I would be surprised if this was management's strategy with...

I would be surprised if this was management's strategy with regards to the timing of the ELF announcement. I'm of the view that the ELF will go ahead regardless of where the price is at for the reason that it would create too much uncertainty for shareholders if it was canceled in the last minute. In the investing world, uncertainty has a very close relationship with risk and I think that this is something that management would be looking to minimise where possible.

Regarding your suggestion that a large number of holders would retract their application with preference to exercise, I believe this would occur only in a scenario of deep in the money options. As nice as it would be to see such a share price by 31 July, I think it's highly unlikely. At this point I think 2 months is a fair estimate for the consultants to do their work and then on top of that I would expect a few more months before NITI Aayog provide any kind of green light for the project to commence. This is just what I see as a best case scenario.

Taking a step back, we should all be pretty happy with how things are going. Partners seem to be genuinely keen to proceed while finance for the project is organized and ready to go once the final condition is met. I would also assume that our operating cash needs are well satisfied given the number of options that were exercised over the last 6 to 12 months. With all this in mind I would suggest that investors with a true long-term view of ESI wouldn't be overly concerned about our current standing. Short term holders and traders on the other hand probably wouldn't be too impressed with the situation however I seldom spare any sympathy for those participants of the market.

IMO