There are allegations that the Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh govt is putting pressure on South Eastern Coalfields to not renew the contract with Sainik Mining whose promoter Rudra Sen Sindhu is the son-in-law of the late Sahib Singh Varma, a BJP leader and former chief minister of Delhi.
Domestic steel prices have seen an increase over the past couple of months in anticipation of a safeguard duty, but a looming global trade war is likely to weigh as threat of import rises and prospect of export flounders. Data from BigMint showed that in March 2025, hot rolled coil (HRC) prices ex-Mumbai increased by Rs 600 per tonne month-on-month (M-o-M), rising from Rs 48,400 per tonne in February to Rs 49,000 per tonne.
Of Trump's reciprocal tariffs and trade deals
The coal-scam has taken an important turn as the Central Bureau of Investigation has charge-sheeted former bureaucrat P C Parakh and industrialist Kumarmangalam Birla. The next big thing is to see that if the coal-blocks allotted, fraudulently, are cancelled or not either by Supreme Court or by the government as pre-emptive action.
India needs to recognise and address challenges posed by its dependence on China for critical minerals and examine the implications of phasing down coal on bank balance sheets as it accelerates its green transition, the government's Economic Survey 2023-24 tabled in Parliament on Monday said. As part of its national plan to contribute to meeting the global goal of limiting the average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, India has committed to reducing emissions by 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, achieving 50 per cent cumulative electric installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources, and creating a carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 gigatons of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover.
The Union ministry of coal, while acknowledging that domestic coal stock is not enough to meet the power demand, asked state governments and the power generating companies (gencos) to import coal before monsoon season sets in. The ministry has warned the gencos if they do not import coal for 10 per cent blending in their fuel demand by the end of this month, blending benchmark would be increased to 15 per cent. The order pertains to all - central, state and independent power producers (IPPs)/privately owned units.
'Those betting against PSUs will likely be punished in this upswing.'
India, the world's third largest oil consuming and importing nation, in July bought $2.8 billion worth of crude oil from Russia, second only to China which remains the largest importer of Russian oil, a report said. Russia emerged as India's biggest supplier of crude oil, which is converted into fuels like petrol and diesel in refineries, after Russian oil was available on discount following some European nations shunning purchases from Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Budget has given signals that India is sensitive to the US needs and willing to walk the extra mile, but if need be, we should respond in equal measure as a sovereign nation, notes Ajay Srivastava.
India's export of fuels like diesel to the European Union jumped 58 per cent in the first three quarters of 2024, with a bulk of them likely coming from refining discounted Russian oil, according to a monthly tracker report. The EU/G7 countries in December 2022 introduced a price cap and an embargo on the imports of Russian crude oil in a bid to cripple Kremlin's revenue and create a vacuum in its funding for the invasion of Ukraine.
India on Monday announced the results for the country's first critical mineral auction. Amid the tepid response from big players, the list of successful bidders included some lesser known names. A total of five companies secured bids for six critical mineral blocks of graphite, manganese, phosphorite, lithium, and rare earth elements with auction premiums ranging from 13.05 per cent to 400 per cent.
Three experts from Western Coal Fields, a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, camped at the Silkyara tunnel site from November 20.
If the markets regulator has not yet sent an advisory note to Coal India on its chief executive's frequent announcements in the media, it is probably because it is a public sector enterprise.
Retail sales of vehicles across categories in India grew by 11.21 per cent at 32,08,719 units in November, as compared to 28,85,317 units in the same month last year riding on two-wheeler demand, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations said in Monday. Retail sales of two-wheelers were at 26,15,953 units last month, as compared to 22,58,970 units in November 2023, a growth of 15.8 per cent buoyed by the festive spillover.
In her fourth tranche of the economic package, she said commercial mining will be done on revenue sharing mechanism instead of the regime of fixed rupee/tonne.
Rising prices of international coal - both coking and thermal - used in the making of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, respectively, are expected to have an impact on margins of metals companies in July-September quarter (Q2) as steel companies may see margins getting eroded, while the base firms could stand to benefit, said brokerages.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
In the second and final part of this interview, energy and coal industry expert Sunjoy Joshi tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com that we need to take a comprehensive view of the entire energy sector and how piecemeal reform won't take us very far.
A bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu said, the apex court had granted six months' time to wind up their operations and the companies cannot be restrained from excavating coal during this period.
'This is a crisis which did not happen overnight. It was happening slowly.' 'Now we are mining very fast and this crisis won't last long.'
Over 75 per cent of India's daily coal output has been hit as the five-day strike by workers of state-run miners entered the second day on Wednesday, raising fears of disruption in power supplies.
In an urgent need for its image makeover, the scam-tainted coal sector will require mammoth efforts in 2015 from the government and the corporates too.
Between 2007-08 and 2017-18, the number of countries they imported steam coal from has increased from six to 12.
The statement comes in the wake of reports that warned of power crisis looming large due to the coal shortage in the country.
State behemoth Coal India, the world's largest coal miner, has failed to raise its output fast enough to meet demand, and millions of Indians still go without power.
Adani Power, part of the Adani group, plans to add close to 6 gigawatts (Gw) of new power assets in the next five years, according to an investor presentation by the company. That is clearly meant to ride on India's burgeoning power demand. But there is another side to it: All of this new capacity is expected to be thermal power, or power produced from coal.
'Invest only in stocks of those companies that deliver on earnings and there is earnings visibility too for the next few quarters.'
Trinamool Congress is the second highest recipient of political donations through electoral bonds.
'There is a difference between a politician and leader.' 'A politician will have his pound of flesh first and do everything else later.' 'A leader will sacrifice everything to help people.'
Arguably the 'most talked about' rescue mission in recent years, the story of a Thai youth soccer team and their coach trapped in the Tham Luang Cave, prompting a global rescue effort, gripped the world.
As India's electricity demand soars, the power ministry on Tuesday reviewed the power supply situation to ensure 'zero load shedding' during the summer months. The ministry has drafted plans ranging from delaying planned maintenance of thermal power stations to mandatory operations of imported coal-based and gas-based stations till September. In a series of meetings with industry stakeholders, Union Minister for Power, New, and Renewable Energy R K Singh emphasised the importance of adequate planning to avoid situations where one state has surplus power while another state faces shortages.
'It has changed the political character of India by ejecting socialism as an ideology from the Constitution of India.'
There is a strong hint that the proposed IPO will be of 11 per cent instead of the earlier plan of 15 per cent (10 per cent public, 2 per cent employees and 3 per cent land losers).
More than 80 per cent of Indians live in districts vulnerable to climate risks. Among these, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Bihar are the most vulnerable states to extreme climate events.
The government's move to set up a regulator for the coal sector would help bring in transparency, encourage exploration and enhance quality of the dry fuel, India Inc said on Friday.
Decades of a state-owned monopoly selling coal at a fixed price has taken its toll on production.
The maiden, critical mineral auction in India has failed to enthuse the mining industry, with the first tranche achieving less than a 50 per cent success rate and the auction of several mines was cancelled owing to low response. The results, announced by the Ministry of Mines on Monday, showed that six lesser-known companies emerged as preferred bidders. Among these were Agrasen Sponge, Kundan Gold Mines, Dalmia Bharat Refractories, Sagar Stone Industries, and Maiki South Mining.
If the power plants are reporting low coal stocks with them, it is largely because they have improved their power generation to meet higher demand.
After extricating five bodies from an abandoned coal mine in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district, government authorities and the Eastern Coalfields limited Wednesday called off the rescue operation, while locals and leaders of political parties claimed more people were still trapped under the debris.
This measure will ensure that the price of a scrip cannot move upward or downward beyond a limit set for the day.
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