In June 2014, Ashok Agarwal thought he was home and dry. Agarwal, the CEO of Essel Infraprojects, was on the verge of delivering the $5 billion Essel Group’s first solar power project—a 20 MW plant in Osmanabad, Maharashtra—within deadline. All that was left was putting up the last 10 km of transmission lines that would connect the Rs 200 crore-plant to the state electric grid.