Amritha Pillay And Jyoti Mukul

Stories by Amritha Pillay And Jyoti Mukul

RIL pushes production timeline for battery packs by a year to 2024

RIL pushes production timeline for battery packs by a year to 2024

Rediff.com   9 Aug 2023

Reliance Industries (RIL) has reset its battery pack production timeline, shifting it from 2023 earlier to 2024, details shared in the oil-to-telecom conglomerate's latest annual report suggest. In the FY23 annual report released on Sunday, the company has listed the start of battery pack production in 2024. A year ago, at the company's annual general meeting (AGM), Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of RIL, had said, "We aim to start production of battery packs by 2023 and scale up to a fully integrated 5 GWh annual cell-to-pack manufacturing facility by 2024."

World entering a highly disruptive green energy era, says Mukesh Ambani

World entering a highly disruptive green energy era, says Mukesh Ambani

Rediff.com   7 Aug 2023

Reliance Industries (RIL's) annual report released on Sunday highlighted the company's focus on new energy solutions, with chairman and managing director (MD) Mukesh Ambani stating that the age of fossil fuels will not continue much longer. RIL has sought shareholders' approval to give Ambani another five-year term as MD till 2029 at nil salary. The recently demerged Jio Financial Services, which "will leverage the prowess of digital and retail businesses", was expected to be listed soon.

Competition for market share intensifies among cement companies in Q1

Competition for market share intensifies among cement companies in Q1

Rediff.com   7 Aug 2023

Cement manufacturers' show during the June 2023-ended quarter (Q1FY24) has indicated an intensified slugfest for market share. For instance, Dalmia Bharat (Cement) said it has lost market share in eastern India owing to lack of price discipline. Industry analysts also said that the seasonal weakness in cement prices for Q1 is showing up earlier than usual.

Strong Q1 likely for capital goods firms with low costs, healthy execution

Strong Q1 likely for capital goods firms with low costs, healthy execution

Rediff.com   28 Jul 2023

Capital goods companies are likely to report double-digit growth in sales and profit for the first quarter of the 2023-24 financial year (Q1FY24), according to analysts. The performance will ride on lower raw-material costs and healthy execution of orders. Sales by capital goods companies are likely to increase 13-20 per cent year-on-year (YoY), five domestic brokerage firms said.

Adani's Dharavi dream: Producing millionaires minus slumdog prefix

Adani's Dharavi dream: Producing millionaires minus slumdog prefix

Rediff.com   20 Jul 2023

Billionaire Gautam Adani on Wednesday shared a personal note on the development of Dharavi in Mumbai, days after the Maharashtra government issued a resolution to award the Dharavi redevelopment project to his conglomerate on July 14. In the note shared with the media, Adani said his first tryst with Dharavi in Mumbai was in the late 1970s, and the slum settlement continues to amaze and inspire the billionaire to date. "When this opportunity to renew Dharavi came calling, I seized it with both hands," he said.

How india Inc biggies are going green

How india Inc biggies are going green

Rediff.com   6 Jan 2022

India's traditional companies are now moving full scale into the renewable and alternative energy space that had been dominated by smaller players over the past decade. Companies such as government-owned NTPC and the Adani and the Tata groups restructured their businesses well in time to become major players in the green space. At the same time, other conventional companies, such as Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), which have a presence both in the energy sector as well as myriad other activities - construction, technology and retailing - are tying up with new-age companies to hitch a ride to a greener path.

Tatas in talks with Taiwan firms to make chips in India

Tatas in talks with Taiwan firms to make chips in India

Rediff.com   22 Dec 2021

Tata Group is in discussions with some major international companies, including those from Taiwan, for its foray into the semiconductor chip business. The Union government had earlier tried to bring in Taiwanese manufacturers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) for chip manufacturing in India. A person close to the development said the Tatas have now opened a separate channel for a possible tie-up. Currently, India mostly imports chips, which are fabricated and assembled to put into various applications, including automobiles, renewable power, mobile phones, televisions, and other electronic items.

Power crisis: Lessons India can learn from China

Power crisis: Lessons India can learn from China

Rediff.com   20 Oct 2021

China on Tuesday announced a major policy change for its crisis-ridden power sector by allowing coal-fired power plants to charge their industrial and commercial customers market-driven prices. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China said the electricity generated by coal-fired plants would discover price in market trading "in an orderly manner" from October 15. This is being done to pass on the high costs of coal and is being held up as the boldest reform in the Chinese power sector.

Retro tax settlement with Cairn may hinge on Vedanta case

Retro tax settlement with Cairn may hinge on Vedanta case

Rediff.com   20 Aug 2021

The Union government's offer of settling the retrospective taxation case with Cairn Energy may hinge on Vedanta withdrawing the ongoing arbitration from the Singapore Tribunal on the same issue. The government has offered to refund Cairn Energy Rs 7,900 crore that it had collected under the retrospective tax demand on fulfilment of certain conditions, including withdrawal of pending litigation and furnishing of an undertaking to the effect that no claim for cost, damages, interest, etc., would be filed. This condition is also part of the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, passed by Parliament recently.

How Reliance managed to stay afloat amid Covid blues

How Reliance managed to stay afloat amid Covid blues

Rediff.com   12 Jul 2021

More than a year of Covid-19 has pushed most businesses into gloom but Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) managed to reduce its gross debt 25 per cent, enabling it to turn towards its next phase of capital expenditure that has come in the form of a Rs 75,000-crore plan for green energy and power storage. The company managed to stay afloat during the pandemic because of its large presence in the consumer-centric businesses of retail and telecommunication (see chart: "A new Reliance"). These two businesses constituted 45 per cent of its EBITDA during FY21 from 36 per cent in FY20.

Host of tests awaits Ashwini Vaishnaw, the new rail minister

Host of tests awaits Ashwini Vaishnaw, the new rail minister

Rediff.com   10 Jul 2021

The change in leadership at the railway ministry comes at a time when the national transporter is grappling with low passenger earnings even as it is trying to increase freight loading and open up its doors to private investment. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took charge from Piyush Goyal who got the railway portfolio in 2017 after Prime Minister Narendra Modii dropped Suresh Prabhu from the Union Cabinet. Completing freight corridors, negotiating land for the bullet train, and speeding up monetisation plans would be some of the major focus areas for Vaishnaw.

Questions remain over why ONGC personnel ignored Tauktae warning

Questions remain over why ONGC personnel ignored Tauktae warning

Rediff.com   20 May 2021

It looks unlikely that a proper plan was in place or else the deaths could have been averted, reports Jyoti Mukul.

Scrapping vehicles in volumes to curb pollution will be a tough task

Scrapping vehicles in volumes to curb pollution will be a tough task

Rediff.com   6 May 2021

For deciding which vehicles are to be scrapped, the setting up of fitness centres and regulating them would be a humongous task.

How India Inc is going all out to help tackle oxygen shortage

How India Inc is going all out to help tackle oxygen shortage

Rediff.com   26 Apr 2021

The Tatas, L&T and Bharat Forge expressed interest in building pressure swing adsorption oxygen plants at hospital sites, while IOC and RIL are pitching in with both oxygen and cryogenic tankers needed for its transportation.

Covid-hit India needs 5000 tonnes of medical oxygen a day

Covid-hit India needs 5000 tonnes of medical oxygen a day

Rediff.com   20 Apr 2021

According to industry figures, the pre-Covid demand for liquid medical oxygen (LMO) before the pandemic was 700 tonnes per day across the country. Now, with the second wave, the demand has gone up more than seven times, reports Jyoti Mukul.

'Scrapping centres will be an industry'

'Scrapping centres will be an industry'

Rediff.com   20 Apr 2021

'Our automakers export 50 per cent of what they manufacture and once the policy comes into play, which is in the next 2-3 years, we would become a Rs 10 trillion industry.'

'In 3 years, India's infrastructure will be on par with the US'

'In 3 years, India's infrastructure will be on par with the US'

Rediff.com   17 Apr 2021

'We completed Rs 17 trillion worth of projects in the first term and currently Rs 9 trillion worth of contracts are under construction.'

Cairn, govt discuss LTCG tax and Vivad se Vishwas scheme

Cairn, govt discuss LTCG tax and Vivad se Vishwas scheme

Rediff.com   22 Feb 2021

During a series of hectic talks between Cairn Energy and the Indian government over the $1.2-billion arbitration award in favour of the former last week, a slew of options was proposed by the two sides, including computation of capital gains and participation in the Vivad se Vishwas (VsV) dispute resolution scheme. The government is likely to go ahead and appeal against the arbitration award by a Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague before March 21, indicated finance ministry officials. Cairn Energy Plc on Sunday said it was hopeful that an acceptable solution to its tax dispute with the Indian government could be found to avoid prolonging and exacerbating the 'negative issue' for all parties.

Cairn Energy CEO Thomson to meet FM next week over arbitration award

Cairn Energy CEO Thomson to meet FM next week over arbitration award

Rediff.com   10 Feb 2021

A senior company executive said the company waited for seven years for the verdict and its shareholders needed to know when it would be concluded.

Why FDI in oil & gas is in a mess

Why FDI in oil & gas is in a mess

Rediff.com   13 Oct 2020

The retrospective tax controversy was highlighted by Vodafone, but Cairn Plc's continuing problems point to the impact this law has had on FDI in India's oil and gas sector.