CHENNAI: Kotak Mahindra Bank-backed Kotak-IIT Madras Save Energy Mission (KISEM) has crossed 500 industrial energy audits across the country, marking a major expansion of one of India’s largest bank-funded industrial decarbonisation programmes focused on MSMEs.
The initiative has completed 509 energy audits across 30 industrial sectors, helping Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises achieve annual savings of Rs 96 crore while cutting greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1.23 lakh metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually.
With the addition of new centres at IIT Kanpur, IIT Jodhpur and IIT Kharagpur under Phase 3, the programme has now expanded into a pan-India network spanning 10 IITs.
The programme has issued 5,850 energy-efficiency recommendations, which, if fully implemented, could unlock an additional annual saving of Rs 404 crore for industries, according to officials.
The expansion comes at a time when India is accelerating industrial decarbonisation efforts and tightening energy-efficiency compliance for energy-intensive sectors.
“All seven existing KISEM centres have now been empanelled under the Bureau of Energy Efficiency’s ADEETIE scheme, enabling auditors to conduct government-accredited investment-grade audits,” a release from IIT-Madras said.
Shekhar Bhandari, Head-SME, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said the initiative was aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of India’s MSME sector through lower energy costs and climate-resilient industrial practices.
“Having completed over 500 energy audits across 30 sectors, KISEM reinforces its commitment to science-led climate action and India’s low-carbon development strategy,” he said.
Mahesh Panchagnula, National Co-coordinator of KISEM, said the hub-and-spokes model led by IIT Madras had demonstrated its scalability within a year of the expansvion.
KISEM has also widened its focus beyond MSMEs and has begun carrying out net-zero audits for large corporates and multinational firms, including a recent assignment covering 24 dairy manufacturing facilities of an agro-products company across India.