Aparnna Pradhan 
There are professionals who manage projects, and then there are those rare few who shape an entire industry. Shri Vijay Chand, Executive Director and Head of Project at NTPC Talcher Thermal Power Station, belongs unmistakably to the latter. With over 35 years of experience spanning subcritical and supercritical power projects, his career reads less like a résumé and more like a longitudinal map of India’s power sector itself.
The Foundation: Three Decades Across India’s Energy Landscape
A Mechanical Engineering graduate, Chand joined NTPC as an Executive Trainee in 1989 a time when India’s thermal power infrastructure was still finding its footing. Over the decades that followed, postings across Kahalgaon, Badarpur, Meja, Darlipali, and NTPC’s Engineering and Construction division in Noida gave him a 360 degree mastery of thermal power: from greenfield construction to full scale operations, from decommissioning to cutting edge supercritical technology.
At Kahalgaon, he contributed to the commissioning of 4×210 MW units, building the technical instincts that would define his leadership. At Meja (2×660 MW), he achieved two defining feats simultaneously ensuring the Commercial Operation Declaration of Unit 2 during the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing the joint venture from becoming an NPA, and establishing 100% dry ash utilisation, a benchmark notoriously difficult to reach for newer units. At Darlipali (2×800 MW), he kept generation uninterrupted through India’s severe 2021 coal crisis, when plants across the country were forced into curtailment.
Perhaps his most distinctive achievement came at Badarpur, where he led the decommissioning of one of India’s oldest thermal power stations and drove the inception of what is now India’s largest Eco Park on the plant’s former footprint turning industrial closure into a landmark sustainability success.
Talcher Stage III: The Project Defining His Legacy
On 10 July 2024, Chand took charge at NTPC Talcher Thermal, stepping into what is arguably the most consequential phase of his career. The Stage III expansion comprises two supercritical units of 660 MW each totalling 1,320 MW with a project cost of ₹12,543 crore, all major works awarded to BHEL. Construction began in January 2023, and as of early 2026, ₹5,442 crore has been deployed with the project firmly on schedule and no cost escalation.
Unit 1 is targeted for commissioning by September 2027, Unit 2 by March 2028 with efforts underway to beat both deadlines. Power will be distributed to Odisha (50%), and Assam, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu (11.66% each), with the remainder allocated by the Centre. The project’s planning is as intelligent as its scale. NTPC’s existing 290 acre landholding eliminates acquisition bottlenecks entirely. Ash waste historically a major environmental liability will be directed into void coal mines at Talcher, removing the need for an ash dyke altogether. Electrostatic Precipitators with over 99% efficiency and Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) systems will keep emissions well within modern environmental standards. Ultra Supercritical technology, operating at higher steam temperatures and pressures, ensures significantly lower carbon output per megawatt than conventional plants.
Leadership Beyond Megawatts
Chand’s vision extends beyond the turbine hall. Under his stewardship, Talcher Thermal actively runs healthcare camps, women’s empowerment programmes, rural sports initiatives, and skill development drives shaped by Need Assessment Surveys and Stakeholder Meetings that ensure community voices genuinely inform the plant’s social investments. Local employment is prioritised as a matter of policy, not gesture. Looking ahead, a pre-feasibility study is exploring an additional 800/660 MW unit, and rooftop solar installations signal the plant’s broader commitment to the energy transition. Chand’s career is ultimately a testament to a simple but demanding idea: that technical excellence and human responsibility are not competing values they are inseparable ones. As Talcher Stage III rises from the Odisha coalfields, he is not merely delivering a project. He is building a legacy.
Shri Vijay Chand serves as Executive Director and Head of Project at NTPC Talcher Thermal Power Station. He joined NTPC in 1989 and carries over 35 years of experience across India’s most significant power infrastructure projects.
