support, net-metering and loan assistance. What gaps in the customer journey made you build this end-to-end approach?
Prakash Jain: The biggest gap we identified was that solar adoption was often treated as a product sale rather than a complete customer journey.
A customer may be interested in solar, but then has to deal with multiple questions: How much capacity do I need? Is my roof suitable? Which technology should I choose? How will I get the PM Surya Ghar subsidy? What is the net-metering process? How will I finance the system? And, most importantly, who will support me after installation?
My background in banking and finance helped me understand that affordability and financing are as important as the technology itself. During my experience in the solar-finance business, I also saw that customers and EPCs were often navigating these processes separately.
That is why, at Sunthrix, we decided to bring these pieces together. From site assessment and system design to installation, subsidy assistance, net-metering, loan facilitation and after-sales support, our objective is to give the customer a single, reliable point of contact.
We want to remove the complexity from solar adoption. The customer should focus on the benefits and savings that solar can create, while Sunthrix takes responsibility for making the journey simpler, transparent and well supported.
Q. You work across residential rooftops as well as commercial and industrial projects. How does your approach to system design and installation change when moving from a household to a larger industrial or commercial requirement?
Prakash Jain: The approach changes significantly with the scale and objective of the project.
For residential rooftops, the focus is mainly on household consumption, available roof space, subsidy eligibility, affordability and ease of financing.
For commercial and industrial projects, the approach is more detailed and engineering-driven. We look at the customer’s load profile, power consumption pattern, roof or land availability, system design, tariff savings, financing, safety and long-term return on investment.
In both segments, however, our objective remains the same: design the right system for the customer’s actual requirement and deliver quality installation with reliable after-sales support.
Q. Sunthrix also provides O&M, AMC, cleaning, performance monitoring and inverter and wiring checks. Why do you see after-sales service and long-term system performance as such an important part of the solar business?
Prakash Jain: Solar is a long-term investment, so the relationship with the customer cannot end after installation. The real value of a solar plant comes from its consistent performance over many years.
Dust, wiring issues, inverter performance or lack of regular maintenance can affect generation and savings. That is why Sunthrix focuses on O&M, AMC, cleaning, performance monitoring and periodic technical checks.
For us, after-sales service is not just about resolving complaints it is about protecting the customer’s investment, maintaining generation and ensuring that the system continues to deliver the expected savings over its operating life.
Q. Alongside solar installations, you are expanding into battery storage, EV charging and solar-component supply. How do you see these capabilities coming together in Sunthrix’s larger vision for India’s clean-energy ecosystem?
Prakash Jain: We see these businesses as different parts of the same clean-energy ecosystem.
Solar generation is the foundation, while battery storage can help manage energy when solar is not generating. EV charging can support the transition to electric mobility, and reliable component supply can strengthen the overall solar value chain.
Our larger vision at Sunthrix is to move beyond being only a solar installation company and become a complete clean-energy solutions partner for households, businesses and industries.
Ultimately, we want to help customers generate, store and use clean energy more efficiently and contribute to India’s transition towards a more sustainable and energy-independent future.
For Prakash Jain, the move from banking and financial services to renewable energy represents more than a change in industry. It reflects an attempt to apply years of experience in finance, customer relationships and business development to a sector undergoing rapid transformation.
Sunthrix Solar Energy’s approach is centred on simplifying the customer journey from understanding the requirement and designing the system to financing, installation, government-scheme assistance, net-metering and long-term maintenance.
As India’s clean-energy ecosystem continues to evolve, the company’s expansion into battery storage, EV charging and solar-component supply points towards a broader ambition: creating an integrated platform through which customers can generate, manage, store and use clean energy.
For Jain, the objective remains straightforward make the transition to solar easier for customers while building a business that combines financial understanding, technical solutions and long-term customer support.
The journey from banking to renewable energy is still unfolding, but with Sunthrix, Jain is building his next chapter around a sector that is increasingly becoming an important part of India’s energy future.