The meeting lasted for nearly two hours, sources said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi told party's Lok Sabha MPs to ignore comments of "middle- and low-rung" leaders of INDIA bloc parties and asserted that the Congress as the largest party in the opposition grouping is capable of addressing issues, sources said. The advice by Gandhi comes amid various leaders of the INDIA bloc weighing in on the leadership issue and TMC leaders aggressively pitching for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to head the opposition alliance.
Among Sensex firms, Eternal, Tata Motors, State Bank of India, Adani Ports, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Axis Bank and Sun Pharma were the major losers. Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle and Maruti were among the gainers.
Adani Group on Thursday said it has formed a 50:50 joint venture with Japanese conglomerate Kowa Group for sale of green hydrogen in Japan, Taiwan and Hawaii markets. Billionaire Gautam Adani-led conglomerate is investing up to $50 billion over the next 10 years in setting up a fully integrated green hydrogen ecosystem in India. This includes the production of 1 million tonne of green hydrogen in the initial phase which will be ramped up to 3 million tonne later.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the country's regulators are very experienced and are seized of the matter relating to the Adani Group crisis. The minister was replying to a question on the observations of the Supreme Court on public interest litigations (PILs) alleging exploitation of investors and "artificial crashing" of the Adani Group's stocks. "I will not disclose here what the government will be saying in the court...India's regulators are very, very experienced and they are experts in their domain.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that in the 'Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun (HAHK)' series under which the Congress posed questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party had asked him about his "favourite business group's links with the Chinese citizen Chang Chung-Ling (aka Lingo Chang) who has been a director in several Adani Group companies along with Vinod Adani and also made an appearance in the Panama Papers".
Gautam Adani's alleged proximity to Narendra Modi may dent the latter's self-styled image of incorruptibility, points out Kanika Datta.
An expert committee appointed by the Supreme Court said it cannot conclude any regulatory failure around Adani Group's stock rallies, and that Sebi has "drawn a blank" in its probe into alleged violations in money flows from offshore entities into the conglomerate. But the six-member panel said there was an evidence of a build-up in short positions on Adani Group stocks ahead of the report of US-based short seller Hindenburg Research, and profiting from squaring off positions after prices crashed post-publication of the damning allegations. "At this stage, taking into account the explanations provided by Sebi, supported by empirical data, prima facie, it would not be possible for the committee to conclude that there has been a regulatory failure around the allegation of price manipulation," the panel said in the report submitted to the Supreme Court.
The Congress on Monday alleged that a Chinese national played a 'dubious role' in the Adani Group's activities and asked the government if it was not concerned that the conglomerate may be involving that person in important defence contracts.
France's TotalEnergies has put on hold a planned investment in Adani Group's $50 billion hydrogen project pending results of an audit launched following allegations by a US short-seller, chief executive Patrick Pouyann said on Wednesday. While the partnership where the French oil giant was to take a 25 per cent stake in the hydrogen venture of the Adani group was announced in June last year, TotalEnergies has not yet signed a contract, he said at an earnings call. "Obviously, the hydrogen project will be put on hold until we have clarity" from Adani group on the allegation levelled by US short-seller Hindenburg Research, Pouyanne said.
Dharavi resident advocate Sandip Katake alleged the project would be the world's biggest land scam.
The Himachal Pradesh government's Excise and Taxation Department inspected an Adani Group company, scrutinising records and checking the stock at the Adani Wilmar warehouse in Parwanoo, officials said on Thursday. The officials were apparently investigating possible GST violations by the company, a 50:50 joint venture between the Adani conglomerate and Singapore-based Wilmar. The inspection on Wednesday evening in the Congress-run state comes at a time when the group finds itself in the middle of a political row at the Centre, triggered by a scathing report by US-based Hindenburg Research.
From the Sensex shares, IndusInd Bank jumped 7.12 per cent. Axis Bank, Adani Ports, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India and ITC were also among the gainers. Maruti, Infosys, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards.
The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed the customs department against Adani Power Maharashtra Limited (APML), Adani Power Rajasthan Limited (APRL) and others in a case pertaining to alleged over-valuation of imported goods. "We have heard Balbir Singh, Additional Solicitor General appearing for the appellant(s), and Mukul Rohatgi, senior counsel appearing for the respondents, at length. "We are of the considered opinion that the matters are concluded by the findings of fact recorded by the authorities below and the impugned order(s) does not require any interference at our behest.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel asked why the prime minister and Centre were scared of ordering a probe into the fraud committed by the Adani Group.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met the second most richest man in Asia -- Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani -- in Kolkata on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to hold a caste census 'out of fear' of the country's deprived population, to which the opposition was lending its voice.
Bangladesh has no concerns about Adani Group's ability to supply power from a plant in Jharkhand, said Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, adviser to the country's prime minister on energy. Speaking on sidelines of the India Energy Week in Bengaluru, Chowdhury, who holds ministerial rank, said talks with Adani on the supply are private and can't be made public. "Electricity will come very timely. Summer peak is coming and that 600 MW of Adani Power is very helpful," he said.
From the 30-share Sensex firms, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, Eternal, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Titan, Mahindra & Mahindra and Power Grid were among the gainers. Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, ITC, Nestle, Reliance Industries and HCL Tech were among the laggards.
In his Marathi autobiography Lok Maze Saangati published in 2015, Pawar has lavished praise on Adani describing him as 'hard-working, simple, down to earth' and with ambition to make big in the infrastructure sector.
Without naming Adani group specifically, the capital markets watchdog said in a statement that unusual price movement in the stocks of a business conglomerate has been observed in the past week.
Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 2 pm after opposition members held protest in Parliament seeking a discussion on the issue.
Embattled billionaire Gautam Adani on Thursday spoke publicly for the first time since his ports-to-energy conglomerate publicly battled a short seller's accusation of stock manipulation and accounting fraud, saying the abrupt move to withdraw a fully-subscribed share sale at his flagship firm was due to market volatility. His group continued to lose on the stock market, with the cumulative rout now nearing $108 billion in a week -- one of the biggest wipeouts in India's history. "After a fully subscribed follow-on public offering (of Adani Enterprises Ltd), yesterday's decision of its withdrawal would have surprised many.
Amid a political furore over a meltdown in the Adani group shares, stock market data shows it is not only the plunge now but the sharp surge of the past also drew regulatory attention and enhanced surveillance. Adani group stocks have taken a huge beating on the bourses, losing billions of dollars in market value, after US-based activist short-seller Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation at the Gautam Adani-led group. The Adani group has dismissed the charges as lies, saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.
The Congress-led opposition stepped up its attack on Friday against the government over the Adani row and demanded that there should be a thorough investigation into what they alleged was a 'mega scam' as it involved public money.
At a time 20-odd opposition parties, many of them regional rivals, joined forces over the Adani issue, Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar's open support for industrialist Gautam Adani has put a question mark on the durability of a non-Bharatiya Janata Party block in the run-up to the 2024 parliamentary elections.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone will prepay $195 million of debt due in 2024 as the conglomerate helmed by Gautam Adani looks to boost investors' confidence post being targeted by a US short-seller. In a stock exchange filing, APSEZ said it will buy back $195 million of bonds due in 2024 using its cash reserves. Out of the $520 million principal outstanding, $325 million will be left after the buyback, it said.
However, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Unilever and ICICI Bank were the gainers.
Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India, Maruti, Tata Motors, ITC, Tata Steel and Reliance Industries were also among the gainers. Nestle, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Power Grid and Titan were among the laggards.
It was in Kolar in 2019, during Lok Sabha election campaigning, that he made a remark on the Modi surname for which he was convicted of criminal defamation and stripped of his Parliament membership last month.
'Granting the country's highest civilian honour to Prime Minister Modi was surprising as it indicated the government was going out of its way to have India as a close partner.'
Richest Asian Gautam Adani's group on Tuesday said it will pay an additional Rs 48.65 a share to NDTV stockholders who tendered their shares in its open offer to help match what it had paid to buy out a stake of the news broadcaster's founders. Adani Enterprises in a stock exchange filing said it will pay an additional Rs 48.65 per NDTV share to investors, who had sold their shares in an open offer between November 22 and December 5, taking the payout to Rs 342.65 a share and matching what it paid to buy Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy's stake. Adani Group first acquired Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited, a little-known company that had given Rs 403 crore of an interest-free loan to RRPR Holdings - a company founded by the Roys and bore their initials in its name - in 2009-10 in exchange for warrants that allowed it to buy a stake in the newsgroup at any time.
Market regulator Sebi on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking 15 more days to conclude the ongoing probe into the allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani group. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), in its fresh application, said that it has examined and investigated 24 matters pertaining to the case. "Out of the said 24 investigations/examinations, 17 are final and complete and approved by the Competent Authority in accordance with Sebi's extant practice and procedures," the regulator said.
Shares of Adani Group firms continued to remain weak for the seventh day running on Friday amid a host of negative events surrounding the companies. The stock of Adani Enterprises tumbled 20 per cent to Rs 1,173.55 -- its one-year low -- on the BSE. Shares of Adani Ports tanked 10 per cent, Adani Transmission (10 per cent), Adani Green Energy (10 per cent), Adani Power (5 per cent), Adani Total Gas (5 per cent), Adani Wilmar (4.99 per cent), NDTV (4.98 per cent), ACC (4.24 per cent) and Ambuja Cements (3 per cent).
From the 30-share Sensex pack, Bharti Airtel, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, JSW Steel, Hindustan Unilever, Titan and Tata Motors were the biggest gainers. Power Grid, Nestle, State Bank of India and Infosys were the laggards.
On Thursday, Adani Enterprises announced that it will not go ahead with acquiring Macquarie group's two road companies at an enterprise valuation of Rs 3,100 crore.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday came down heavily on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for making baseless allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Adani issue, and described him as a "repeat offender" in levelling such charges.
Uttar Pradesh Energy Minister Arvind Kumar Sharma was forced to address an event in the dark in his hometown Mau due to a power outage. The incident, which went viral on social media, led to action against four power department officials, including the suspension of two. Sharma was in Mau for a three-day event marking eight years of the BJP government in the state. The power failure lasted for hours, causing inconvenience to the locals and creating an awkward situation for the minister. While some BJP workers alleged that the outage was deliberate, locals praised Sharma for his composure and humility.
Weeks after it revised the rating outlook of two companies of embattled Adani group, S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday said it is watching for additional information on the conglomerate's governance and funding for any ratings action. Investors, it said, seek clarity on the credit impact of a string of allegations against the group in a short-seller report published in late January, and on the findings of a recently launched Supreme Court investigation. S&P Global published an FAQ-style commentary titled, "Adani Group: The Known Unknowns".
The government has not set up any committee to probe allegations a US short seller labelled against the Adani Group, but stock market regulator SEBI is investigating market allegations against the group, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday. A separate investigation into imports of Indonesian coal by the conglomerate hasn't reached finality, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said. Lok Sabha saw several questions being put by MPs to the government on the Adani issue, which were replied through written responses by the minister.
